A Cessna Aircraft spokesperson said that this discussion had taken place in late-2013- the Skycatcher will no longer be a part of the company’s current production. Sales of this aircraft are now being wound-down and this is a standard procedure with all Cessna legacy products. However, the company will continue supporting the Skycatcher fleet.
The first aircraft
The Skycatcher is a light sport aircraft that has had its fair share of challenges since the time this program has been announced in 2007. At that point of time, the objective was to encourage a larger number of people to fly and also that more pilots be trained. Two of the prototype aircraft crashed while they were being flight tested and certain tail design revisions were carried out. The 1st Skycatcher was delivered in Dec 2009 to Rose Pelton, the wife of Jack Pelton who was then the Cessna Aircraft CEO.
High demand
When this aircraft was finally announced at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Air-Venture in Oshkosh, in Wisconsin, reports stated that people had queued-up outside the Cessna’s booth to place their orders. The company had secured literally hundreds of deposits for the new planes. In 2010, the company announced that it had over 1,000 orders for the Skycatcher. This plane had been built in Shenyang in China.
It was then assembled in Wichita by a company named Yingling Aviation and later at the Cessna plant located in Independence. Later, the aircraft underwent very significant price rises. At the outset, these planes were sold at $109,500; however, the price rose later. By the beginning of 2012, Cessna Aircraft indicated that the price will be hiked to $149,000.
The tailspin
A slow death
Later, in 2012, the company raised a safety alert due to a wing-spar cracking. Mandatory improvements had to be carried out and new access panels had to be fitted. The price increase was another bone of contention. Slowly, the excitement around the Skycatcher ebbed and orders were cancelled and the demand also decreased over a period of time. Today, this aircraft has folded its wings but will still be fondly remembered by many.