New Avionics, New Engines In The Latest Of The Line

Cessna has introduced the latest variant of its Citation Sovereign line at the NBAA convention in Orlando, and announced that the "Citation X" will live on.

“This year, we are thrilled with the steps we have taken to deliver what our customers want and need,” said Scott Ernest, Cessna President and CEO. “These innovations further underscore our commitment to bring cutting edge aircraft and service to market for today and tomorrow and to exceed our customers’ expectations year after year.”

The New Citation Sovereign now delivers increased range, updated technologies and enhanced capabilities. Features of the airplane, currently on display at NBAA include:

• New cockpit with Garmin G5000 avionics suite
• Increased range by 150 nm, boosting the New Citation Sovereign total range to over 3,000 nm
• Powered by the new Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306D engine
• New cabin amenities including the integrated Cessna Clarity cabin management system, in addition to improved seat design
• Improved short runway performance
• Integrated automatic throttles
• Winglets have been added, giving the aircraft a distinct appearance and an aerodynamic boost
• Improved ground cooling performance

Line flow has already started on the New Citation Sovereign, and entry into service is expected in the early third quarter of 2013. The new Sovereign will also be available with a utility configuration, with options to carry payload, people, or both, depending on the mission requirements.

Meanwhile the Citation X name will live on. When the plans were drawn to improve on the Citation X systems and performance, that aircraft was to be called the “Citation TEN”. Through the design and certification process, the Citation TEN has claimed the title of world’s fastest business jet, but customers have told Cessna that they prefer the new aircraft retain the Citation X name.

“You can see customer input present throughout the entire process,” said Roxanne Bernstein, senior vice president of Marketing. “We’ve implemented customer input with various designs, we value customer feedback with services, and we also listen to the customer when it comes to guidance with naming our aircraft. Customers value the performance and system improvements with the updated aircraft, the fact that the new Citation X is the world’s fastest business jet with a top speed of Mach 0.935, and they value the original name. So Cessna has decided that, moving forward, this aircraft will be called the new Citation X.” 

Cessna also reinforced the company’s activities tied to the smart global growth strategy including opening Citation Service Centers in the United Kingdom and Spain. The company announced the first Cessna-owned Citation Service Center in the UK, located at Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield. The newly-acquired 50,000-square-foot facility, rebranded as the Doncaster Citation Service Centre, offers a wide range of services to Citation customers, from maintenance to modernization and paint. Previously known as Kinch Aviation Services, the business has operated for 15 years and been a Cessna authorized service facility for the past four years.

Cessna highlighted the grand opening of its new regional Citation Service Center in Valencia, Spain. The 100,400-square foot (9,328-square meter), state-of-the-art facility is located at Valencia Airport (ICAO: LEVC) in eastern Spain, convenient for Citation customers across Western Europe and North Africa. The Center offers a one-stop shop for comprehensive repair, completion, fulfillment, maintenance and customization services.

In addition to Cessna’s extensive U.S. based network, Cessna now operates four Citation Service Centers in Europe, with Valencia and Doncaster complementing facilities in Paris, France, and Prague, Czech Republic.

(Images courtesy Cessna)

FMI: www.cessna.com