Caravan

LeRoy Cook, J.D. Lewis

Description

Known for being one of the most versatile and robust aircraft ever produced, the Cessna Caravan has become the DC-3 workhorse of our current times as Cessna nicknames it, a "Swiss Army Knife with wings"! This pilot favorite does it all, on land or sea: bush flying, geophysical exploration and mapping, patrol, air ambulance, military, sightseeing, corporate, commuter airline, skydiving, cargo, missionary and humanitarian flying, and much more. The Caravan's almost legendary reputation of safety and reliability remains a comforting constant for those who affectionately refer to the aircraft as their flying SUV," Suburban with a turbine," or aerial truck."From its coverage of the Caravan's colorful history to its innovative-yet-conventional aircraft systems, to interesting pilot stories, tips, and beautiful photography throughout, Lewis and Cook's book is both entertaining and enlighteningCaravan edutainment at its best! The chapters parallel flight phases on a typical mission, and are chock-full of experience, insights and trivia from preflight to postflighta truly amazing story for all pilots interested in this legendary powerhouse.Every chapter contains a special topic along with the related phase of flight, comprised of Lewis and Cook's coverage of pertinent Caravan characteristics, or stories told by pilots flying Caravans in unusual circumstances and faraway places. Two sections of color photography are included, and multiple appendices with further information on specifications and industry contacts for Caravan owners, as well as extensive footnotes and bibliography. Foreword by Steve Stafford.

Informations

• Publié par: Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc.
• Date de parution: 14 octobre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 4
• EAN13: 9781619549432
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 9 Mo

Extrait

Caravan: Cessna’s Swiss Army Knife with Wings! by J.D. Lewis and LeRoy Cook
Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc. 7005 132nd Place SE • Newcastle, WA 98059 [phone] • email [e-mail] Internet: www.asa2fly.com
© 2008 J.D. Lewis and LeRoy Cook All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. None of the material in this book supersedes any operational documents or procedures issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, aircraft and avionics manufacturers, flight schools, or the operators of aircraft. While the authors have made every effort to ensure accuracy of the information in this book, the information herein is sold without warranty, either implied or expressed. The opinions contained herein are solely those of the authors and not the publisher, the manufacturer, or any flight training entity.
Published 2008 by Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc. eBook published 2019 by Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc.
ASA-CARAVAN-EB Softcover ISBN 978-1-56027-682-1 ePub ISBN 978-1-61954-943-2
Cover photos courtesy Cessna Aircraft Company. All other photo credits are listed in parentheses at the end of the corresponding caption.



Foreword
C208 Short Strip
“As a movie stunt pilot who had to takeoff and land a 208 on just 400 feet of dirt up in the Los Angeles mountains, I first read CARAVAN cover to cover... and then read it again. Thanks, Lewis & Cook!”
—Steve Stafford
I’ve flown as a motion picture stunt pilot on numerous productions over the past two decades. Normally, I’m hired months before production begins to finesse the endless challenges that flying on a production entails. Even though I hold a current FAA-Approved Motion Picture Flight Manual and Waiver, each individual flight must be approved by the governing FSDO. Permission must be granted by local property owners and governing municipalities and special insurance certificates need to be generated and distributed to all participating parties.
That was not the case on the last Will Ferrell film I worked on. I got a call from a producer of “The Goods,” stating they needed to film a parachute jump plane taking off and landing on a dirt road they had found up in the mountains, north of Los Angeles. The shot was scheduled for the following week. I asked what kind of plane they wanted and the length of the “dirt” road and was met with a pronounced silence on the other end of the line. In other words, the producer had no idea what the shot entailed. After asking a few more questions, I jumped in our helicopter and flew out to their location. The dirt road lay on a somewhat flat mesa surrounded by steep mountains, rising up on all sides. The road was potholed from years of erosion. I paced off the usable section of the 12-foot wide road and found it was just a bit over 450 feet long. No question about it—if it could be done, a short 208, outfitted with a jump door, was the best choice. I flew back to our hangar and pulled out our 208. I removed the seats, drained all but 15 gallons of fuel per side and began flight testing. Sure enough, I could consistently get airborne in less than 300 feet and land and stop in less than 200 hundred feet.
I called the producer and said I would accept the job. I located a jump school and contracted to use their 208. The day of the shoot, I circled over my ground coordinator and fuel truck driver, Jon Bottari, and radioed I was setting up to land. The day before, Jon and I had marked off a ten-foot section of the approach end of the dirt road. If my mains weren’t firmly planted on terra firma in those first ten feet, Jon would call an abort and I would go around, as the end of the road dropped off into a steep canyon. I set up an incredibly tight pattern, slowed to full flaps and then hung it on the prop. With the stall horn blaring and my mains brushing the approach end scrub, I chopped power and dropped in, well within the first ten feet. I stopped without reverse in just over 180 feet of the bumpiest runway I’ve ever landed on. What other airplane besides the Caravan could safely do that? The subsequent takeoffs and landings went off without a hitch and I returned the plane to the jump school later that evening.
The Caravan is one of my favorite airplanes—and a favorite of some of my actor friends who have Caravans—a plane that is itself a true “Star” deserving top billing.
Also deserving top billing are Lewis and Cook. If you’ve not yet had the privilege of meeting John (“J.D.”) Lewis or LeRoy Cook in one of their other written works, or better yet in person, then it is my pleasure to introduce them to you now. I leave you in their exceptionally knowledgeable and capable hands.


