Wichita, KS - April 30, 2013 - Cessna's new Citation Sovereign recently made its first production flight. Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, announced the program last year. The flight of the new Sovereign lasted a little more than two and a half hours and included tests of the Garmin G5000 avionics with auto throttles, autopilot, engine system, aircraft systems and instrument approaches. The airplane took off and landed at Wichita, Kan., Mid-Continent Airport (ICT) where Cessna's main manufacturing facility is located.
"The aircraft handling characteristics and performance were exceptional, just as we had anticipated after flying more than 1,300 hours in three test flight articles. The Garmin G5000 avionics system provides a sense of control and situational awareness that any pilot will appreciate," said Matt Freund, Cessna production flight test pilot. "The new Sovereign makes a great airplane even better and continues to shows the confidence and reliability of our Citation brand - this is a terrific milestone for the new Sovereign and Cessna."
The new Sovereign will have a range of 3,000 nm (3,452 statute miles or 5,556 km). It features improved cabin cooling, Garmin G5000 avionics with auto throttles and a new cabin management system. Winglets have been added to the new Sovereign ensuring its capability of reaching a top speed of 458kts (848 km/h) and contributing to the increased range and enabling a direct climb to 45,000 feet (13.7 km) - while still being renowned for taking off and landing on short runways.
Featuring one of the longest passenger cabins in its class and capable of seating nine people, the new Sovereign is fitted with Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines allowing for 5,852 lb of thrust. Along with a newly announced five year warranty package, the new Sovereign offers owners even greater value.
"This milestone first flight shows the heritage of the strong Citation brand is embedded in all we do instilling confidence in our customers that Cessna has, yet again, taken customer feedback and combined it with Cessna engineering and craftsmanship to make a trusted Citation aircraft even better," said Kelly Reich, Cessna business leader for the new Citation Sovereign. "Our team designing, building and flying Cessna's next generation of aircraft is excited today knowing our customers will soon experience the new Citation Sovereign."
New Citation Sovereign image
About Cessna
Cessna is the world's leading general aviation company. Since its inception in 1927, Cessna has designed, produced and delivered nearly 200,000 airplanes around the globe. This includes 6,500 Citation business jets, making it the largest fleet of business jets in the world. Today, Cessna has two principal lines of business: aircraft sales and aftermarket services. Aircraft sales include Citation business jets, Caravan single-engine utility turboprops, single-engine piston aircraft and lift solutions by CitationAir. Aftermarket services include parts, maintenance, inspection and repair services. In 2012, Cessna delivered 571 aircraft, including 181 Citation business jets, and reported revenues of $3.111 billion. More information about Cessna Aircraft Company is available at cessna.com.
About Textron Inc.
Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, and Textron Systems. More information is available at textron.com.
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements which may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to changes in worldwide economic or political conditions that impact demand for our products, interest rates or foreign exchange rates; changes in government regulations or policies on the export and import of commercial products; the efficacy of research and development investments to develop new products or unanticipated expenses in connection with the launching of significant new products; the timing of our new product launches or certifications of our new aircraft products; our ability to keep pace with our competitors in the introduction of new products and upgrades with features and technologies desired by our customers; performance issues with key suppliers, subcontractors or business partners; difficult conditions in the financial markets which may adversely impact our customers' ability to fund or finance purchases of our products; and continued volatility in the economy resulting in a prolonged downturn in the markets in which we do business
Contact
Andy Woodward
Phone: +1 316 517 1927
Email: awoodward@cesna.com
Stephanie Harder
Phone: +1 316 517 6488
Email: sharder@cessna.com