That's A Lotta Jets From Cessna At NBAA

It's a vertitable buffet of bizjets from Cessna Aircraft Company... as Monday, the company introduced the Citation XLS+ at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) conference and annual meeting. Cessna says the new XLS adds the latest capabilities and technologies to the world's best-selling business jet.

New features include the fully integrated Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite, which includes XM animated broadcast graphical weather and charts, and electronically controlled (FADEC) engines from Pratt & Whitney. Exterior and interior restyling is also integrated into the new model, most prominently the extended contour of the nose and expanded seat widths, both introduced to more closely resemble Cessna's Citation X and Citation Sovereign models.

"With more than 500 aircraft delivered and more than one million flight hours in the fleet since the model series began with the Citation Excel in 1998, Cessna is proud to say this is the best-selling mid-size business jet in the world today," said Cessna Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jack J. Pelton. "Yet even with the success of this aircraft, Cessna has continued to seek improvements by asking our customers how we could make the best even better. Their feedback is what you see integrated into this advanced Citation XLS+ design today."

A mockup of the Citation XLS+ will be unveiled Tuesday at the Cessna booth on the exhibit floor at NBAA, along with mockups of the new Citation CJ4 and Cessna's large cabin concept aircraft.

Certification for the Citation XLS+ is expected in the first quarter of 2008 with the first customer delivery in the last quarter of 2008. Priced at $11.595 million, the XLS+ will continue the tradition of the Excel and XLS as the most affordable stand-up cabin business jet. The Citation XLS+ will travel as fast as 500 miles per hour, have a range of more than 1,800 nautical miles, climb direct to 45,000 feet in 29 minutes, and land on runways as short as 3,180 feet.

The Collins Pro Line 21 suite will have four 8-by-10-inch flat screens -- two primary flight displays (PFDs) and two multi-function flight displays (MFDs) with video capability. The new system will have an enhanced avionics diagnostic system, XM animated broadcast graphical weather and charts, and autopilot controls in a heads-up location. The lower cockpit panel will be tilted for better accessibility and readability of switches and gauges. In addition, the throttle quadrant and pedestal have been simplified for better feel, reliability and maintainability, and the flight management system's control display unit has been relocated forward of the throttle on the tilted panel.

For the first time on a Cessna aircraft, there will be an option for a second file server unit (FSU) for charts and maps, which will offer the redundancy that allows the cockpit to be totally paperless and eliminates the need for an electronic flight bag.

The new PW545C Pratt & Whitney engines will have the same thrust rating as the XLS model PW545B, but with the notable addition of electronic control capabilities (FADEC), easing pilot workload.

On the interior, serpentine side ledges will allow for restyled passenger seats that will be two inches wider than before. The cabin will more closely resemble the Citation X and Citation Sovereign layout.

To increase serviceability, the XLS+ will feature the most advanced diagnostic system on any Cessna Citation to date. The system will be able to identify the root cause of maintenance issues on the first occurrence. This will reduce parts and labor costs as well as improve the return-to-service time for intermittent in-flight faults that cannot be duplicated on the ground.

The Citation Excel was first delivered in May 1998, and 370 units were delivered through June 2004. The Citation XLS was first delivered in July 2004, and 329 are expected to be delivered through the end of September 2008. The 500th Excel/XLS was delivered in June 2006, making the Excel/XLS the best-selling aircraft of all business jet models since its introduction.

FMI: www.cessna.com