Though introduced just in October, the new Citation Latitude midsize business jet from Textron’s Cessna Aircraft Co. virtually only made it to February before the company announced a 15% range extension for the jet, scheduled for first flight in mid-2014 and entry into service in 2015.
Trevor Esling, Vice President, Sales for EMAA (Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia), said specifications of the Latitude had been revised to increase maximum range from 2000 to 2300 nmi.
“The extended range of the Citation Latitude adds the benefit of nonstop flights between, for example, Singapore and cities such as Shanghai, Perth, and Mumbai," said Esling.
In fact, Cessna says that it is seeing high levels of interest from Asia in general.
"Overall demand for light and midsize business jets in Asia is undoubtedly increasing, and we are finding customers eager for deliveries 'now' rather than later,” said Bill Harris, Cessna's Vice President, Sales for Asia and Asia Pacific. “We are seeing particularly high levels of interest from customers who, for example, already own or operate a midsize Cessna Citation such as the Citation XLS+ and are planning their future purchases. The Citation Latitude represents a logical next step to a new, more advanced Citation."
Harris also noted that the Latitude "offers nonstop flights between many major regional and domestic city pairs in Asia, including Beijing-Haikou, Beijing-Hong Kong and Hong Kong or Shenzhen-Seoul."
In terms of its design, from just behind the cockpit through the rear lavatory, a flat floor provides stand-up access throughout the 16-ft plus cabin. The main passenger cabin—described by Cessna as its widest ever—is 77 in wide with a height of 72 in. The standard seating arrangement accommodates passengers in a single-club with a forward, dual side-facing couch.
Six pedestal seats track forward and aft 7 in and laterally 4 in on the seat base with 180° swiveling capability and infinite recline positions. Cabin-length indirect LED lighting is provided overhead in the passenger service units with variable adjustment for direct reading lights and more.
“The use of innovative technology is key to providing a more efficient and productive aircraft cabin, which is critical to meeting expectations of a fully functioning work environment,” said Cindy Halsey, Cessna Vice President, Interior Design, Engineering and Development. “Through our new Clairity cabin technology system, we have an intuitive user interface to offer customers a ‘smart’ airplane for the ultimate connectivity experience.”
Developed by Cessna in partnership with Dallas-based Heads Up Technologies, Clairity is an intelligent cabin technology solution that ties into the aircraft avionics systems and can integrate cabin electrical systems and data and communication sharing through a fiber-optic backbone controlled through either a touch-screen user interface at each seat or the passenger's personal electronic device.
The Citation Latitude’s cockpit is anchored by the new, fully integrated Garmin G5000 system that centers on three 14-in LCD primary and multifunction displays and four touch-screen control panels. It includes an integrated Flight Director/Autopilot and Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS).
Among the standard features of the new system are a pilot-vehicle touch-screen interface, TCAS II with Change 7.1, Synthetic Vision Technology, electronic charts, Garmin’s SafeTaxi, a dual flight management system with WAAS LPV and RNP, solid-state weather radar with turbulence detection and vertical scan capability, integrated terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS), ADS-B Out and Link 2000+ data link. Options include satellite weather and an ICAO Type 1A flight data recorder.
