The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given Cessna the type certificate it needed to begin deliveries of its new Citation Longitude.
Originally announced during the 2012 European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) the Longitude is the largest Citation built to date.
“With the broadest line-up of business aviation platforms available worldwide, today Textron Aviation welcomes the Longitude into the esteemed Citation family of products and begins a new era of best-in-class solutions for our customers,” said Ron Draper, president and CEO, Textron Aviation. “The Longitude revolution starts now.”
The Longitude shares the same fuselage cross-section as the smaller Citation Latitude and was to be developed further into the larger Citation Hemisphere before that aircraft project was cancelled.
The Longitude flew for the first time in 2016, with certification originally planned for 2017.
Certification slipped into 2018 due to what Scott Donnelly, CEO of Cessna’s parent company Textron Aviation, said was an ‘obsolescence issue’ with one of the main suppliers for the aircraft.
Halfway through 2018 a further delay was announced, this time citing the need for additional paperwork that the company was not expecting.
“The real success of the program comes from the talent and customer focus our employees bring to work every day,” said Draper. “Their hard work and dedication have been spectacular through every step of the program, from initial concept, through design and testing, production and now into product support.”