The Cessna Citation Latitude made a spectacular arrival to the NBAA Convention, landing at Orlando Executive Airport (KORL) on Sunday after a 2-hour 20-minute flight from the company’s headquarters located at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. Cessna expects the Latitude to gain FAA certification in next year’s second quarter.
During Sunday’s flight the Latitude took just 19 minutes to climb to FL 410, where it cruised at 435 KTAS. Two crewmembers and five passengers were aboard for the 1,071 nm journey.
The Latitude, Cessna CEO Scott Ernest told Flying, is about two-thirds through the certification program, with more than 260 flights, totaling more than 600 flight hours among the four aircraft in the flight test program.
The big news, which Flying eNews first reported last week, is that the Latitude performed beyond the company’s expectations, resulting in some remarkable performance gains, including an increase in range from 2,500 nm to 2,700 nm. Its takeoff distance has also been cut by an even more dramatic factor, more than 360 feet, from 4,030 feet to 3,668, an impressive figure for a super-midsize jet.
Watch this short video of the Latitude’s arrival.
Click here for more photos of the Citation Latitude.
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