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28-489: The company was founded in 2009 in Australia to research various technologies for electric motors. In 2017, it developed a motor that became their prototype and led to pivoting the company to focus on Electric Aviation and move its headquarters to Redmond, Washington. The magni5, its original prototype electric motor, was developed in 2017. In June 2018, magniX publicly stated plans to fly an electric Cessna 208 Caravan with

56-402: A 540 kW (720 hp) motor for up to an hour, by August 2019. By then, the company's magni5 electric motor could produce 265–300 kW (355–402 hp) peak at 2,500 rpm at 95% efficiency with a 53 kg (117 lb) dry mass motor, having a 5 kW/kg (2.3 kW/lb) power density. The magni5 competes with the 260 kW (350 hp), 50 kg (110 lb) Siemens SP260D for

84-508: A certification by the end of 2021, hoping to operate 100 nmi (185 km; 115 mi) flights with a full load of nine passengers with better batteries. The 1,000th was delivered in 1998; the 1,500th in 2005; the 2,000th in 2010; the 2,500th in 2015; and the 3,000th in 2022. By March 2022, 24 million flight hours have been logged. Certified in 100 countries, Caravans are used for flight training, recreation, commuter airlines, VIP transport, cargo carriers and humanitarian missions. It

112-681: A certification by the end of 2021, hoping to operate 160-kilometre (100 mi) flights with a full load of nine passengers with better batteries. In December 2020, CEO Roei Ganzarski told an interviewer that the company was consolidating its operations at Everett, Washington, and had shut their Australian site on the Gold Coast earlier in the year. In January 2021 the company formally announced that they will be moving their headquarters from Redmond to Everett , with plans to relocate all of their Australia operations there as well. Related lists Cessna 208 Caravan The Cessna 208 Caravan

140-400: A go-ahead by Cessna for its Pawnee engineering facility. John Berwick, chief engineer at Pawnee, conceived of a single engine, high-wing airplane with a large payload. Berwick had originally approached Vice President Bill Boettger with the idea and once Dwane Wallace approved it, Berwick told Russ Meyer he would design it. The prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model

168-455: A last minute escape from Kabul to Tajikistan on an AC-208 moments before the city fell to the Taliban. In November 2021, Egyptian Army Cessna 208s were used to fight smugglers in western Egypt. On May 11, 2022, a Cessna 208 pilot became incapacitated resulting in a passenger with no flight experience successfully making an emergency landing at Palm Beach International Airport. The passenger

196-427: A low density passenger configuration, with 1-1 seating, as a combination of passengers and cargo, or as a strictly cargo aircraft. Many variants include an underbelly cargo pod, which can be used for additional freight capacity, or for passenger baggage. A number of Caravans are operated as skydiving aircraft with the left-side cargo hatch converted to a roll-up door. The airplane typically seats nine passengers with

224-466: A passenger aircraft with four doors: one for each crew member, an airstair door on the right side of the cabin and a cargo door on the left. The aircraft can be optionally fitted with an underslung cargo pod. The basic 208 airframe has a fixed tricycle landing gear but can also be fitted with various types of landing gear , allowing it to operate in a wide variety of environments. Some common adaptations include floats with retractable landing gear on

252-405: A significant advancement in electric aviation technology. By then, magniX partnered with Harbour Air to electrify its entire fleet: the first converted aircraft was to be a DHC-2 Beaver serving as the test prototype for the magniX motor, energy storage, and control systems. On 10 December 2019, the eBeaver flew for the first time. Low energy density but proven lithium-ion batteries filled

280-472: A single pilot, although with a FAR Part 23 waiver it can seat up to fourteen passengers. The aircraft is also used for cargo operations. The short-fuselage Caravan burns 48 US gal (180 L) of fuel per hour at 170 kn (310 km/h; 200 mph) for 200 nmi (370 km; 230 mi) stages. In August 2021, fearing Taliban reprisals, pilots of the Afghan Air Force made

308-605: Is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna . The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the FAA in October 1984 and its Cargomaster freighter variant was developed for FedEx . The 4 ft (1.2 m) longer 208B Super Cargomaster first flew in 1986 and was developed into the passenger 208B Grand Caravan. The strutted , high wing 208 typically seats nine passengers in its unpressurized cabin,

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336-412: Is a Caravan forward fuselage used as a test bed, with the usual PT6 turboprop engine replaced by an electric motor, inverter and a liquid-cooling system, including radiators, driving a Cessna 206 propeller. The production motor will produce 280 kW (380 hp) at 1,900 rpm, down from the test motor's 2,500 rpm, allowing the installation of the propeller without a reduction gearbox. By April 2019,

364-555: Is a general-purpose light airplane or helicopter , usually used for transporting people, freight, or other supplies, but also used for other duties when more specialized aircraft are not required or available. The term can also refer to an aircraft type certificated under American, Canadian, European, or Australian regulations as a Utility Category Aircraft , which indicates that it is permitted to conduct limited aerobatics . The approved maneuvers include chandelles , lazy eights , spins , and steep turns over 60° of bank. In

392-675: Is also used by government agencies in law enforcement, air ambulance services, police and military. The Cessna 208 is used by governmental organizations and by a large number of companies for police, air ambulance, passenger transport, air charter, freight and parachuting operations. FedEx operates 239 aircraft. A total of 123 Cessna 208s were in military service as transport in 2024. As of 31 December 2017, there have been 216 Caravan hull losses from all causes, including 206 accidents causing 427 fatalities – an average of 2 fatalities per hull-loss, with 29.7% of all occupants surviving fatal accidents; and six hijackings causing one fatality. For

