Cessna reveals name of new jet

Cessna Aircraft officials have answered the question, “What’s next?,” at this year’s National Business Aviation Association convention in Las Vegas. The answer is a large business jet called Hemisphere that can fly 4,500 nautical miles. The clean-sheet design is scheduled to fly in four years, but first Cessna engineers must gather customer input on the interior using an interactive cabin concept on display at the show in Las Vegas.

The Hemisphere will join Cessna’s Latitude, now on a world tour of trade shows, and the 12-passenger Longitude (including the pilot jump seat) announced in 2012, as a trio of wide-cabin jets. On display at the show for the first time this year is the Latitude, which was certified in June. The super-midsize Longitude  “is on track for its first flight in 2016 with anticipated entry into service in 2017,” the company said. Cessna officials filed for a trademark on the name “Hemisphere” in 2008, and registered it in 2010.

“Over the last 20 years customers in this segment have seen little innovation or investment in new products as their business needs and mission requirements have continued to evolve,” said Textron President and CEO Scott Ernest. “The Citation Hemisphere is designed to transform this segment, offering customers the latest technology available and the widest cabin in its class.”

The company said it is “actively seeking customer feedback on the Hemisphere and has an interactive cabin concept on display” at the business aviation convention where customers can register opinions.

“Throughout the year, three Latitude demonstrator aircraft have been on a worldwide demo tour, traveling to more than 20 countries and stopping at major industry trade shows,” the company said.

The Longitude has fully berthable seats and an in-flight accessible walk-in baggage compartment. The cabin altitude is 5,950 feet. The Longitude has a Garmin G5000 flight deck and is powered by Honeywell HTF7700L turbofan engines with fully integrated autothrottles. “The aircraft offers a full fuel payload of 1,500 pounds, a maximum cruise speed of 476 knots and a four-passenger high-speed range of 3,400 nautical miles,” Cessna said.