Safe Flight AutoPower Throttle System Nears Certification

Cessna said this week at the NBAA Convention in Las Vegas that the Honeywell Primus Elite avionics platform has been certified for retrofit on Citation X business jets and the upgrade is available through the Cessna Citation Service Center network. Furthermore, pilots from Cessna and Safe Flight Instrument Corp. have completed automatic throttle system developmental flight testing on the Citation X. The Safe Flight AutoPower System is scheduled to be certified under a Federal Aviation Administration Supplemental Type Certificate by the end of this year. It will be available for installation at Citation Service Centers for retrofit and is also offered on new production Citation X aircraft.

“These upgrades are the latest in a lengthy list of enhancements to the operational and maintenance experience of our customers,” said Dave Brant, senior vice president of Customer Service. “Citation X owners and operators can now improve airplanes that already excel in nearly every performance category by adding the latest technologies developed for the global operating environment today and in the future.”

Based on the Citation X’s current Honeywell Primus 2000 system, the five-panel Elite system features liquid crystal displays that offer high-resolution graphics display capability for electronic approach charts with aircraft position worldwide as well as XM satellite weather in the United States and southern Canada. In addition, improved moving map capability will depict geographical and political boundaries as well as airspace and airways. LCD technology also provides greater reliability and longer service life than previous displays. Honeywell’s future improvements for the Elite platform include synthetic vision and advanced moving map options.

Safe Flight’s automatic throttle is designed to provide smooth and precise engine target settings for airspeed control. The system delivers significant flight performance and safety advantages that result in increased situational awareness, reduced crew workload and greater passenger comfort. AutoPower systems and components from Safe Flight are installed on more than 9,000 corporate, commercial and military aircraft.

FMI: www.cessna.com