Textron’s Cessna Citation Longitude Gets FAA Certification
This long-awaited super-midsize jet has finally arrived.
Textron Aviation’s Cessna Citation Longitude has received its long-awaited Federal Aviation Administration type certification, the Wichita-based manufacturer announced recently, allowing customer deliveries of the super-midsize twin to begin.
In what Textron Aviation called “the most robust flight, structural, and component qualification testing completed on a Citation to date,” the experimental and demo Longitude fleet completed nearly 6,000 hours of flight time, as well as 11,000 test points. During the certification process, the 3,500-nautical-mile-range Longitude also flew a 31,000-nautical-mile world tour.
Certification of the Longitude was originally expected about two years ago when Textron Aviation revealed plans for the 12-seat business jet—and brought a full-size mockup to the static display—at the 2015 National Business Aviation Association's convention in Las Vegas. But at least one issue—fuel tank flammability—hampered Textron Aviation’s certification timeline for more than a year and a half while the manufacturer sought an exemption, which the FAA granted on June 26.
Last year at the NBAA's convention in Orlando, NetJets agreed to purchase up to 175 Longitudes, including an option to take first deliveries in the second half of this year.