The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued the type certificate for the new Cessna Citation Longitude, Textron Aviation announced yesterday.
Type certification means the first of the 12-place corporate jet can now be delivered to customers.
"With the broadest lineup of business aviation platforms available worldwide, today Textron Aviation welcomes the Longitude into the esteemed Citation family of products and begins a new era of best-in-class solutions for our customers,” said Ron Draper, president and CEO, Textron Aviation. “The Longitude revolution starts now.”
The experimental and demonstration fleet completed close to 6000 hours of flight time including a 31,000-nautical mile world tour.
“The real success of the program comes from the talent and customer focus our employees bring to work every day,” Draper said. “Their hard work and dedication have been spectacular through every step of the program, from initial concept, through design and testing, production and now into product support.”
The aircraft can cruise at 483 KTAS and has a four-passenger range of 3500 nm. It takes flagship position in the Citation range from the Citation Sovereign+, which has a max range of 3200 nm.
“The Longitude is the best flying Citation yet,” said Ed Wenninger, chief pilot for Textron Aviation engineering flight test. "The FADEC-equipped Honeywell HTF7700L turbofan engines feature fully integrated autothrottles with envelope protection and provide responsiveness and excellent power.”