420-606: Is an electric aircraft modification of the 208B built by AeroTEC and magniX powered by a 750 hp (560 kW) motor and a 1 t (2,200 lb), 750 V lithium-ion battery . The plane's 30-minute first flight happened from Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, on May 28, 2020, consuming US$ 6 worth of electricity, needing 30–40 min of charging. The Magni500-powered variant can fly 100 nautical miles (185 km; 115 mi) with 4–5 passengers while keeping reserve power, and aims for

448-405: Is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A tractor turboprop and has a fixed tricycle landing gear , floats , or skis. By 2022, 3,000 had been delivered and 24 million flight hours have been logged. Caravans have been used for flight training , commuter airlines , VIP transport , air cargo , skydiving and humanitarian missions. On November 20, 1981, the project was given

476-456: The Extra 330LE . By September 2018, a 260 kW (350 hp) electric motor with a propeller had been tested on a Cessna iron bird . The 560 kW (750 hp) Caravan was expected to fly by the fall of 2019 and by 2022 magniX estimates electric aircraft could fly up to 800 and 1,610 km (500 and 1,000 mi) by 2024. The motor ran on a test dynamometer for 1,000 hours. The iron bird

504-603: The 198 out of the 216 hull-loss occurrences where the aircraft was in use and its flight nature is known, 36.9% were passenger flights , 33.8% cargo flights , 8.1% military flights , 5.6% special flights – agriculture , survey , etc., 4% private and business flights , 3% test or flight training and 8.1% miscellaneous uses – demonstrations, deliveries, illegal. Data from Cessna Textron General characteristics Performance Avionics Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Utility aircraft A utility aircraft

532-470: The Caravan Amphibian model, and skis. The Caravan interior can be outfitted with seats or as a cargo compartment. The standard high-density airline configuration has four rows of 1-2 seating behind the two seats in the cockpit. This variant is capable of holding up to thirteen passengers, although it is marketed as being able to make a profit carrying just four. The cabin can be configured in

560-750: The Chinese market. Chinese government approval was granted in September the following year and the first Chinese-assembled Caravan was delivered in December 2013. By April 2016 about 30 aircraft, assembled from kits of parts shipped from the US by Cessna, had been delivered to Chinese operators by the joint venture. The Cessna 208 is a high-wing braced cabin monoplane powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 A turboprop in tractor configuration . The cabin has room for nine passengers and two crew when used as

588-612: The cabin and took the prototype to its maximum gross weight to provide enough energy for a 15 min flight with a 25 min reserve. The magniX magni500 electric motor used in the Harbour Air electric de Havilland Canada Beaver weighs 135 kg (297 lb) and develops 560 kW (750 shp) In contrast, the Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior SB it is replacing has a dry weight of 290 kg (640 lb), not including oil, and produces 400 bhp (300 kW), more than halving

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616-525: The magni250 280 kW (375 hp) was offered for the Eviation Alice as a second power option after Siemens 260 kW motors, as magniX had accumulated over 1,500 hours of ground tests in Redmond and Australia. In July 2022, magniX announced the development of the magniX EPUs (Electric Propulsion Units), which are aimed at powering larger commercial aircraft with over 1 MW of power, signaling

644-832: The piston-powered 172 , 182 , 206 and TTx , and the Citation M2 light jet. The move was made to make room for production of the Citation Longitude and Denali in Wichita. In 2023, the 208 Caravan unit cost was US$ 2.32 million and US$ 2.61 million for the 208B Grand Caravan EX. In May 2012, Cessna announced that an assembly line for the 208 would be established in China, with the government-owned China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA) conducting final assembly of Caravans at its plant in Shijiazhuang for

672-475: The prototype, becoming its standard carrier. Another cargo variant for Federal Express, with a longer fuselage and a cargo pod under the belly, was developed as the 208B Super Cargomaster and flew for the first time in 1986. Stretched by 4 ft (1.2 m), it received its FAA type certification also in 1986. A passenger model, the 208B Grand Caravan, was derived from the Super Cargomaster. It

700-628: The weight, while nearly doubling the power – a saving in this case that can be transferred toward carrying the difference in additional batteries. The first flight of the modified Cessna 208B Grand Caravan was completed at Grant County International Airport on 28 May 2020. The eCaravan is powered by a 560 kW (750 hp) motor and a 1 t (2,200 lb), 750V lithium-ion battery . Its 30 min first flight consumed $ 6 worth of electricity, needing 30-40 min of charging. The magni500-powered variant can fly 160 km (100 mi) with 4-5 passengers while keeping reserve power, and aims for

728-475: Was assisted by Air Traffic Controller Robert Morgan, a certified flight instructor. On November 21, 2023, a Cessna 208 flew for the first time without any human on board. The plane was modified by Reliable Robotics to fly autonomously with a remote pilot able to send commands to the aircraft from 50 miles away via satellite communication to the onboard flight computers. Production aircraft modified after delivery by Supplemental Type Certificates : The eCaravan

756-637: Was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in October 1984. Deliveries began in 1985, and amphibious floats were approved that same year. A freighter variant without cabin windows was developed at the request of Federal Express as the Cargomaster. FedEx had been initially planning to build twin-engine piston-powered airplanes with Piper Aircraft , but picked the Caravan after surveying it and having flown

784-711: Was first delivered in 1990. Since then, the Caravan has undergone a number of design evolutions, including upgrading the avionics in 2008 to provide a glass cockpit with the Garmin G1000 system. In January 2013 a higher-powered (867 shp from P&WC PT6A-140) version, the Grand Caravan EX, received FAA certification. In August 2016, Textron announced that it would move the Cessna 208 production line from its Wichita headquarters to its Independence, Kansas , production facility, for manufacture alongside along

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