Textron Aviation’s Beechcraft Denali turboprop single will make its public debut next week at the Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida. The Denali’s all-new, clean-sheet GE Catalyst engine received FAA approval on February 27. The Catalyst incorporates a number of high-tech computer and additive manufacturing (3D printing) elements, reducing parts count and increasing performance and efficiency.
Unfortunate name – reminds one of Ail Barber and the 40 thieves with its murders, body mutilations, grateful slaves, death by boiling in oil etc… What is wrong with Cessna?
What are you on about? It’s a Native American name. Chevy has a vehicle trim level called that, and, hey, if “he” doesn’t rename it, we have the tallest mountain in the USA also called that.
Nothing about Ali Baba.
I’m not sure who will buy it-someone who wants something slower than a TBM 900 or someone who wants something smaller than a Pilatus with an unproven engine. I was very unimpressed with its build quality when I saw it at OSH last year. Maybe a Single Engine Conquest II would have been better.
Didn’t the federal government just rename Mount Denali back to Mount McKinley? If so, wouldn’t’ it make more sense for Cessna to call this bird something more timeless, like C-900?
Something about where to nose and windscreen come together just doesn’t look right. Maybe it looks better in person but sitting next to a TBM 960 or Pilatus it’s going to be a tough sell. Maybe Textron is counting on tariffs to boost sales.