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.