Wipaire now offers the Aurora interior for the Cessna Caravan series. Fitted with executive appointments and conveniences, it transforms the utilitarian aircraft into a versatile traveler. Wipaire’s engineering and interiors teams coordinated to develop hard goods such as cabinets and divans that are durable yet are claimed to be lighter than competitive products.
“The Cessna Caravan series has been recognized as one of the finest working airplanes in the world over the last 30 years,” said Chuck Wiplinger, president and COO of Wipaire. “However, it’s unfair to label the Caravan and Grand Caravan as strictly a workhorse. True to the phrase ‘Swiss army knife of the skies,’ the Caravan series can be transformed into a luxurious retreat with our Aurora interior. While we have converted many Caravans to executive arrangements in the past, we were not able to offer standard floor plans until now.”
In other news, Wipaire announced the winners of the Ben Wiplinger Memorial Seaplane Rating Scholarship. Four recipients will be awarded a $1,500 scholarship paid directly to the seaplane school of their choice. The scholarship will be offered in 2016 as well, and the company will announce the new application at a later date.
The 2015 recipients are Sean Zottarelli of New York, Steve Huggins of Oregon, Tim Fowler of Minnesota, and Willow Hetrick of Alaska. Zottarelli is a flight instructor who dreams of flying seaplanes in New England or Alaska. Huggins is a CFI with a special interest in backcountry and tailwheel flying who wants to give instruction in seaplanes. Fowler is a former aerial application pilot who hopes to fly single-engine air tankers. Hetrick's first floatplane experience was when her parents brought her home as a baby on an amphibious de Havilland Beaver. She plans to combine her biology education and passion for aviation to become a pilot and biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
