The Cessna 441 Conquest II is the larger of the Conquest turboprops, with a cabin length 3 feet longer than the smaller, lighter Conquest I. It was originally powered by two Honeywell (Garrett) TPE 331-8 engines. The company built 362 from 1978–1986. The Conquest was delivered after Beech captured the turboprop market with its King Air family and did not survive the downturn of the mid-1980s.
Today, the Conquest II is seeing renewed activity in the aftermarket with the retrofitting of its TPE 331-8 engines to the TPE 331-10. This adds more speed and improved performance to an already stable performer. With increased time between overhaul (TBO) intervals, the TPE 331-10 conversion appears to be a winner with about half of the current Conquest II fleet already converted.
Cessna fixed early problems with the tail and the aircraft is relatively trouble free, given its age. The Conquest II has a good mix of speed, payload, comfort and range. While its cabin is slightly smaller than that of the King Air B200, it has more range and better runway performance, especially after the loss of an engine. With the TPE 331-10 conversion, the Conquest II should see many more years of service.
