Soloy Pathfinder 21

Soloy Pathfinder 21
Role	Utility aircraft
Manufacturer	Cessna/Soloy
Status	Uncertified test bed
Number built	1
Developed from	Cessna 208 Caravan

The Soloy Pathfinder 21 is a twin-engine, single-propeller turboprop aircraft. It is a modification by Soloy Aviation Solutions of a Cessna 208 Caravan airframe. The aircraft is essentially a stock Cessna 208 airframe that has been stretched by 72 inches (1.83 m) with structural reinforcement; and powered by twin Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6D-114A engines in a side-by-side Dual Pac configuration in place of the original single engine.

Soloy modified a Cessna 208 to construct a prototype Pathfinder 21, with its first flight in 1995. The Dual Pac PT6D-114A engine used in the Pathfinder 21 gained its FAA Supplemental Type Certificate in 1997. Soloy was attempting to obtain FAA certification for the aircraft conversion, but after completing over 80 percent of the certification work Soloy announced that it was halting the entire program. The CEO explained that the FAA requires aircraft with more than nine passengers to have the airframe meet tougher restrictions required by Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 25, which is a practical impossibility, since the Cessna 208 does not meet those requirements. This requirement makes it unfeasible to market the airplane as the expanded passenger cabin is a major reason for the stretch to begin with. The prototype has not flown since 1999.

Data from Soloy

General characteristics

Performance

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