CESSNA F406 CARAVAN II

It is a development of the Cessna 404 Titan with two Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprop engines. The aircraft first flew on 22 September 1983, and was produced by Reims Aviation until the company’s 2013 demise. In 2014, aircraft engine manufacturer Continental Motors, Inc., American subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, partnered with French-based marketer ASI Innovation to purchase rights to the F406; Continental Motors intends to restart production, including a diesel piston engine variant, with marketing to be carried out by ASI.

The F406 is aimed at passenger and small cargo transport, and civilian and military surveillance. For extra cargo capacity a cargo pod can be fitted to the belly of the aircraft. The Surmar is a new maritime surveillance version of the aircraft with extra equipment such as a 360 degree radar.

Though the F406 is more expensive to operate than single-engine aircraft of the same passenger capacity such as the Cessna 208 Caravan, having two engines makes it comply with European regulations regarding commercial operations, which only allow multi-engine aircraft for commercial instrument flight.

In March 2014 Reims Aviation was acquired by Chinese-owned Continental Motors Inc and renamed ASI Aviation, two remaining incomplete airframes are finished in France before a probable shift to Mobile, Alabama with new avionics, electrical and hydraulic systems, a new autopilot and an engine choice of current P&WC PT6A-135 or pistons : Continental GTSIO-520 and/or Continental CD-310 diesel. The Type Certificate transferred only had approval to produce spare parts and not the whole aircraft.

Aircraft of similar role, configuration and era are: Beechcraft Model 99, Cessna 208 Caravan, Dornier Do 228.