Cessna is raising the stakes in the already hotly contested super midsize business jet market with the launch of its Citation Longitude.
The eight-passenger $25.9 million aircraft - will sit at the top of Cessna's 16-aircraft product line, above the high-speed midsize Citation Ten. "Having a product in this sector will help us to keep loyal customers within the Citation family as they move up through our business aircraft family," says Cessna.
The Longitude is pitched against other super-midsize models, including the Hawker 4000 and Gulfstream G280. However, Cessna believes the aircraft's aggressive pricing coupled with its 4,000nm (7,410km) range will give it a competitive edge in the large-cabin market rivalling established brands including the Dassault Falcon 2000LX, Bombardier Challenger 605 and Embracer Legacy 650.
The Longitude is a stretched version of the midsize Latitude under development.
The aircraft will be powered by two 11,000lb (49kN) Snecma Silvercrest engines pylon-mounted on the rear fuselage "which provide great fuel efficiency, low noise and a low carbon footprint", says Cessna.
The aircraft has a newly designed 87ft (26.5m), 30˚ swept wing. It also features winglets and a "T" style empennage.
The flight control systems use conventional and fly-by-wire technology. "The elevator, aileron, rudder, multi-function spoiler panels, speed brakes, and slats are hydraulically powered, while the flaps are electrically operated," says Cessna.
The Mach 0.82 Longitude has forward and aft baggage storage closets in the cabin to accommodate passengers' carry-on luggage and coats, Cessna says. There is an additional baggage department in tailcone.
Cessna has yet to select suppliers for the aircraft's auxiliary power unit, avionics and cabin communications systems but the Longitude is not scheduled to make its first flight until the middle of 2016. Certification and service entry are earmarked for the third and fourth quarter of 2017 respectively.
Cessna says its will develop and manufacture the Longitude at its Wichita facility but may set up assembly lines in other parts of the world where the demand is high.
- Maximum Overall Height 26ft (7.9m)
- Maximum Overall Length 87ft (26.5m)
- Maximum Overall Width 86ft (26.2m)
- Cabin height 72in (1.83m)
- Cabin width 77in (1.95m)
- *Cabin length 37ft 8in (11.5m)
- **Range 4,000nm (7,410km),
- Maximum altitude, 45,000ft (13,700m)
- Maximum cruise speed 490kt (907km/h);
- Maximum gross weight 55,000lb (25,000kg)
- *from forward pressure bulkhead to aft pressure bulkhead).
- ** at full fuel payload, NBAA IFR Fuel Reserves (average cruise speed Mach 0.82)
Source: Flight Daily News
