Cessna unveiled several developments for its Skycatcher on opening day of SUN ’n FUN, led by the availability of Garmin’s pathways guidance capability for the G300 avionics suite.
Pathways brings G1000-like features to Cessna’s Light-Sport Aircraft, according to company officials. The synthetic vision feature simplifies navigation by displaying a three-dimensional perspective view of the flight path on the primary flight display. Enroute legs are displayed as a series of outlined windows, making it easy for pilots to follow the highway in the sky, officials said, adding this new feature will be standard by the end of the year with retrofit availability to follow.
Cessna has received approximately 100 Skycatchers from Shenyang Aircraft Corp. in China, where fabrication and assembly take place. In conjunction with its reassembly site at Yingling Aviation in Wichita, Cessna has delivered some 45 Skycatchers to customers.
One customer who has taken delivery is Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The school’s flight teams on the Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., campuses are the first to compete using Skycatchers. ERAU will participate in short-field and power-off landing competitions in the National Intercollegiate Flying Association Safety Conference in May.
In other news, King Schools has released its Flying the Skycatcher DVD training program, the official pilot transition course used in Cessna Pilot Centers worldwide. The DVD covers all the critical phases of flight as pilots fly along with John and Martha King for 25 maneuvers.
For more information: Cessna.com
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