Debut For Garmin G5000 Avionics, New Cabin Management
System
Cessna announced at the 63rd NBAA Annual Meeting and Convention
Monday the launch of the Citation Ten, a larger, advanced version
of the world’s fastest certified business jet, the Citation
X. It also marks the debut of the Garmin G5000 avionics suite and a
Cessna-exclusive advanced cabin management system, and it features
more powerful and more efficient Rolls-Royce engines.
“The launch of the Citation Ten is an example of our
commitment, repeated throughout the recent downturn, to new product
development, and it’s a signal that we intend to do what we
need to do to maintain a general aviation industry leadership
position,” said Jack Pelton, Cessna chairman, president and
CEO. “We’ve teamed with Garmin and with Rolls-Royce to
conceive an almost perfect combination of speed, performance, ease
of operation and productivity in one airframe – the Citation
Ten.”
First flight of the new Citation Ten will be in late 2011, with
certification and first delivery in 2013.
The Citation Ten features a 15-inch longer fuselage for more
cabin space, winglets for more efficient performance, a new
electrical system, dual lithium-ion batteries, new avionics,
autothrottle, a redesigned cabin with new interior seats and cabin
appointments, and a proprietary fiber optic-based cabin management
system including the latest interface options for greater in-flight
productivity and connectivity.
Performance is also enhanced with a 211 nautical mile (391
kilometer) increase in range at high-speed cruise, a 214-pound
increase in maximum payload and a faster rate of climb direct to
45,000 feet. “We are particularly excited about the advanced
technology incorporated throughout the aircraft and the improved
performance characteristics that give our customers a more
efficient and a more productive aircraft and aircraft cabin that
are designed to meet evolving requirements in business
travel,” Pelton said.
“Further distancing this product from the competition is
access to world-class customer service, not only through
Cessna’s world-class support group, but also from Garmin and
Rolls-Royce, with all three recently lauded in independent customer
surveys,” Pelton said.
The Citation Ten will use a pair of new Rolls-Royce AE 3007C2
high-flow-fan turbines, each rated at 7,034 pounds of thrust. This
gives the Citation Ten a 4 percent improvement in takeoff thrust, 9
percent improvement in climb performance, 7 percent improvement in
cruise thrust and an additional 1.4 percent improvement in specific
fuel consumption. The Rolls-Royce AE 3007C2 will be certified in
2013 ahead of aircraft type certification.
Cessna is the first company to announce it will use the
integrated Garmin G5000 avionics suite, which will be certified for
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Federal Aviation Regulations
(FAR) Part 25 operations (commercial transport aircraft). “We
have a very successful relationship with Garmin, a company recently
ranked by aviation professionals as having the best avionics
customer support in the industry in a prestigious third-party
survey,” Pelton said. “The level of reliability and
integration and the ease of use of the G5000 are going to be
unprecedented and will give Citation Ten owners a new level of
operability.”
The Citation Ten’s restyled, clean cockpit design is
anchored by the new, fully integrated Garmin G5000 system that
centers on three 14-inch LCD primary and multifunction displays and
four touch-screen control panels. Among the standard features of
the new system are a pilot-vehicle touch-screen interface, TCAS II
with Change 7.1, Synthetic Vision Technology, electronic charts,
Garmin’s SafeTaxi, a dual flight management system with WAAS
LPV and RNP 0.3 SAAAR capability, solid-state weather radar with
turbulence detection and vertical scan capability, integrated
terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS), ADS-B Out and Link
2000+ data link. Options include satellite weather and an ICAO Type
1A flight data recorder.
Cessna has teamed with Dallas-based Heads Up Technologies to
develop an intelligent cabin management system (CMS) that
integrates cabin electrical systems, avionics and communications
through a fiber optic backbone and an intuitive touch-screen user
interface, resulting in “the ultimate connectivity
experience.”
“Together with Heads Up Technologies, we offer in the Ten
a cabin and cabin management system designed top to bottom for
productivity,” Pelton said. “We surround all this
productivity with new styling, more space, new seats, new lighting
and more stowage – frankly more options all around to easily
meet demanding customer requirements.”
“I am very comfortable referring to our new Citation Ten
CMS as revolutionary,” Pelton said.
Technology is the foundation of the Citation Ten CMS. Designers
opted for exclusive use of fiber optics instead of the more
commonly used copper cable, not only providing sufficient bandwidth
for system growth but greatly reducing aircraft weight. This size
aircraft requires almost 200 feet of cable for the CMS; a fiber
optic backbone weighs less than one-tenth what a copper cable
system weighs. Aircraft using current technology CMS architectures
carry extra cable – and extra weight – to accommodate
future system expansion; if not, expansion is limited. The Citation
Ten’s fiber optic architecture is scalable, both for system
growth and for various aircraft.
The Cessna CMS features an interactive, touch-screen system
controller at each passenger seat for audio (digital media,
MP3/iPhone), video (digital, Blu Ray), interactive moving map,
cabin temperature, lights, window shades and even cabin
diagnostics. The dual club-seat cabin arrangement also includes 110
or 220 volt electrical outlets and multiple USB/device inputs.
High-speed Internet browsing, satellite radio and cabin Wi-Fi are
available as options.
The Cessna CMS trip computer includes an interactive moving map
with a global database featuring standard features like flight data
displays and location indicator, and also offers access to points
of interest information.
The new Citation Ten cabin mock-up is on display this week
during NBAA at Cessna’s static aircraft display at
Atlanta’s DeKalb Peachtree Airport (KPDK) following an
unveiling on Tuesday, October 19 at 1300 EDT.