The Cessna 408 SkyCourier is an American utility aircraft designed and built by the Cessna division of Textron Aviation.
It was launched on November 28, 2017, with an order for 50 from FedEx Express, with the aircraft designed for the needs of its FedEx Feeder service.
It made its first flight on May 17, 2020, and was type certified on March 11, 2022. FedEx took delivery of the first production model on May 9, 2022.
Cessna 408 SkyCourier
Forward section of the SkyCourier prototype
Cessna is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing corporation also headquartered in Wichita. The company produced small, piston-powered aircraft, as well as business jets. For much of the mid-to-late 20th century, Cessna was one of the highest-volume and most diverse producers of general aviation aircraft in the world. It was founded in 1927 by Clyde Cessna and Victor Roos and was purchased by General Dynamics in 1985, then by Textron, Inc. in 1992. In March 2014, when Textron purchased the Beechcraft and Hawker Aircraft corporations, Cessna ceased operations as a subsidiary company, and joined the others as one of the three distinct brands produced by Textron Aviation.
Cessna DC-6, circa 1930s
Cessna C-34 at Blackpool (Squires Gate) Airport in 1950
Cessna 172
Columbia-designed Cessna 350