Cessna Grand Caravan EX
From its initial flight in 1982 and first delivery in 1985, the Cessna Caravan has been known as a robust utility aircraft. The first model featured the Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) PT6A-114 with 600 shaft horsepower (SHP) and caught the interest of FedEx, which then ordered 177 of an extended cargo version – the Cessna 208A. Designed from the start to be an easy-to-maintain workhorse, with fixed gear, large doors, and a simple unpressurized airframe, the product line has grown substantially.
Fast forward now to 2026. Producing 3,100 Caravans in 41 years, flying over 25 million hours, and certified in 100 countries, it has proven itself to provide amazing service. What started as a very utilitarian passenger and cargo aircraft, the Caravan not only still provides extensive cargo hauling service, but also an increasing number of commuter and executive configurations – including amphibious capabilities. In our Twin & Turbine April 2026 issue, Grant Boyd wrote about Mark Baker’s experience with his Cessna Caravan, and the utility it has provided him over the years.
Since the original aircraft rolled out from the factory, the engine has been upgraded from the original PT6A-114, first to the PT6A-114A with 675 SHP in the Cessna Caravan and the 867 SHP PT6A-140 in the extended Grand Caravan.
I’ve been able to experience multiple Cessna Caravans this year, as a passenger and pilot. On an Air Journey trip in Costa Rica, we chartered two Caravans, one of the early models, and a later Garmin G1000-equipped aircraft. These Caravans allowed us to leave our aircraft in Liberia and travel to a smaller airport closer to the rainforest and the Arenal volcano. It was a perfect use of the Caravan.
Recently, Morgan Lane of Textron provided me access to a brand-new Cessna Caravan to evaluate in California. Arriving at Montgomery-Gibbs airport (KMYF) in San Diego, complete with an executive interior and cargo pod, it definitely attracted attention.
Exterior
With the familiar Cessna high-wing design, wing struts, and tubular spring steel main landing gear struts, the walk-around is very familiar to a Cessna pilot, except for the scale. The wingspan is 52 ft, the length is nearly 38 ft., and the tail is close to 15 ft. When you add amphibious floats, it soars above the ground or water.
This Caravan had the optional $112,800 cargo pod, an essential and popular option if you want to carry several passengers and bulky cargo or simply want more room in the cabin. The pod is huge, 87.3 cubic feet, and capable of carrying 870 lbs. in three compartments. If you choose this option, it is mutually exclusive of the FIKI option.
The Caravan is designed for easy access to the fuselage. The original design as a cargo aircraft necessitated separate doors for crew and cargo, and this feature alone makes it one of the easiest airplanes to load. The Caravan features two crew doors, easily accessible through improved integrated steps in this model. The main cabin is equipped with two doors, one a very large 49 in. by 50 in. two-piece door on the left of the fuselage, and a 24 in. by 50 in. airstair door on the right. This combination is extremely helpful when loading a variety of cargo and passengers into the cabin. With a nearly 16 ft. cabin, from crew seats to aft baggage area, the flexibility for carrying large objects is incredible.
The ease of access design also extends to the engine pre-flight. The Caravan has the best access to the engine compartment of any of the turboprops I fly. When you open the cowling panels, you or your maintenance technicians have nearly unfettered access to virtually all components, making service more efficient. The aircraft is equipped with a McCauley 106-inch, three-blade, full-feathering, reversible pitch propeller.
With a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 8,000 lbs. and an empty weight of 5,006 lbs. for this plane, you can fill the tanks with 2,224 lbs. of fuel and still have a payload of 770 lbs. for crew, passengers, and cargo.
Cabin Options
The Caravan is certified under FAR Part 23 for two crew and up to nine seats. A typical executive configuration is one club of four seats and two singles. A three-person bench seat is also available. You can add up to 2 additional seats with a waiver offered in some countries. In the US, with a waiver, the aircraft can have up to 14 passengers. If I were operating with that many passengers, the Grand Caravan EX would be a better option.
The seating configuration is very flexible, and operators can also create a combi layout, with cargo and passengers.
The Caravan I flew was equipped with the Oasis executive interior from Yingling, one of Textron’s completion partners. It features leather seats with two crew seats, club seating for four, and two additional seats in the cabin, and a bench seat. With a large 64-inch wide cabin and 54 inches tall, passengers can be very comfortable moving about, and you can load just about anything. Coupled with the cargo pod, it is difficult to run out of room.
Flight Deck
The Caravan is equipped with the latest Garmin G1000 NXi, with system 7 software and hardware. Textron aptly names it the “Intelligent Flight Deck”. This version includes advanced features also found in the latest G3000 system. The system includes 3-D SafeTaxi, runway occupancy awareness, and advanced traffic display on the PFD and MFD utilizing the diversity transponders with Garmin’s CDTI-assisted visual separation (CAVS). The latter allows you to identify a target on the MFD and have continually updated information where you need it, on the PFD in front of the pilots.
The Garmin GDL 60 supports wireless database updating, and of course, flight plan transfer with your EFB, as well as connectivity to display weather on the device. The Caravan includes the King KN-63 DME as standard, and the airplane I flew was equipped with the optional KN-87 ADF for international operations. Yes, some countries still use NDBs for approaches, without GPS overlays.
The audio panel and associated controls on the MFD provide the crew with granular volume adjustments for virtually every avionic component. The panel has a high glareshield, which can make for some challenges for visibility. The seats are very comfortable; however, for very tall pilots over 6 ft. 3 in., the head clearance may be an issue since they don’t have vertical adjustment. It was fine for me at 6 ft. 2 in., with adequate clearance above my headset.
