25 February 2014

The Citation Latitude takes flight

As I’m a pilot on its smaller sister, the Citation XLS+, I was eagerly awaiting the first test flight of Cessna’s new midsize jet – the Citation Latitude. This took place on February 18 in Wichita, Kansas.

Having been unveiled as a concept to much excitement at NBAA 2011, fast forward three and a half years and it’s fantastic to see the prototype of the Latitude actually taking flight. By the way, prototype aircraft are sometimes referred to as ‘green aircraft’ – nothing to do with their environmental profile, but because without any paint on them, the underlying colour of the fuselage is green.

The 2.5 hour test flight was a success. Pilot Aaron Tobias said afterwards “The Citation Latitude was great today, which is to say it behaved just as anticipated”. The crew reached an altitude of 28,000 feet and a speed of 200 kts. Over the course of the flight, the crew would have tested all of the aircraft’s key functions including the flaps, landing gear, pressurization, anti-ice capabilities, stability and control.

Cessna are positioning the Citation Latitude between Citation XLS+ (currently the most popular business jet in the world) and the longer Citation Sovereign. A lot of focus has been given to its state-of-the-art interior, which Cessna describe as “the next-generation business-travel environment”.

The 30 inch wide cabin is the roomiest of any of the Citation family aircraft, and it is the only Cessna jet with a flat floor (which maximises head height). It will be equipped with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306D engines, a Garmin 5000 avionics suite and electrically operated door.

The Latitude will accommodate up to 9 passengers and has a theoretical range of 4,630 km – so able to make cross-continental trips such as Los Angeles to New York, or Rome to Dubai.

Cessna expects FAA certification of the $14.9 million Latitude in mid 2015. We’ll be watching carefully to see if its much-anticipated launch dents the popularity of the XLS+ or other aircraft in the mid-size category, such as the popular Hawker Beechcraft 900.

Our 24-hour team can advise the best aircraft for your itinerary. Contact us or call +44 1747 642 777.

Related content

04 April 2019

PrivateFly’s accelerated growth as we combine with Skyjet

Following our acquisition by Directional Aviation last September, we’ve now marked another important milestone, as we complete our integration with Skyjet – the group’s other on-demand private jet charter brand. Coming together with Skyjet gives us a…
01 March 2018

PrivateFly Turns Ten

This month marks ten years since PrivateFly took off. It’s been a decade since we were a disruptive start-up, looking to convince the market that our vision of a tech-driven approach to private jet charter would…
14 October 2014

Gulfstream’s ‘faster & further’ G650ER receives FAA certification

It’s been a busy news week for Gulfstream. Today the manufacturer unveiled plans for its new generation G500 and G600 twinjet aircraft (more to come on that story), hot on the heels of last week’s…
Sustainability

PrivateFly is committed to a long term sustainability program, dedicated to going far beyond just carbon offsetting.

Read More
Our Group

PrivateFly is a sister company to Flexjet, which provides shared ownership and programmes for experienced private aviation users who fly 50+ hours per year

Visit The Website
Speak to our flight team 24/7
Connect With Us
Our Websites
Back to top