CESSNA 208 GRAND CARAVAN

The Cessna 208 is a high-wing braced cabin monoplane powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprop in tractor configuration. The cabin has room for nine passengers and two crew when used as a passenger aircraft with four doors: one for each crew member, an airstair door on the right side of the cabin and a cargo door on the left. The aircraft can be optionally fitted with an underslung cargo pod.

The basic 208 airframe has a fixed tricycle landing gear but can also be fitted with various types of landing gear, allowing it to operate in a wide variety of environments. Some common adaptations include floats with retractable landing gear on the Caravan Amphibian model and skis.

The Caravan interior can be outfitted with seats or as a cargo compartment. The standard high-density airline configuration has four rows of 1-2 seating behind the two seats in the cockpit. This variant is capable of holding up to thirteen passengers, although it is marketed as being able to make a profit carrying just four. The cabin can be configured in a low density passenger configuration, with 1-1 seating, as a combination of passengers and cargo, or as a strictly cargo aircraft. Many variants include an underbelly cargo pod, which can be used for additional freight capacity, or for passenger baggage. A number of Caravans are operated as skydiving aircraft with the left-side cargo hatch converted to a roll-up door.

The 208B Grand Caravan was officially named the 208B Caravan but marketed as the Grand Caravan. The 208B is 4 ft (1.2 m) longer than the 208; extending the cabin by the same amount.  It was originally certified as a two-seater cargo version on October 9, 1986 and as an 11-seater passenger aircraft on December 13, 1989.

Production had reached 347 aircraft as of May 2017.

Aircraft of similar role, configuration and era are: GippsAero GA10, PAC 750XL, Pilatus PC-12, Quest Kodiak.