WICHITA, Kan., Feb. 3, 2012 — Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced today that it has increased the range capability of its planned new midsize jet, the Citation Latitude. The Latitude is now expected to have a maximum range of 2,300 nautical miles (4,259.6 kilometers).

“Our customers asked, we answered,” said Trevor Esling, Vice President, Sales – Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia (EMAA). “The increased range will give the aircraft more flexibility to fly a wider variety of missions and meet our customer requirements for comfort and performance. We’ve made this great aircraft even better.”

As the first Latitude buyer in Europe, EFO Aviation GmbH & Co. KG was sold on the aircraft’s new extended range as well as its 72-inch, flat-floor cabin. The aircraft will be operated by Air Hamburg Private Jets, Germany, which will use it for charter and executive transportation.

“The Latitude is a new class of Citation and we are very happy to be the first to bring it to Europe,” said Floris Helmers, managing director at Air Hamburg. “The 2,300-nm range will allow us to meet many different mission demands, including between Germany and Moscow. It will be the perfect complement to the other Citations in our fleet, which include three XLS+ and two CJ3 as well as other Citation aircraft.”

First announced at the 2011 NBAA Annual Meeting and Convention, the Latitude has been designed with space for a crew of two plus up to eight passengers; features Garmin G5000 avionics; includes an 84-inch (2.13-meter) fuselage; a 6-foot (1.83-meter) high passenger cabin from just behind the cockpit through the rear lavatory area, a flat floor; and Cessna’s highly advanced ClairityTM cabin technology solution.

Positioned between the Citation XLS+ and Citation Sovereign in Cessna’s product line, the Citation Latitude design offers a full fuel payload of 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms), a maximum cruise speed of 442 knots true airspeed (819 kilometers per hour) and a range of 2,300 nautical miles (4,259.6 kilometers). Preliminary specifications project the aircraft will operate at airports with runways as short as 3,900 feet (1,189 meters), will have a maximum altitude of 45,000 feet (13,716 meters) and will climb direct to 43,000 feet (13,106 meters) in 23 minutes.

First flight of the Citation Latitude prototype is expected to be mid-year 2014, with FAA certification (Part 25) and entry into service expected in 2015. The aircraft is priced at $14.9 million in 2012 USD.

Source and image: Cessna