Today’s Top Pick is a 2024 Cessna T206H.

Ever since its arrival in the mid-1960s, the Cessna 206 has been desirable for its versatility.

The aircraft is known for its double cargo doors, designed to allow the loading of a 55-gallon drum and other heavy, awkward items, but that big cabin has always been an inviting place for passengers as well. Over time this utility design has evolved to become an all-around personal aircraft capable of moving furniture to a new home or transporting your family on a luxury vacation.

If the easiest route—or possibly the only route—to your next destination includes a backcountry turf strip, the T206H is the right airplane for the job. It also fits right in when rolling up to a posh FBO serving high-end resorts.

With a  maximum takeoff weight of 3,600 pounds, the T206H can lift more people and cargo than most piston singles while still providing solid cross-country cruising speed. While pilots will appreciate this aircraft’s short-field capability and easy handling, passengers will remember its comfortable seats, legroom, and factory air conditioning.

When they say the airplane is just like an SUV, they mean it as a compliment.  

This 2024 Cessna 206 is close to brand-new, having logged just 50 hours. The aircraft is equipped with a 310 hp Textron Lycoming TIO-540-AJ1A engine and a heated three-blade McCauley propeller.

The IFR panel features the Garmin G1000 NXi avionics suite with ADS-B In and Out, wireless database and flight plan loading, Garmin Electronic Stability Protection, integrated VFR sectional charts, IFR high and low charts with Night Mode, vertical situation display, and selectable visual approaches.

Pilots looking for a roomy, powerful and capable late-model load carrier that is ideal for family and business travel should consider this 2024 Cessna T206H, which is available for $1.15 million on AircraftForSale.

If you’re interested in financing, you can do so with FLYING Finance. Use their airplane loan calculator to calculate your estimated monthly payments. Or, to speak with an aviation finance specialist, visit flyingfinance.com.

• FLYING Magazine: We Fly: Cessna 206
• FLYING Magazine: Cessna 206 Stationair
• FLYING Magazine: Cessna Turbo 206 on Amphibious Floats
• FLYING Magazine: FLYING’s Air Compare: Cessna 206 vs. Cessna 210
• Plane & Pilot: Soloy Cessna 206 Mark II
• Plane & Pilot: Cessna 206 Stationair
• AVweb: Cessna Gains Approval for Unleaded/VLL Fuels for Three Models
• The Aviation Consumer: Used Aircraft Guide: Cessna 206 Stationair

The post This 2024 Cessna T206H Is a Load-Lifting, Nearly New ‘AircraftForSale’ Top Pick appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“This is the first high-wing design by Van’s,” notes Greg Hughes, Van’s vice president. “We began flying it last month and it flies well, but I want to stress that it is the engineering prototype so it is functionally pretty close to the final design.”

The purpose of the all-metal RV-15 will be backcountry flying. The website touts that this airplane will allow the pilot to “go places, get dirty and catch fish.”

The RV-15 is a clean-sheet design, says Hughes, although Van’s fans may notice a family resemblance to other company designs through the cowling and the distinctive P-51 Mustang-inspired tail. The landing gear of the high-wing is described as backcountry friendly, with an internal shock absorber.

As this story was being prepared, Van’s Aircraft was still test flying the prototype, and had not made a decision as to whether it would make the trip to EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, later this month.

“When it’s ready, it’s ready,” says Hughes, emphasizing it is not about a timetable to follow, rather it’s about making sure the engineering and performance aspect of the aircraft meet Van’s expectations.

“What we have learned from the engineering-prototype-article airplane will inform and drive any tweaks and adjustments we will make in developing the kit airplane. The kit airplane needs to be highly buildable. Aesthetic form will follow function, and the engineering prototype’s functionality is pretty close to final design. It is designed and constructed…in a way that allows flexibility in configuration, and ability to make small changes that we would make in the first flying article.”

Hughes added that Van’s is not taking orders for the RV-15 just yet.

Van’s has been very closemouthed on the specifications of the new design, saying they don’t want to give any details until the aircraft is perfect. What they have released thus far: It is a high-wing, backcountry capable, all-metal design that will feature a control stick. According to the website, the engine will be a Lycoming, the aircraft will have seats (“yes”) and “lots” of baggage room. 

The Van’s RV-15 will premier as a tailwheel-equipped aircraft, and a tricycle version will follow.

About Van’s Aircraft

Van’s Aircraft entered the kit airplanes market in 1972 with low-wing, all-metal designs. 

The designs range in size from the single-place RV-3, and several dual-place designs ranging from side-by-side to tandem seating and the four-place RV-10. Van’s designs are known for their versatility. They can be built for aerobatics, cross-country flights, and there is a special light sport aircraft (S-LSA) that can be purchased as a completed build. If the rows and rows of Van’s RVs at AirVenture are any indication, Van’s Aircraft owns the lion’s share of the kitplane market.

The post Van’s Aircraft Celebrates 50th Anniversary With a High-Wing Design appeared first on FLYING Magazine.