A shame Helio Aircraft LTD. did not have the resources to go further with this proposal. The Helio 2000 Frieghtliner was in response to the FedEX contract for a single-engine cargo/utility type aircraft to serve short haul overnight package delivery. The company was short on funding and near closure by the time Cessna had already flown the 208 Caravan.
On November 20, 1981, the project was given a go-ahead by Cessna for its Pawnee engineering facility. John Berwick, chief engineer at Pawnee, came with a concept of a single engine, high-wing airplane with a large payload. Berwick had originally approached VP Bill Boettger with the idea and once Dwayne Wallace approved it, Berwick told Russ Meyer he would design it.
The prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in October 1984. A freighter variant without cabin windows was developed at the request of Federal Express as the Cargomaster. Another cargo variant for Federal Express, with a longer fuselage and a cargo pod under the belly, was developed as the 208B Super Cargomaster and flew for the first time in 1986. FedEx was initially planning to build twin-engine piston-powered airplanes with Piper Aircraft, but picked the Caravan after surveying it and having flown the prototype, becoming its standard carrier.