Flying the Caravan
For my test flight, I decided to fly from my home airport, Montgomery-Gibbs KMYF in San Diego, to Big Bear City (L35) in the California San Bernardino mountains, accompanied by Textron pilot Tom Buell. If you haven’t flown into Big Bear City, it is a scenic area with a beautiful lake, great skiing, biking, and hiking.
The airport is at 6,752 MSL surrounded by mountains. Since the Caravan is frequently flown at 10-12,000 MSL, it was a good flight profile to evaluate the aircraft.
The plane is tall, and Cessna has improved the pilot entry process with improved steps into the flight deck via the crew doors. With the pre-flight completed, passengers seated, and the many doors secured, it was an easy process to start the P&WC PT6A engine. After setting the power lever to idle, propeller to max, fuel condition lever off, and testing the fire and annunciator systems, it was time to light the fire!
Fuel pump on, starter switch set, as Ng (N2) increased to 12%, I moved the fuel condition lever to low idle and monitored ITT (max 1090 °C for 2 seconds). At 52% Ng, the starter is off, and verified the generator was online and charging. After avionics were fully energized and our clearance was received, it was time to taxi to runway 28R. The Garmin 3D Safe Taxi and routing are nice features of the system. I’ve used them in various aircraft, and they are especially helpful at busy airports and at night or in low-visibility conditions.
There are 28 steps on the Before Takeoff Checklist, which may sound extensive; however, many are common to most aircraft and can be accomplished quickly. In practice, many could be accomplished even before taxi, which would expedite the takeoff process when holding short of the runway.
With takeoff clearance received, I applied full power, and the Caravan quickly accelerated to our Vr of 70 KIAS, with 20° flaps. After retracting the flaps at 90 KIAS, we continued our initial climb at 95 KIAS, north along the San Diego coastline. It flies like a somewhat heavy, but very smooth, Cessna piston single, similar to a T210 or T206.
The Caravan has an outstanding view for both the pilots and the passengers. From the flight deck, we had an expansive vista of Southern California, spanning from the very large crew side windows across the windshield. We cruised towards Big Bear initially at 10,500 MSL. We weren’t in a hurry, so I reduced the power (TQ 1500 pounds, Prop RPM 1750). This gave us a TAS of 167kts with a fuel burn of 321 pph. We climbed to 12,500 MSL to clear the south mountain ridge, then descended into the Big Bear valley, west of the airport, directly over the ski area and the lake.
The approach and landing would be familiar to any Cessna pilot, just a few knots faster than the piston singles. The first notch of flaps (10°) can be extended at 175 KIAS, 20° at 150 KIAS, and 30° below 125 KIAS. Our approach angle was slightly over 4 degrees, which was easy for the Caravan. I used full flaps and set up for a Vref of around 75 KIAS. Main wheels touched first, as expected, with a pitch of 5 degrees. Lowering the nose to touchdown, power lever to beta, and the Caravan was ready to turn off the runway. I was gentle on the brakes; however, heavier braking would have resulted in a ground roll of 800 feet and a total distance of 1700 feet. Nice performance for a landing weight of 6,700 pounds.
Departing runway 08 at Big Bear, we climbed at 110 KIAS and over 1,000 FPM. The flight back to KMYF was great, with a nice view of the Torrey Pines Golf Course and the Pacific. Entering left downwind for runway 28L at 100 KIAS, extending full flaps, we did a short field, 6° steep approach, slowing to 75 KIAS over the threshold.
The Big Sibling
If the Cessna Caravan isn’t large enough to carry everything you want, simply purchase the Cessna Grand Caravan EX–208 B. This model isn’t simply a stretch version; it has some significant differences beyond the four feet longer fuselage and cabin, at 41 feet 7 inches. The aircraft is 8 inches taller, with a slightly
different wing design to accommodate a takeoff weight increase of 800 pounds to 8,807 pounds, slightly more fuel, and a useful load increase of 367 pounds. This all equates to a full fuel payload increase of approximately 300 pounds.
This larger model is powered by P&WC PT6A-140 with 867 SHP, and a TBO of 4,000 hours. With this increased power, the cruise speed also increases 8-10 knots to 185 KTAS. The takeoff and landing distances increase a small amount, with higher altitudes and temperatures having a more significant increase with the Grand Caravan. All these comparisons are with the cargo pod option, since most operators select that as well.
We mentioned earlier that operators can choose either the Cargo Pod or FIKI with the Caravan, the Grand Caravan EX, which allows operators to select both. An important consideration if you want both additional cargo storage and FIKI.
I was able to explore the Grand Caravan EX at Aero Friedrichshafen, a few weeks after flying the Caravan. The extended fuselage is indeed helpful for those larger loads, and exploring the exterior and interior, it would be a good choice. This plane featured both the cargo pod and the FIKI options, which were useful since it had been flown from Wichita to Germany for this event. This leather interior was Cessna’s executive Saddle Sport, double club, and a bench seat. Couple this with the eye-catching paint, and it was an impressive aircraft.
Summary
Whether you’re hauling cargo into a remote strip or ferrying executives in leather-appointed comfort, or both, the Cessna Caravans offer operators tremendous flexibility and utility. Pilots transitioning to these aircraft, especially if they have experience in other Cessna aircraft, will find an easy path to turboprop operation. The systems are straightforward, the Garmin G1000 NXi avionics are powerful for any mission, and the load-carrying capabilities are among the most flexible.
After 40-plus years, operating in over 100 countries, and 25 million flight hours, the Caravan has earned its legend status — and after flying the plane, I understand exactly why pilots and operators keep coming back to this capable aircraft.
