Wed, Jan 13, 2010
At the 2009 AOPA Summit, attendees experience an up-close
encounter with Cessna’s newest aircraft to enter the LSA
market. Since the announcement of the 162 Skycatcher program
in 2007, Cessna has received over 1,000 orders.
A two-place, single-engine piston, high-wing aircraft, the
Skycatcher is a strong contender in the training
market. Powered by the same Continental O-200D 100-hp engine
as the 150 (though updated for today), the 162 Skycatcher weighs in
at 280 pounds less than the 150 at an extremely light 830 pounds
empty weight. As a result, the aircraft features a cruise
speed up to 118 knots and a maximum range of 470 nautical
miles.
After departing from San Diego’s King Schools, where the
first production-conforming Skycatcher had been stationed during
the development of Cessna’s pilot training curriculum, Chief
Test Pilot Kirby Ortega flew the aircraft to Tampa, Florida.
The three-day journey allowed Ortega to become more familiar with
the aircraft’s handling and features, including the all-new
Garmin G300 avionics system. With the increase in situational
awareness and decrease in heads-down time, the G300 provides a
great educational advantage for both students and instructors
alike.
The 162 arrived at the AOPA Summit as part of Cessna’s
demonstration of its new Internet-based flight training software,
available through Cessna’s Pilot Center network and developed
in conjunction with Kings Schools. The web-training program,
coupled with the Skycatcher, represents Cessna’s effort to
offer a complete flight-training package for new students as the
company makes its first 162 deliveries. On December 18, 2009,
Rose Pelton, wife of Cessna C.E.O., Jack Pelton, took delivery of
the very first Model 162 Skycatcher.
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