Steve Stafford
StudioWings, Inc.
www.StudioWings.com




Cessna’s mighty Caravan has been turning heads ever since it leapt off the engineer team’s drawing board in 1982. Step aboard as we take you on a fun tour of this amazingly versatile airplane. (Photo courtesy of Cessna Aircraft Company)
Introduction
The Cessna Aircraft Company revolutionized the definition of “utility aircraft” when it introduced its gargantuan single-engine propjet in 1985. By its 20th anniversary in 2005, the worldwide Caravan fleet had multiplied to 1,500 Caravans and accumulated 8 million flight hours, averaging nearly 70,000 hours per month! Air Labrador leads the pack with one of its Caravans that alone has logged over 24,000 hours. Rugged, reliable, and versatile, the Caravan operates in over 70 countries. Without question, the Caravan, with its impressive 98% dispatch reliability rate, has become the modern DC-3 workhorse of our era!
From transporting live edible eels to flying the New York Times, the robust Caravan does it all: bush flying, geophysical exploration and mapping, patrol, air ambulance, military, sightseeing, corporate, commuter airline, skydiving, cargo, missionary and humanitarian flying—you name it, by land or sea! The Caravan Amphibian, for example, is a favorite among sightseeing vacationers splashing down in the Keys looking for that “cheeseburger in paradise.” It’s easy to see why Cessna affectionately calls the Caravan “a Swiss Army Knife, with wings! ”
To meet its myriad missions, on wheels, skis, or floats, Cessna has offered a wide model line of Caravan models: Grand Caravan 208B, Super Cargomaster 208B, Caravan I 208A, Cargomaster 208A, Caravan Amphibian, Caravan Floatplane as well as the U-27A military version of the Caravan. Seating varies from 2 seats on the two cargo versions up to 14 seats depending on the country and local aviation regulations.
Cessna reported that approximately 65 percent of the Caravans manufactured in 2003 were going to owner-operators. Pilots want the added safety of a turbine engine and the extra legroom and load carrying capability of the Caravan. Some call it “Suburban with a turbine” as well as their “flying SUV.” Other nicknames include “Van,” “aerial truck,” and “Bushmaster.” Over the years the Caravan has evolved from a tough and gritty pick-up truck to a luxurious personal SUV. But regardless of how the bed of the sled looks behind the pilot, one thing remains constant: the Caravan is known worldwide as a reliable workaholic.
This book has been written in response to the immense popularity of this one-of-a-kind airplane. It has an amazing story to tell. So popular is the Caravan that it seems to have a worldwide fan club. This plane even has its very own “Caravan Pilots” website dedicated to it, where Van aficionados can talk about their favorite airplane—something unique to only the most unique/popular of airplanes. Not only that, the Caravan has become such a household name in the aviation community that it is even one of the few airplanes used on the flight planning portion of the FAA’s ATP knowledge exam.
From its colorful history, to its innovative-yet-conventional aircraft systems, to interesting pilot stories, to 208 tips, we hope you’ll find this book both entertaining and enlightening—Caravan edutainment at its best! Chock full of experience, insights, and trivia—from pre-flight to post-flight—this book was written by pilots for pilots. Even the layout parallels your flight phases on a typical flight. So please, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride as we take you on a scenic tour de force of this amazing monster of an airplane they call C-A-R-A-V-A-N!
Happy Caravanning,
Lewis & Cook



About Lewis & Cook
To simply say that LeRoy Cook is an “aviation enthusiast” would be a profound understatement. In a word, Cook has been eating, sleeping, breathing, and living aviation for some four decades. Cook is a Midwest-based flight school owner, aviation writer, and flight instructor who has been helping countless pilots better understand all facets of aviation since December 1971 when his first “CFI” column debuted in Private Pilot magazine. In addition, Cook has written articles for Flying, Twin & Turbine, AOPA Flight Training, Air Progress, Custom Planes , and KITPLANES . He also participated in the writing of two books: 101 Things To Do With Your Private Pilot License (Third Edition) as well as American Aviation: An Illustrated History (2nd Edition). He’s a Gold Seal flight instructor with single- and multi-engine airplane, instrument, and glider ratings, an ATP with single and multi-engine airplane ratings, and a commercial pilot with glider and single-engine sea ratings. Even still, Cook fancies himself as “a student pilot who learns from his students daily.”
A former FedEx Caravan cargo pilot, J.D. Lewis is a Caravan instructor at FlightSafety International. Lewis flies and writes from Wichita, Kansas, the “Air Capital” an