We Americans like our stuff. We accumulate it madly and take it with us when we go places. We happily buy and jam our highways with SUVs, minivans and gigantic pickup trucks, each able to comfortably swallow several people and their stuff.
Yet, when it comes to airplanes, it’s tough to fulfill the deep-seated desire to haul our stuff. Some are optimized for speed, with little flexibility in loading. Some aren’t, their designers preferring to carry people and things reliably over long distances or into small areas. Compromises can be made, but the results sometimes please few customers. Perhaps the poster-child exception is an airplane such as the Cessna 206 Stationair, which carries the SUV/minivan/pickup concept to a capable conclusion.