The Reims-Cessna F406 Caravan II is a

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

twin engine

utility aircraft A utility aircraft 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 al ...

manufactured and designed by

Reims Aviation Reims Aviation Industries was a French aircraft manufacturer located in the city of Reims, most recently producing the F406 Caravan II. Reims Aviation was a wholly owned subsidiary of GECI Aviation. History Max Holste, the company founder, ...

in cooperation with

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufactu ...

Design and development

The F406 Caravan II is a twin turboprop engined, fourteen-seat low-wing monoplane of conventional aluminium (airframe) and steel (engine internal parts, exhaust, landing gear) construction. It is a development of the

Cessna 404 Titan The Cessna 404 Titan is an American twin-engined, light aircraft built by Cessna Aircraft. It was the company's largest twin piston-engined aircraft at the time of its development in the 1970s. Its US military designation is C-28, and Swedish ...

with two

Pratt & Whitney PT6A The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is a turboprop aircraft engine produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada. Its design was started in 1958, it first ran in February 1960, first flew on 30 May 1961, entered service in 1964, and has been continuously upd ...

turboprop engines. The aircraft first flew on 22 September 1983Taylor 1988, p. 79. and was produced by

until the company's 2013 demise. The F406 is aimed at passenger and small cargo transport as well as civilian and military surveillance. For extra cargo capacity, a cargo pod can be fitted to the belly of the aircraft. Though the F406 is more expensive to operate than single-engine aircraft of the same passenger capacity such as the

Cessna 208 Caravan The Cessna 208 Caravan 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 Cargoma ...

, having two engines made it comply with European regulations regarding commercial operations, which for a long time only allowed multi-engine aircraft for commercial instrument flight. In March 2014, Reims Aviation was acquired by Chinese-owned Continental Motors Inc and renamed ASI Aviation. Two remaining incomplete airframes were finished in France before a shift to

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

with new avionics, electrical, and hydraulic systems; a new autopilot; and an engine choice of current P&WC PT6A-135 or pistons : Continental GTSIO-520 and/or Continental CD-310 diesel. The

Type Certificate A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance w ...

transferred but only had approval to produce spare parts and not the whole aircraft.

Operators

; * Aerologistics *

Australian Customs and Border Protection Service The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service was an Australian federal government agency responsible for managing the security and integrity of the Australian border and facilitating the movement of legitimate international travellers and ...

; *

Air Saint-Pierre Air Saint-Pierre is a French airline based in Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a French overseas collectivity. The airline operates scheduled services between the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon-Langlade as well as to Canada. Its mai ...

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

; *

Air-Taxi Europe An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. History The concept of air taxis existed as early as the 1910s. This concept goes back as early as 1917 with Glenn Curtiss’ prototype, the auto-plane. Furthermor ...

Technische Universität Braunschweig TU Braunschweig (, unofficially ''University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology'') is the oldest ' (comparable to an institute of technology in the American system) in Germany. It was founded in 1745 as Collegium Carolinum and is a membe ...

; *

Hellenic Coast Guard The Hellenic Coast Guard () is the national coast guard of Greece. Like many other coast guards, it is a paramilitary organization that can support the Hellenic Navy in wartime, but resides under separate civilian control in times of peace. The ...

; * Namibian Fisheries and Marine Resources *

Westair Aviation Westair Aviation Limited is a Namibian aviation service provider and airline offering scheduled passenger services under the FlyNamibia brand as well as cargo and Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) services based at Eros Airport ...

; *

Republic of Korea Navy The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ), also known as the ROK Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and Amphibious warfare, amphibious operations. The South ...

; * Arc en Ciel Airlines ; * RVL Aviation

Specifications

References and notes

* Hoyle, Craig. "World Air Forces Directory". ''

Flight International ''Flight International'', formerly ''Flight'', is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", i ...

'', 8–14 December 2015, Vol. 188, No. 5517. pp. 26–53. *Taylor, John W.R. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988–89''. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Defence Data, 1988. .

External links

Reims Aviation (official website)
{{Cessna Caravan II 1980s French civil utility aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1983 Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear

Design and development

Operators

Specifications

See also

References and notes

External links