Textron’s 3,500-nautical-mile, 476-knot Citation Longitude appears to be on track for certification, according to Textron officials.
So far, 600 test flights and 100 flight hours have been conducted, according to company spokesmen. Flight envelope data is being collected, along with runway performance figures, stall and stick-pusher trials, rudder trim tests, hot- and cold-testing, and in-flight icing tanker tests. Longitudes up to serial No. 14 are now in final assembly.
As for Textron’s latest design—the $35 million, 4,500-nm, Mach 0.90 Citation Hemisphere—input from customer advisory boards is being solicited, and wind tunnel testing using scale models has been completed. Meanwhile, the Hemisphere order book is officially open. At last year’s National Business Aviation Association convention, a Hemisphere cabin mockup was on display. A second-generation mockup will be featured at this year’s static display area. First flight? It’s expected in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The $4.8 million Denali single-engine turboprop has completed all testing of its five-blade McCauley propeller, and it’s estimated that 75 percent of the Denali’s structural elements will be completed by the end of the year. First flight of the Denali will take place sometime in 2018, Textron says, and the first year’s worth of production is already sold out.
