The Cessna 162 SkyCatcher Light Sport Aircraft  photo: Cessna

 (3 pix)

 I saw a link fly by my twitter feed for this AvWeb Cessna 162 SkyCatcher article that tells of a new 6 to 10 month delay for deliveries of completed aircraft.  Cessna did deliver the first airplane on 12-18-09, but that went to Rose Pelton, wife of Cessna CEO Jack J. Pelton, which kinda makes the 4Q delivery fulfillment seem a bit like smoke and mirrors.  It looks like this delay is due to some ongoing design alterations that are apparently being implemented after the airframes are built.

 If you’ve followed my coverage of the Boeing 787 program, which has been way behind schedule and has had some serious problems along the way, you know that I’ve remained very optimistic about the potential success of the project.  So, I’m not necessarily going to throw an airframer under the bus just because they’ve had some developmental problems.  But in Boeing’s case, I’ve seen on paper and in reality a truly remarkable concept that is also stretching the technology envelope.  It’s actually been pretty easy for me to still believe in the 787.

 But with the Cessna SkyCatcher, I have to say that I’ve been scratching my head ever since I first saw the concept aircraft on display at Oshkosh 2006.  I realize I might be in the minority here, but I don’t find the airplane attractive at all.  It doesn’t look good to me, and in fact, it doesn’t even look ‘right’.  And, I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist (or an aeronautical engineer) to look at the concept airframe and think, hmmm, looks a little lacking in the vertical tail.