Planet Caravan

Textron Aviation—the general aviation business unit of the Textron conglomerate and purveyor of Beechcraft, Cessna, and (formerly) Hawker Aircraft—has announced the delivery of the three-thousandth Cessna Caravan.

The milestone aircraft, a Grand Caravan EX, was purchased by Azula Conecto, a subsidiary of São Paulo-based Brazilian air-carrier Azul Airlines. The sale speaks to the popularity of Cessna’s 208 platform, and further solidifies the design’s well-earned reputation for robustness, reliability, ease of operation, serviceability, and profit-earning potential.

Employees of Textron Aviation and representatives of Azul Conecta celebrated the occasion with a special delivery ceremony held at Textron’s Independence, Kansas facility.

Textron senior vice president of sales and flight operations Lannie O’Bannion remarked: “The Cessna Caravan’s versatility and reliability have made it the most popular aircraft in the utility turboprop category, with now three-thousand delivered globally. I’m thankful to customers like Azul Conecta who continuously rely on the Caravan family of aircraft to fulfill their missions, deliver solutions, and improve lives around the world.”

Conceived in the early 1980s as a rugged utility aircraft with low operating costs, the Caravan was designed for use in remote areas with variable and violent atmospheric conditions, mountainous terrain, and primitive take-off and landing conditions. The aircraft’s versatility garnered renown across the world’s far corners, and in 2023—more than forty-years after the type’s 09 December 1982 first flight—the 208/208A Caravan and 208B Grand Caravan remain the world’s best-selling family, single-turbine-engine utility aircraft.

Operators of Cessna’s Caravan platform include governmental and law-enforcement agencies, militaries, air-ambulance operators, freight haulers, corporations, and humanitarian organizations.

Azul chief technical officer and Azul Connecta president Flavio Costa stated: “This Grand Caravan EX will proudly fly the Brazilian skies and connect our 158 destinations, many of which are made possible by the aircraft’s utility and flexibility. As a longtime Textron Aviation customer with a fleet of over 25 Cessna aircraft, we are happy to be a part of this important milestone.”

FMI: www.cessna.txtav.com