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Cessna Aircraft Company, a subsidiary of Textron Aviation, a Textron Inc. company, said at the annual Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition it expects certification soon for the Citation Sovereign+ by the Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil to pave the way for the first scheduled deliveries to Brazilian customers during the third quarter of 2014.
Following certification in December by the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States and in June by the European Aviation Safety Agency, the Sovereign+ has gained certification in Mexico, Argentina and Chile. Through the second quarter, Cessna has delivered 24 Sovereign+ aircraft.
“The Citation Sovereign+ has already gained attention in Latin America for its short-field performance and its range,” said Kriya Shortt, senior vice president, sales and marketing. “Customers in São Paulo or Buenos Aires can reach the whole of South America non-stop, while a large portion of the U.S. is one flight away for customers leaving Manaus or Caracas.
“One of the best attributes of the Sovereign+ for Latin America is its ability to operate from smaller airfields, with a take-off distance of 3,530 feet,” Shortt said.
Featuring winglets and the new Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306D engines providing 5907 pounds of thrust, the Citation Sovereign+ has a range of 3,188 nautical miles (5,904 km), a top speed of 460 knots (529 miles per hour) and a direct climb to 45,000 feet.
The new cockpit in the Sovereign+ is designed around the Cessna Intrinzic Flight Deck powered by Garmin G5000 avionics. An integrated, workload-reducing auto throttle system streamlines the pilots’ tasks. With Cessna’s Clairity cabin management system and redesigned interior options, the Sovereign+ features the longest and most comfortable cabin in its class with a max seating configuration for up to 12 passengers. The Clairity system allows passengers to remain connected in-flight through the integration of smartphones and tablets, along with an airborne Internet system.
Cessna is offering the Sovereign+ with a unique Sovereign Shield program covering all scheduled maintenance and parts costs for the aircraft’s first five years or 1,500 flight hours, practically eliminating maintenance-related direct operating costs and allowing owners to operate the Citation Sovereign+ for far less than other business jets in the midsize category.
In service since 2004, the Citation Sovereign has reached a fleet of 349 aircraft worldwide and amassed more than 802,000 flight hours.
Today’s news reflects the company’s focus on continued investment in general aviation’s most extensive product line up for customers around the world. New Citation products expected to come to market within the coming year include the recent certification of the Citation X+ and upcoming introductions of the Citation CJ3+ and Citation Latitude.
More than 6,600 Citations have been delivered to customers around the world since the first Cessna Citation business jet was put into service in 1972. Citations are the largest fleet of business jets in the world and have surpassed 30 million flight hours. For more information on the Citation Sovereign+, visit Cessna.com.
