Inside The $3 Million Cessna Grand Caravan EX

Inside The $3 Million Cessna Grand Caravan EX Plane

0:00 - Intro
This is the Cessna Grand Caravan EX, an aircraft that maintains its 208B designation, but gives operators a great deal more power, thanks to a new Pratt & Whitney turboprop engine developed expressly for the EX. Today we’re going inside the Cessna Grand Caravan EX to talk about everything you need to know about this legendary aircraft.

0:47 - Cabin
Likewise, you have plenty of choices when outfitting a Cessna Grand Caravan EX's cabin. Cessna typically will not sell this airplane with a finished interior, because many buyers choose to customize it. The cabin has a width of 5 feet 4 inches or 1.63 meters. While height is 4 feet 6 inches or 1.37 meters, length is 21 feet 4 inches or 6.5 meters. There are four exterior doors-one at each pilot position plus an air-stair passenger door aft right and an oversized, fold-up and fold-out cargo door aft left.
While the Cessna Grand Caravan EX can seat a maximum of 14 people, in executive configuration the airplane seats six to eight passengers, plus one or two pilots. The single seats have the same swivel and recline features and similar rich veneers and fabrics. You can install in-flight entertainment systems that almost match those in the priciest business jets, too.
On most executive Caravans, the lavatory consists of a flip-up part of the rear bench seat and an underlying and dreaded chemical bowl. However, some Caravans have been equipped with electric flushing toilets, full vanities and sinks, and even exterior plug-ins for showering, and generator power. Some have also been outfitted with elaborate bars and microwave ovens.

2:37 - Cockpit
The Cessna Grand Caravan EX’s cockpit is comfortably spacious, more like a small business aircraft than a light airplane, and it is both utilitarian and well-appointed.
An integrated glass cockpit is pretty much a standard requirement these days, and the Caravan has long featured Garmin’s G1000 flight deck, now delivered in the NXi version with faster processors and added features such as visual approaches and HSI map overlays. ADS-B OUT is standard, and ADS-B IN is optional. VFR and IFR charts can also now be displayed on the moving map. Garmin’s SurfaceWatch alerts pilots if they are about to take off or land on the wrong runway or on a taxiway or too short a runway. Noteworthy is the newest feature that comes with NXi, the com frequency decoding.
Caravans are approved for flight into known icing when equipped with the TKS ice-protection system. The TKS tank holds 20 gallons or 75 liters and provides 3.5 hours of normal anti-icing operation or 45 minutes at the high-flow setting. The propeller has its own TKS slinger ring, which helps protect the nose of the airplane. The windshield also is protected with a TKS spray bar. The TKS system is much cleaner looking than the deicer boot system found on earlier Caravans, which had boots mounted on almost every forward-facing surface.

4:42 - Engine and Performance
The Cessna Grand Caravan EX's new Pratt & Whitney PT6A-140 has a TBO of 4,000 hours and an average hourly fuel burn of 60 gallons or 230 liters, and coupled with a McCauley 4-blade aluminum, constant speed, full feathering propeller, brings a lot more power, which does good things all around for the Cessna Grand Caravan EX.
Arguably the most noteworthy enhancement is the Caravan’s improved climb rate, which is 1,275 feet per minute or 389 meters per minute. The useful load is 3,532 lbs or 1,602 kg, and the full-fuel payload is 1,286 lbs or 583 kg.
The Grand Caravan EX needs just 2,160 feet or 658 meters to clear a 50-foot-tall obstacle. Landing distance is 1,836 feet or 560 meters, landing speeds are nearly identical, and the maximum operating altitude is 25,000 feet or 7,620 meters.
Range is slightly lower on the EX, but full tanks will get you 832 no-wind nautical miles down the road, and a maximum range of 912 nautical miles or 1,689 kilometers.
With a true airspeed of right around 195 knots, the EX is about 15 knots faster than its predecessor. With the big cargo pod below, that top speed drops by as much as 10 knots.

8:43 - Purchase and Charter Price
The base purchase price for a new Cessna Grand Caravan EX is $2.7 million before options, and the charter price ranges between $1,600 and $2,000 per hour. Naturally, prices will vary depending on availability, fuel prices, ground fees, and more.

9:02 - Operating Cost
While the total fixed cost is roughly $180,000 to $220,000 per year, the average hourly operating cost is estimated at $1,200 to $1,500.

9:14 - Outro

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