Cessna has received US type certification for the Citation Sovereign mid-size business jet. First deliveries against a backlog of more than 100 firm orders are to begin in the second half of the year. European certification is expected in the fourth quarter.
When the all-new Sovereign was launched in October 1998, certification and first deliveries were scheduled for 2002, but the programme was delayed while Cessna worked on other business jets. By the time of the Sovereign's first flight in March 2002, certification had slipped to the third quarter of 2003.
Cessna achieved provisional type certification late last year, but continued flight testing, which has passed the 3,000h mark and resulted in higher-than-expected performance. Cruise speed, for example, increased from 445kt (820km/h) to 459kt.
Source: Flight International
