Cessna has received basic US certification for the Citation Bravo light business jet. Full certification, for flight into known icing and clearance of the flight-management system and autopilot, is expected by the end of this month, and first deliveries are scheduled to begin in February.
Cessna says that the first 18 months' worth of Bravo production is already sold out.
The Bravo is an upgrade of the Citation II , and certification was originally due to be completed by mid-1996, but was delayed when Cessna shifted resources to certification of the Citation X high-speed business jet. The company also decided to accelerate certification of the Citation Excel widebody light jet, as part of moves to step up production to meet demand for the aircraft. Work on the Bravo was slowed as a result.
The Bravo has new Pratt & Whitney PW530A turbofans and Honeywell Primus 1000 avionics, as well as other improvements. Cessna's revamped light-jet range now includes the entry-level CitationJet, the Bravo, the Ultra upgrade of the Citation V and the widebody Excel, which will be certificated later in 1997. The company says that the first five Bravos to be delivered are already in production flight-test.
Russ Meyer is to stay on as Cessna chairman for a further two years, instead of retiring later this year as expected. Meyer, who will be 65 in July, says that he does not intend to remain chairman of Cessna Aircraft, which is a Textron subsidiary, beyond his 67th birthday, and would be prepared to retire earlier if circumstances changed.
Gary Hay, who was appointed Cessna's vice-chairman in anticipation of replacing Meyer, has now been given the additional responsibility of overseeing Textron's Lycoming piston-engine and McCauley propeller divisions, which are run by former Cessna executive David Asard.
Source: Flight International
