Flight Training - April 2014 - 19

INDUSTRY NEWS

BY ALTON K. MARSH

Skycatcher reaches inglorious end
Cessna LSA will no longer be sold
CESSNA AIRCRAFT OFFICIALS have
decided that the remaining 80 two-seat
Skycatcher light sport aircraft will not be
sold, but rather will be used for spares.
The decision came in late January when
dealers were notified that the aircraft is no
longer in the Cessna lineup. Cessna CEO
Scott Ernest declared last fall that the Skycatcher had "no future."
The Skycatcher no longer appears on
the Cessna website. The website bydanjohnson.com reports there were 275
Skycatchers in the FAA registry at last
count, but Dan Johnson, a founder of the
light sport movement and head of the
Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association, said that number includes those
registered to Cessna, meaning only 195
are in private hands. Johnson said there

may have been concern at Cessna about
parts support for the fleet that resulted
in remaining new aircraft being used for
spares.
Remarks by Ernest came during the
October 2013 National Business Aviation
Association convention in Las Vegas.
After those remarks, Propeller Product

Line chief Jodi Noah said there were
still Skycatchers available for delivery.
That was correct at the time. It appears
the concern over support for the aircraft
led Cessna to keep the remaining unsold
units for parts.
The aircraft had a rough entry into the
market with mishaps during flight testing. There was a brief effort to approve
the Skycatcher in the Primary category
for delivery in Europe, but changes
demanded by the FAA that would have
required additional expensive flight
testing halted those plans. Efforts to sell
all remaining Skycatchers failed because
Cessna officials did not want customers
to be frustrated by a lack of parts. The
aircraft was manufactured in China but
assembled in Independence, Kansas.

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