Watermakers Air is pleased to offer our Cessna Grand Caravan, a state-of-the-art turbine engine aircraft, as the newest addition to our charter fleet, with air service into Staniel Cay (Exuma Cays) and points in Andros, and for personal or corporate air charter.

As a passenger airplane the Grand Caravan has room enough for 14 people (but by FAA regulations, Caravans operated in North America may only transport a total of 9 passengers, plus the pilot and co-pilot). The restriction on number of seats means more leg room for passengers in an already spacious cabin.

Additionally, the Grand Caravan features plenty of cargo space, capable of carrying almost two tons of cargo. Unique to this aircraft is the extra cargo pod located below the cabin, increasing the storage capability to almost triple that of most corporate jets and far superior to a King Air 200.

This Watermakers Air Caravan has a spacious cabin highlighted by a large aisle and huge windows all around for excellent visibility. Each passenger seat is equipped with individual lighting and environmental controls (a new interior and factory air-conditioning system was installed in 2005 by the prestigious Yingling Aviation Group [link]). An intercom system allows the pilot to communicate with passengers while in flight.

This Grand Caravan operated by Watermakers Air can get you in and out of tight spots in a hurry. With a cruise speed in excess of 190 mph, the Grand Caravan can land almost anywhere, needing less than 1,200 feet of runway to roll to a complete stop.

By comparison, a King Air 200 will transport 7-8 passengers with limited luggage capacity, while needing three times more runway length than a Grand Caravan.

History of the Caravan
Federal Express depends on a fleet of more than 300 Caravan Super Cargomasters to feed overnight packages to and from outlying communities. With a superb dispatch rate, the Caravan is an important part of FedEx's success.

The Cessna Grand Caravan was designed in the early 1980’s to replace a dwindling supply of old World War II era bush planes, the all-new Cessna Caravan was built on the philosophy of providing size and economy in a resilient frame that would be capable of operating anywhere in the world, during any time of the season, for less than the price of some older airplanes.

When the Caravan was first manufactured it was a big success with overnight freight haulers like Federal Express. FedEx came to love the strong economics of operating an airplane that was fully capable of carrying a large payload through any weather, to and from small towns where larger aircraft were unable to go. The airplane has quickly grown in popularity, with 60% of sales going to international operators.

Cessna designed the airplane to have the safest and most-redundant equipment possible to meet the needs of pilots operating in various locations ... from the buzz of New York City to the green of the Amazon, to the blues of the Exuma Cays. The Caravan boasts the very popular Pratt & Whitney PT-6, a powerful jet-propeller engine with 675 shaft-horsepower and legendary safety and reliability. The PT-6 creates incredible versatility for the Caravan, allowing it to jump in and out of small runways and operate in metropolitan airspaces, all while maintaining its cruise speed of 190 miles-per-hour on approach and yet slowing down in time to land and be off the runway in less than 1,000 feet.

The airplane has a high wing, allowing for increased visibility in flight, greater stability and giving the aircraft the capability of operating on a congested ramp or rural area without the threat of damage to the wings.

The avionics in this Watermakers Air aircraft are state-of-the-art, with dual redundant flight instrumentation, weather radar, multi-function displays and dual global positioning systems providing triple moving maps displays that even show the elevation of terrain and other aircraft around the airplane’s position.

As for transporting freight, the Caravan can quickly remove all of its seats and utilize its nearly 451 cubic feet of volume, it’s large cargo door and almost two tons of available payload capability to transport freight anytime to anywhere. With a near 99 percent dispatch reliability rate at Federal Express, the Caravan has proven itself to be capable of meeting the objectives of any customer.

Simply put, the large, comfortable, and reliable Caravan is the ideal choice for island hoping with Watermakers Air.

You can also visit Cessna.com for more information on the Grand Caravan.