North Carolina Based Mountain Air Cargo has become the first carrier to operate Textron Aviation’s clean-sheet Cessna SkyCourier freighter.
The FexEx feeder airline — Mountain Air Cargo has said in its website that they are first to operate ,
“The generation of C408 Feeder aircraft has commenced. MAC first to operate the new C408 SkyCourier,” said Mountain Air Cargo in a website update.
Earlier in May , Cessna Parent Company Textron Aviation had delivered the first of 50 Cessna SkyCourier twin utility turboprop freighters to the FedEx Express.
Though Textron Aviation offers Cessna SkyCourier 408 in both cargo and passenger variants, currently available cargo variant features a large cargo door and a flat floor cabin that is sized to handle up to three LD3 shipping containers.
With an impressive 6,000 pounds of maximum payload capability, the aircraft can reach upto a maximum cruise speed of up to 200 ktas and a 900 nautical-mile maximum range.
FedEx Express is the Cessna SkyCourier’s launch customer after signing a deal in 2017. The carrier had signed on as the launch customer for up to 100 aircraft, with an initial fleet order of 50 cargo aircraft and options for 50 more.
While the Kansas, US-based Textron Aviation rolled out the first production unit of the Cessna SkyCourier in February 22 , the US Regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted type certification (TC) for the new design aircraft in March 22.
The aircraft is powered by two wing-mounted Pratt & Whitney PT6A-65SC turboprop engines and features the McCauley Propeller C779, a heavy-duty 110-inch aluminum four-blade propeller.
In another development, in the month of August 2022, Mountain Air Cargo , which is one of seven feeder air carriers for Fedex in the U.S.A., had filed an application with US Department of Transportation authorisation to operate large aircraft and plans to add a ATR-72-600F freighter to its fleet.
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