OSHKOSH—Textron Aviation’s Beechcraft Denali is making its public debut at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, where the new turboprop single attracted a stream of interest at the manufacturer’s chalet.
The P2 aircraft on display is one of three flying Denalis undergoing flight testing; the fleet has accumulated 1,500 flight hr. to date, Textron Aviation officials said. Used for interior testing, the clean-sheet design turboprop arrived at Wittman Regional Airport July 22 after flying from the manufacturer’s headquarters in Wichita, Kansas.
First announced in July 2016, the Denali’s development has been slowed by supply chain issues and delays in certification of its new, 1,300-shp GE Aviation Catalyst engine, the first clean-sheet turboprop engine design in the past 50 years. The Denali will also feature Garmin’s G3000 avionics suite with integrated Autothrottle and Autoland.
“We’ve pressed the button and from all initial looks at it, it’s working really well,” a Textron Aviation flight operations pilot said of the Autoland functionality, which guides an aircraft to land on a runway if a pilot becomes incapacitated.
Textron Aviation is targeting certification of the aircraft for 2025, Beech technical marketing specialist Martin Tuck said. The target price in next-year’s dollars, which is adjusted annually, is $6.95 million, he said.
The manufacturer has not commented on orders for the Denali. “We have a good order book,” Tuck said.
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