Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. company, announced today at the Latin American Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition that it has increased the range capability of its planned new midsize jet, the Citation Latitude, once again. The Latitude was originally announced to have an expected range of 2,000 nautical miles, but through customer input and quality design and engineering, the Latitude is now expected to have a maximum range of 2,500 nautical miles (4,630 kilometers).

“Our customers were pleased when we increased the range from 2,000 to 2,300 nautical miles early this year, but we know to stay competitive in the marketplace and as we talked with more customers getting to 2,500 nautical miles was imperative,” said Bob Gibbs, vice president, International Sales, South America. “Through innovative design and engineering work, we are excited to give our customers a 25 percent increase in expected range since the Latitude was first announced.”

Announced in October 2011, the Citation Latitude will offer Cessna’s widest-yet passenger cabin with stand-up access throughout its length of more than 16 feet. Billed as a game-changer in the mid-size segment, the Citation Latitude combines the payload, speed and range that customers want with an unmatched cabin experience at its price point ($14.9 million in 2011 USD). Scheduled for its first flight in mid-2014 and designed for a crew of two plus up to eight passengers, the aircraft will have a maximum altitude of 45,000 feet (13,716 meters) and a maximum cruise speed of 440 knots (815 kilometers per hour). It will climb to 43,000 feet (13,106 meters) in just 23 minutes.

The Citation Latitude features the fully integrated Garmin G5000 avionics system and Clairity™, an intelligent cabin technology solution developed by Cessna in partnership with Dallas-based Heads Up Technologies. Clairity™ ties into the avionics system and integrates cabin electrical systems with data and communication sharing through a fiber optic backbone. Cabin systems are controlled either through intuitive touch-screen user interfaces at each seat, or customers’ personal electronic devices.

Source and photo: Cessna