Airbus’s innovation division UpNext is preparing to engineer the wing-swap on its Cessna Citation VII platform to test future wing technology.
The Citation, undergoing the work at Cazeaux in southern France, has had its engines removed. With no crane capacity in the hangar, the aircraft had been jacked from the floor for transfer to a specially-built jig.
UpNext industrial leader for the ‘eXtra Performance Wing’ project Loraine Vinot says the jet has to be placed in a “zero-stress position”.
This has involved developing a cradle equipped with sensors to monitor the loads imposed on the aircraft.
“We need to ensure no deformation of fuselage and the position of the new wings,” says Vinot.
Over the course of a one-year conversion, the Citation’s wings will be cut off and replaced with new ones featuring advanced technology to reduce fuel burn.
Vinot says a “transition box” is being created in order to mate the wing – under development at Filton in the UK – once it arrives at Cazeaux.
She states that the new wing, longer and thinner, is intended to demonstrate a 10% improvement in fuel efficiency.
The wing fit will start in mid-2025.
Cabin fittings will be part of the transformation and actuators will be installed in the horizontal and vertical stabilisers, with electrical harnesses running through the top of the fuselage.
Once the modifications are complete the aircraft will be repositioned onto its landing-gear and the engines reinstalled. Test flights are set to begin in 2026.
