Diesel-powered Cessna Skyhawk to make its Oshkosh debut as certified plane

Textron Aviation’s newest certified Cessna will make its certified debut next week at the AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wis.

The Turbo Skyhawk JT-A will be among a dozen Cessna and Beechcraft planes the Wichita-based company will showcase at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual event, set for July 24-30.

Its aircraft lineup will include: Citation CJ4 and M2 business jets; Beechcraft King Air 250 and 350i twin turboprops; Grand Caravan single engine turboprop; Beechcraft Baron and Bonanza piston airplanes; Cessna TTx; Turbo Stationair; Skylane, and Skyhawk piston airplanes. Its lineup totals 12 aircraft compared with 11 at last year’s AirVenture.

The Skyhawk JT-A differs from the traditional Skyhawk in that the turbocharged piston airplane burns Jet-A fuel using a diesel-powered Continental CD-155 engine. Textron Aviation announced in June it had received European Aviation Safety Agency and Federal Aviation Administration certification to begin deliveries and sales of the Independence-built airplane. The plane retails for $438,000 in the U.S. and Europe.

Textron Aviation also said in a news release Tuesday about its AirVenture activities that it continues to make progress on its Cessna Denali, a new single-engine turboprop it unveiled at last year’s show. Engineers on the Denali program have begun fabricating the first static and fatigue test articles of the airplane, which is expected to make its first flight in 2018.

Textron Aviation officials think the Denali, which will be manufactured at the company’s Plant IV on its east campus in Wichita, will open up a new market for sales of Cessna airplanes.

This story was originally published July 18, 2017 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Diesel-powered Cessna Skyhawk to make its Oshkosh debut as certified plane."