Cessna 350: Cessna’s New-Generation Single

Walk into the showroom at Tom’s Aircraft (www.tomsaircraft.com) in Long Beach, Calif., and you’re presented with a contrast of airplanes. There are Skyhawk SPs available for less than $300,000, and turbocharged Cessna 400s priced at more than $600,000. Throw in an occasional Caravan plus a sprinkling of T-Skylanes and T-Stationairs, not to mention the subject Cessna 350, and you have the makings of an airplane for every mission.

How do you sell Cessna 350s and 400s alongside Skyhawks and Skylanes? “The question rarely comes up,” says Rich Manor, sales manager at Tom’s, world’s largest piston Cessna dealer for five of the last eight years. “Most of the time, prospective buyers have already narrowed their search, they know what airplane their flying ability and income qualifies them for, and it would be difficult to redirect their interest. We’ve rarely seen a prospect come in who was undecided between a Turbo Skylane and a 400, though we’ve had some who’ve stepped up from a T-182 to a 400.”

A buyer for the new-generation 350 or 400 has more disposable income and is usually instrument-rated with more experience than other pilots. In many instances, he or she has already flown some fairly high-performance airplanes, so the transition to the 350 or 400 is less of a jump than it might be for someone else.

“The Cessna 350 and 400 are the most innovative single-engine airplanes Cessna has ever sold, because of course, they didn’t start off as Cessnas,” Manor explains. “While the Cessnas are generally regarded as among the most proven designs in the industry—and that counts for quite a bit with some buyers—the 350 and 400 are very different in all respects: low-wing rather than high-wing, gull-wing doors, all-composite construction. It’s a totally different design concept, but one that buyers seem to like.”