Takes The Company Into The Large Business Jet Category

Cessna Aircraft Company announced Monday at NBAA in Las Vegas it plans to enter the large business jet category with the clean sheet, 4,500-nautical mile Citation Hemisphere.

“We’re thrilled to unveil the future of this larger Citation family. The debut of the Longitude has been highly anticipated among prospective customers, industry observers and our Textron Aviation team members,” said Scott Ernest, Textron Aviation president and CEO. “Driven by customer input, the Longitude combines the ideal mix of performance, cabin comfort and industry leading technology. And, along with the Citation’s proven design and dependability, the Longitude is designed to revolutionize the super-midsize segment.”

Continuing on the company’s path of product investment, the 4,500-nautical mile large cabin Citation Hemisphere will feature the widest cabin in its class. The first flight for the Hemisphere is expected in 2019.

“Over the last 20 years customers in this segment have seen little innovation or investment in new products as their business needs and mission requirements have continued to evolve,” said Ernest. “The Citation Hemisphere is designed to transform this segment, offering customers the latest technology available and the widest cabin in its class.”

The company is actively seeking customer feedback on the Hemisphere and has an interactive cabin concept on display at NBAA this week.

Textron also debuted its new Cessna Citation Longitude business jet at NBAA’s Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas. The company also  The Longitude and Hemisphere will join the Citation Latitude to complete a new, large-cabin, three-aircraft Citation family.

Citation Longitude offers class-leading comfort
Setting a new standard in the super-midsize category, the Citation Longitude is the company’s latest innovation as it continues to invest in its family of larger business jets. With seating for up to 12 passengers, including an optional crew jumpseat, the Citation Longitude features a stand-up, flat-floor cabin with a standard double-club configuration, allowing the most legroom in the super-midsize class. With fully berthable seats and a class-leading, in-flight accessible walk-in baggage compartment, the Longitude is designed specifically for maximum passenger comfort and offers the lowest cabin altitude in its category at 5,950 feet. State-of-the-art cabin technology allows passengers to manage their environment and entertainment from any mobile device, while standard Internet maximizes productivity in flight.

Citation Longitude optimized for superior performance
The clean-sheet design of the Citation Longitude integrates the latest technology throughout the aircraft, bringing customers the lowest ownership costs in this category. The Citation Longitude features the next evolution of the Garmin G5000 flight deck and is powered by FADEC-equipped Honeywell HTF7700L turbofan engines with fully integrated autothrottles. The aircraft offers a full fuel payload of 1,500 pounds, a maximum cruise speed of 476 knots and a four-passenger high-speed range of 3,400 nautical miles.

“We believe that this range and performance is what the market wants for typical missions in this class,” Ernest said. “No other business jet in this space matches the Longitude’s combination of range, payload, cruise speed, standard features and lower total ownership costs.”

The Longitude is on track for first flight in 2016 with anticipated entry into service in 2017.

(Image provided with Cessna news release)

FMI: www.cessna.com