With some 1,800 airplanes delivered since its debut in 1985, Cessna's Caravan ranks as an icon among utilitarian singles. It's a massive Pratt & Whitney-powered 675-shp turboprop that stands tall on the ramp, has a maximum payload of some 3,000 pounds, a huge unpressurized cabin, and yet behaves surprisingly like a Cessna Skyhawk. FedEx validated the Caravan concept when it bought 200 airplanes, beginning with early-model CE-208 Caravans-the 208A"Cargomaster" variants with 600-shp engines, no windows, and a 37-foot, seven-inch-long fuselage. In 1988, the CE-208B replaced the original versions; it came with a four-foot fuselage stretch and more power from a 675-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A engine. FedEx, needing more cabin volume, bought more windowless Caravans dubbed "Supercargomasters."
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