Reims-Cessna F406 Caravan II

F406 Caravan II
F406 Caravan II
	A Cessna F406 from HM Coastguard
General information
Type	Twin-engined utility
National origin	France; United States
Manufacturer	Reims Aviation
Status	In service, production to recommence
Primary users	French DGDDI Republic of Korea Navy
Number built	99
History
Manufactured	1983–2013
First flight	22 September 1983
Developed from	Cessna 404 Titan

The Reims-Cessna F406 Caravan II is a turboprop twin engine utility aircraft manufactured and designed by Reims Aviation in cooperation with Cessna.

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 with two Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprop engines. The aircraft first flew on 22 September 1983^[2] and was produced by Reims Aviation until the company's 2013 demise.^[3] 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, 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 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.^[4] The Type Certificate transferred but only had approval to produce spare parts and not the whole aircraft.^[1]

Operators

Australia

France

Germany

Greece

Hellenic Coast Guard^[10]

Namibia

Republic of Korea

Republic of Korea Navy^[12]

Senegal

Arc en Ciel Airlines

United Kingdom

RVL Aviation^[13]

Specifications

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988–89^[14]

General characteristics

Crew: One^[1]
Capacity: 12 passengers
Length: 11.89 m (39 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 15.09 m (49 ft 6 in) ^[1]
Height: 4.01 m (13 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 23.48 m² (253 sq ft) ^[1]
Empty weight: 2,283 kg (5,033 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4,246–4,700 kg (9,360–10,361 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-112 turboprop , 373 kW (500 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 424 km/h (263 mph, 229 kn) ^[b]
Cruise speed: 388 km/h (241 mph, 209 kn)
Range: 2,135 km (1,327 mi, 1,153 nmi) ^[c]
Service ceiling: 9,145 m (30,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 9.4 m/s (1,850 ft/min)

References and notes

^ One prototype and 98 production aircraft
^ Indicated Air Speed.
^ Max cruise, 45 min reserves

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Type-Certificate Data Sheet EASA.A.109: F 406: Issue 06". EASA. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
^ Taylor 1988, p. 79.
^ "GECI Aviation". Retrieved 9 June 2012. Archived March 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^ Paul Jackson (23 May 2016). "Props And Turboprops About To Enter The Marketplace". Aviation Week Network.
^ "Survey".
^ Cobham Receives AUD$ 7 million Additional Contract Extension from Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, article retrieved 23 July 2013.
^ "air saint pierre fleet". airsaintpierre.com. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
^ "World Air Forces listings (French Army)". flightglobal.com. November 1999. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
^ "The Cessna F406 research aircraft, D-ILAB". tu-braunschweig.de.
^ "Airscene: Military Affairs: First Hellenic Coast Guard F406 enters service". Air International, Vol. 60, No. 5, May 2001. p. 262. ISSN 0306-5634
^ "WESTAIR – HOME". westair.com.na.
^ "World Air Forces listings (ROK Navy)". flightglobal.com. November 1999. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
^ "About".
^ Taylor 1988, p.80.
^ "Reims F406 Caravan Ii".

Hoyle, Craig. "World Air Forces Directory". Flight International, 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. ISBN 0 7106-0867-5.