chronicles - cessna
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THE SHANNONS’ RANCH HANDA CARAVAN PROVIDES THE LIFT FOR A FAMILY’S WEEKEND RETREAT
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volume 1, issue 1CHRONICLES
AIRPLANES MAY BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER, but a
Cessna 208B Grand Caravan has the power to get the
job done even when they’re already close — something
Ken Shannon demonstrates every time he spools up
the Pratt & Whitney PT6A-114A turboprop powerplant
on his new Caravan. When Shannon took possession of
the plane in August 2010, it was the latest — and, by his
own admission, largest — step in a progression that has
brought him closer to the Cessna family, even as Cessna
has helped him to stay close to his own.
“I can truly say my passion for flying has increased 100
percent by moving into the 208,” Shannon said.
Shannon is the founder of the Wichita, Kan.-based
Shannon Group, a holding company with interests in
manufacturing, construction and commercial real estate.
But he flies his Caravan, just like his previous Cessnas,
mostly for pleasure, traveling with his family to Chimney
Rock Ranch, their weekend home on Table Rock Lake in
the Ozarks. “We’ve been going there for years and years,”
Shannon said.
Shannon was introduced to flying Cessna aircraft in
the mid-’90s, when he met fellow Wichita businessman
Charlie Chandler.
“We really hit it off,” Chandler recalled. “We found we
had similar interests. We both married incredible wives
who put up with us for a long time, and our children
were of similar ages as well. We developed a relationship
— as couples and in business.”
Soon Chandler and his wife were frequent guests of
the Shannons at Chimney Rock Ranch, the friends often
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flying down in the Chandlers’ Cessna 425 Conquest. With
Carroll County Airport (4M1) in Berryville, Ark., just a few
miles away, Shannon saw how easy a private aircraft made
the commute. Recalled Chandler, “He convinced me I needed
to make an investment in boats and a cabin at the lake, and I
convinced him he had to make an investment in airplanes.”
Shannon agreed: “He got the bug in me to go flying.”
Chandler’s friend Kirby Ortega, Cessna’s chief pilot for piston
engine operations, became Shannon’s instructor. As Ortega
recalled, “After a few flights, he said, ‘I’m going to buy my
own airplane.’”
Shannon bought a pre-owned Cessna 182 Skylane that he
flew for several years before moving up to a new Millennium
Edition Cessna 206 Turbo Stationair. He later upgraded to a
Cessna Turbo Stationair with a Garmin G1000 avionics suite.
For longer-range travel, Shannon also joined CitationAir by
Cessna, purchasing shares in a Citation Excel and a Citation
Sovereign, adding even greater utility and comfort.
In early 2010, Shannon decided to upgrade again, setting his
sights on the power and reliability of a turboprop.
“I looked around at a variety of aircraft, from a Pilatus (PC-
12) to a TBM 850,” Shannon said. “Speed wasn’t a critical
factor as much as my confidence that I could fly the plane
well. I took a demo flight in the 208 and found it as easy as
the 206 to fly.”
The demo pilot — Ortega, of course — sealed the deal when
he showed Shannon the Caravan’s short-field capability.
“Kirby had me stay high on final, then pull the power back
and put in full flaps,” Shannon remembered. “We set it down,
put the prop into the beta range and stopped in 1,000 feet
without ever touching the brakes.”
The FlightSafety International training course that is
included with the Caravan’s purchase simplified the turbine
transition, and Shannon was already familiar with the
G1000 flight deck from the installation
in his Stationair. But taking his family to
the ranch would have to wait. Shannon’s
insurance company mandated 50 hours
of pilot-in-command time before he
could carry passengers, and Shannon
was eager to make the most of them. He
again enlisted Ortega, who plotted a route
designed to expose Shannon to a wide
variety of aviating in an accelerated time
frame, while showcasing the full range
and versatility of the Caravan. Labor Day
weekend 2010, the two set off on their
training mission.
“We flew from Wichita to Leadville,
Colorado, the highest public use airport
in the country,” Ortega said, recounting
their itinerary. “Then to Santa Fe, Tucson
and then Phoenix, where we overnighted.
The next day, we flew to Sedona, then San Diego, and on
to Catalina Island — the ‘Airport in the Sky’ — then to San
Luis Obispo, and from there to Furnace Creek, California, the
lowest airport in the U.S. It was hot — 115 degrees. Then we
flew over to Las Vegas and overnighted there. The next day,
we flew to Albuquerque, then to Ken’s ranch in Berryville,
Arkansas, and the next day back to Wichita. We knocked out
about 24 or 25 hours over the weekend.”
