Cessna's new Citation Sovereign program has reached a major milestone with the first flight of a production aircraft.
The flight of the new Sovereign lasted about two and a half hours and included tests of the Garmin G5000 avionics with auto throttles, autopilot, engine system, aircraft systems and instrument approaches. The flight was made from Cessna's main manufacturing facility at Wichita, Kansas.
"This milestone first flight shows the heritage of the strong Citation brand is embedded in all we do instilling confidence in our customers that Cessna has, yet again, taken customer feedback and combined it with Cessna engineering and craftsmanship to make a trusted Citation aircraft even better," said Kelly Reich, Cessna business leader for the new Citation Sovereign.
"Our team designing, building and flying Cessna's next generation of aircraft is excited today knowing our customers will soon experience the new Citation Sovereign."
Cessna flight test pilot Matt Freund said the test flight contained no nasty surprises.
"The aircraft handling characteristics and performance were exceptional, just as we had anticipated after flying more than 1300 hours in three test flight articles."
"The Garmin G5000 avionics system provides a sense of control and situational awareness that any pilot will appreciate. The new Sovereign makes a great airplane even better and continues to shows the confidence and reliability of our Citation brand — this is a terrific milestone for the new Sovereign and Cessna."
The new Sovereign will have a range of 3000 nm and features Garmin G5000 avionics with auto throttles. Winglets have been added ensuring its capability of reaching a top speed of 458 kts and contributing to the increased range and enabling a direct climb to FL450.
Featuring one of the longest passenger cabins in its class and capable of seating nine people, the new Sovereign is fitted with Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines giving for 5852 lb of thrust.