720 SkyCatchers Sold To Date, Worth Over $75 Million

The hits just keep on coming for the Cessna 162 SkyCatcher. On Thursday, Cessna announced orders for its newly announced light sport aircraft (LSA) reached 720, totaling more than $75 Million, only two weeks after its official launch at the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual meeting, AirVenture 2007.

"It has been very exciting to see the overwhelmingly positive response from our customers on the SkyCatcher, and the affirmative reaction to this offering reflects the overall continuing strength in the general aviation market around the globe," said Jack. J. Pelton, Cessna chairman, president and CEO.

Cessna originally announced it was studying an LSA entry at the 2006 AirVenture in Oshkosh, unveiling a proof-of-concept aircraft to gauge market response. As ANN reported, the company announced July 10 it would proceed with development of a new LSA product, and unveiled the SkyCatcher at a press conference on July 22.

The SkyCatcher features an exclusive Garmin glass cockpit -- the G300 -- and a Teledyne Continental O-200D 100-horsepower engine designed specifically for light sport aircraft.

Cessna is offering the LSA at an introductory price of $109,500 for the first 1,000 aircraft; after that time, base price will increase to $111,500.

FMI: www.cessnaskycatcher.com, Read ANN's Take On Cessna's New LSA