2007 Skymasters?
 

A while back I saw a post on either this blog or another site that Cessna was going to make new Skymasters. Has anyone else heard about this?

It seems to me like a new P337 would be a perfect compliment to the on demand airlines, such as Eclipse jet, but for the shorter hauls.

I wonder how much the new ones will cost?

Given what Cessna was showing at OSH, I doubt that they will make a new Skymaster. The new Adam 500 is $1,050,000. The Eclipse is $1.8MM. The Diamond, not pressurized, diesel, is $400K. I doubt that Cessna could compete in the market, enough to warrant the tooling costs.

Also, they seemed to be focused on the LSA aircraft, and redefining their single engine aircraft.

Also, they are working on a Cirrus Killer, a plane that will compete with Cirrus, and that is a lot of work.

I thought there was some speculation about out sourcing the labor, like all American companies seem to do. Then the price of a Skymaster might be affordable; let's face it, there's only a little bit more aluminum in a 337 as there is in a 206. However, the labor to build a 337 would be much more intensive I'd imagine. So in that case it would make sense to build it in a sweat shop and send it back to the US for sale. Anyway, I think Cessna could build and sell new Skymasters for little more than a 206 right now if they wanted to -- and I imagine they have the "tooling" left over since 1980. If they do, my only recommendation to them is to lengthen the cabin by 1 or 2 feet to make room for a baggage area, as well as the seat #5 and 6. But I would also hope they would incorporate all the Riley mods into the project, big engines, etc.

Oh well, sometimes it pays to dream

Yes and just keep dreaming ................... Cessna hasn't built a piston twin for years and I don't think they would start with a Skymaster. We are unique and special individuals. We are very prejustice about airplanes and rightly so we know what we have. But history shows that the Skymaster did not make Cessna what it is today or yesterday. We all question why, but that's who we are. We are the special people who know and understand why we fly. What we fly. The rest will be left unanswered.

Cessna is on a completely different course. One that will make them money. There is really no other motive. It's just business.