Shannon made sure his family would enjoy riding in the back
as much as he liked sitting in the front left seat. For cabin
appointments, he chose Yingling’s Oasis executive interior,
with its top-grain leather, high-gloss cabinetry, alternating-
current outlets and video screens. The whole family helped
choose the colors and textures for the cabin. Yingling also
prepared a pair of custom synthetic
leather slipcovers, perfect for protecting
the seats when his young grandchildren
are aboard strapped into their car seats.
“We were thrilled with the interior, the
craftsmanship and how quickly they
were able to turn it around,” Shannon
said. “We’ve had the fractional share in
the Sovereign and the Excel, and my wife
will tell you the Caravan is every bit as
comfortable.”
The paint scheme for N406CR (the “CR” is
for Chimney Rock) has accents of Silver
Platinum and Walnut over Matterhorn
White, crowned by Chimney Rock Ranch’s
silhouetted pine tree logo on the forward
doors. Given the heavy family hauling it
does, Shannon also got the optional cargo
pod, which adds an additional 111.5 cubic feet of storage.
While most of his flights are to the ranch and back, he enjoys
longer journeys, like flights to Florida to visit his daughter
and son-in-law, as well.
“From the middle of the U.S., I can get to Palm Beach in
under seven hours — quicker than if I fly commercially,”
Shannon said.
“Kirby had me stay high on final, then
pull the power back and put in full flaps.We set it down, put
the prop into the beta range and stopped in 1,000 feet without ever touching the
brakes.” — Ken Shannon
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Ken Shannon’s favorite destination in the Caravan is Chimney Rock Ranch, his family’s retreat on Table Rock Lake in the Ozarks. His Caravan’s cargo pod helps make it the ideal utility vehicle for ranch duty. (photo courtesy: Ken Shannon) (cover photo: Ricardo Reitmeyer, Cessna Visual Media Group)
Ken and his wife, Jan, enjoy the comforts of the Caravan on many family trips. (photo courtesy: Ken Shannon)
Shannon spent Labor Day weekend 2010 completing additional training in his new Caravan. Waypoints included Leadville, Colo. (KLXV), field elevation 9,931 feet — the highest public use airport in the Lower 48. (photo: Sean Reed)
So far, Shannon has put more than 180 of his 900-plus total
flight hours in the Caravan. “It provides me the opportunity
to take my entire family on vacations; it also affords us the
opportunity to take friends down to our place on Table Rock
Lake. And because of its large cargo capacity, I’ve been able
Ken Shannon, 56, was no stranger to Cessna Aircraft Company or its airplanes when he began flying some 15 years ago.
Wichita, Kan., born and raised, while in college he was hired by longtime CEO Dwane Wallace, Clyde Cessna’s nephew,
and assigned to Cessna’s service parts center. Shannon was often sent to pick up customers and drive them to the
aircraft delivery center at Cessna’s Pawnee Division, but he never fantasized about flying away in an airplane of his own
in those days. “It was a good job, (but) I never got the bug to fly during that period,” he said. “After college, I went in a
different direction and a different career path.” But his and Cessna’s paths converged once again shortly after his flight
training began. Shannon decided to buy an airplane and soon located a beautiful Cessna 182 for sale. There was only
one catch — the plane was the last aircraft Dwane Wallace had owned, and Velma, his widow, insisted on approving the
buyer. Thanks to his previous association, that wasn’t a problem for Shannon — or Velma. “I had known Dwane, so she
was thrilled,” he said. The sale was approved, and Shannon’s ties to the Cessna family were firmly re-established.
KEN SHANNON AND HIS TIES TO THE CESSNA FAMILY
to transport large and unusual things such as a set of bunk
beds I had built for my grandson.”
“I couldn’t be happier with my decision,” Shannon said of
his choice in turboprops. “We’ve always been in the Cessna
family, and it seems a natural fit to stay here.”
SID
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left: Shannon made a dozen stops during his cross-country Caravan check ride, including Catalina Island’s “Airport in the Sky” (KAVX). (photo: Sean Reed) middle: Shiprock, the Monument Valley landmark in the northwest corner of New Mexico, was among the many spectacular sights of the trip. (photo: Sean Reed) right: Shannon’s Caravan is branded with the Chimney Rock Ranch logo. (photo: Ricardo Reitmeyer, Cessna Visual Media Group)
The Shannon family (left to right): John Melhorn, son-in-law; Julie Melhorn, daughter (at the time, she was pregnant with Ken and Jan’s grandson Jacob); Ken Shannon; Jan Shannon; Kirsten Shannon, daughter-in-law; Paul Shannon, grandson; David Shannon, son; Annabella Shannon, granddaughter. (photo courtesy: Ken Shannon)
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