US company Aviation Alliance, under former Cessna CEO Jack Pelton, is to offer a Cessna 421 turbo-prop upgrade for the charter market.
The company will fit a Cessna 421 Golden Eagle airframe with Pratt & Whitney PT6A-135A turbo-props and other enhancements including winglets, a custom Garmin avionics suite, and vortex generators, calling the upgrade an Excalibur 421.
“The Excalibur 421 is essentially a brand-new airplane,” Pelton said. He added that the company is flying a prototype of the aircraft "proving that our aggressive performance goals are realistic and achievable. There’s nothing flying that can come close to the value proposition and performance that we’re offering.”
Projected performance will have the Excalibur 421 with a max speed of 327 knots with an IFR range of 1420 nm. By contrast, the original 421C had a max speed of 258 kt and a range of 1089 nm with standard fuel.
The aircraft is expected to sell around US$2.5 million and be available at the end of 2013.