Cessna is proceeding with full certification of the Citation Excel business jet, bypassing basic certification, in a bid to keep the first deliveries on schedule for April. Basic certification, expected in January, has been delayed by staff changes, so the company is proceeding with certification of the autopilot, thrust reversers and for flight into known icing conditions.
The manufacturer says that it had always planned to gain full certification before beginning deliveries, and has skipped basic certification to avoid delays. The first deliveries will be demonstrator aircraft, with customer deliveries beginning in the third quarter.
Final performance figures for the Excel show no "significant" changes, says Cessna,despite an increase in empty weight.
Zero fuel weight is up by 270kg, to 6,580kg, and fuel capacity rises by 90kg, to 3,080kg, so maximum take off weight jumps by 360kg, to 9,070kg. Despite this, the claimed range of 3,750km (2,000nm), full fuel payload of 500kg and landing distance of 1,010m (2,300ft) are unchanged, but take-off distance is up by almost 4%, to 1,095m.
Source: Flight International
