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THE SHANNONS’ RANCH HANDA CARAVAN PROVIDES THE LIFT FOR A FAMILY’S WEEKEND RETREAT

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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.”

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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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