Textron Aviation has achieved type certification by the FAA for its Cessna Citation Longitude super-midsize jet, paving the way for customer deliveries.

“With the broadest lineup of business aviation platforms available worldwide, today Textron Aviation welcomes the Longitude into the esteemed Citation family of products and begins a new era of best-in-class solutions for our customers,” says president and CEO Ron Draper. “The Longitude revolution starts now.”

FAA type certification follows the most robust flight, structural and component qualification testing completed on a Citation to date. The experimental and demo fleet completed close to 6,000 hours of flight time. In addition to 11,000 test points during the certification process, the Longitude also completed a 31,000 nm world tour, demonstrating the aircraft's outstanding long range performance capability and reliability in a variety of environments. The Longitude, produced at Textron's manufacturing facility in Wichita, benefits from state-of-the-art assembly and fabrication tools and techniques.

“The real success of the programme comes from the talent and customer focus our employees bring to work every day,” adds Draper. “Their hard work and dedication have been spectacular through every step of the programme, from initial concept, through design and testing, production and now into product support.”

The Citation Longitude is equally designed around the pilot experience, passenger comfort and overall performance, delivering an aircraft that lives up to its designation as the flagship of the Citation family of business jets. It has what the company calls one of the most thoroughly researched cabin experiences in the super-midsize category: the comfortable, bespoke interior has class-leading legroom, cabin sound levels that are nearly twice as quiet as the nearest competitor, a low cabin altitude of 5,950 ft and more standard features than competitors in this segment.

With seating for up to 12 passengers, including an optional crew jump seat, the Longitude features a stand up, six foot tall flat-floor cabin. A standard double club configuration delivers the most legroom in the super-midsize class, 11 per cent more room than the nearest competitor. Fully berthable seats are designed and manufactured in-house, and cabin technology enables passengers to manage their environment and entertainment from any mobile device, maximising in-flight connectivity and productivity.

Early in the development programme, the Longitude exceeded initial performance targets and achieved an improved transcontinental range of 3,500 nm (an increase of 100 nm) and full fuel payload of 1,600 pounds (an increase of 100 pounds). The longest-range Citation delivers a maximum cruise speed of 483 ktas.

“The Longitude is the best flying Citation yet,” says chief pilot for Textron Aviation engineering flight test Ed Wenninger. “The FADEC-equipped Honeywell HTF7700L turbofan engines feature fully integrated autothrottles with envelope protection and provide responsiveness and excellent power.”

The clean-sheet design of the Longitude integrates the latest technology throughout the aircraft, including the next evolution of the Garmin G5000 flight deck. The spacious cockpit incorporates easier access and an ergonomic design that fully focuses on crew comfort and efficiency.