page_title: Cessna 208 Caravan
section_title: Development
hierarchical_section_title: Cessna 208 Caravan / Development
caption_attribution_description: The back, white, blue and yellow here are trustworthy. But my scanner isn't trustworthy in the red range of colors, so this is a bit faded looking, compared to the actual print. For example, the "Ex" in "FedEx" should be a vibrant red, instead of this faded orange... 00_14_26A
context_page_description: 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 Cargomaster freighter variant was developed for FedEx.
  The 4 ft longer 208B Super Cargomaster first flew in 1986 and was developed into the passenger 208B Grand Caravan.
  The strutted, high wing 208 typically seats nine passengers in its unpressurized cabin, is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A tractor turboprop and has a fixed tricycle landing gear, floats or skis.
  By November 2017, 2,600 have been delivered and 20 million flight hours logged.
  Caravans are used for flight training, commuter airlines, VIP transport, air cargo and humanitarian missions.
context_section_description: On November 20, 1981, the project was given a go-ahead by Cessna for its Pawnee engineering facility. John Berwick, chief engineer at Pawnee, came with a concept of a single engine, high-wing airplane with a large payload. Berwick had originally approached VP Bill Boettger with the idea and once Dwane Wallace approved it, Berwick told Russ Meyer he would design it.
  The prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in October 1984. A freighter variant without cabin windows was developed at the request of Federal Express as the Cargomaster. Another cargo variant for Federal Express, with a longer fuselage and a cargo pod under the belly, was developed as the 208B Super Cargomaster and flew for the first time in 1986.
  FedEx was initially planning to build twin-engine piston-powered airplanes with Piper Aircraft, but picked the Caravan after surveying it and having flown the prototype, becoming its standard carrier.
  A passenger model, the 208B Grand Caravan, was derived from the Super Cargomaster. Since then, the Caravan has undergone a number of design evolutions, including upgrading the avionics in 2008 to provide a glass cockpit with the Garmin G1000 system. In January 2013 a higher-powered (867 shp from P&WC PT6A-140) version, the Grand Caravan EX, received FAA certification.
  In August 2016, Textron announced that it would move the Cessna 208 production line from its Wichita headquarters to its Independence, Kansas production facility, for manufacture alongside along the piston-powered 172S Skyhawk, 182T Skylane, T206H Turbo Stationair and Cessna TTx; and the Citation M2 light jet. The move was made to make room for production of the Citation Longitude and Denali in Wichita.
caption: A FedEx Super Cargomaster with cargo pod. The Cargomaster and Super Cargomaster variants are built without cabin windows.
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