As Textron Aviation released its second-quarter results today, CEO Scott Donnelly announced that the Citation Hemisphere program has been put on hold. As a unit, Textron Aviation’s revenues were down in the second quarter by $153 million with fewer jets and turboprops delivered in the period.
Stopping the Hemisphere is largely down to delays from Safran, manufacturer of the Silvercrest engine. “We have determined that the engine has not yet demonstrated the performance required for the aircraft design and we have put the program on hold,” Donnelly said. “Any decision to revisit the program in the future would depend on the state of the market, proven engine performance and a competitive landscape at that time.”
The 12-passenger Hemisphere was announced in 2015, with Cessna touting its 4500-nautical-mile range and Mach 0.90 cruise speed. Now that Cessna has (at least for now) pulled out, there are no airframes slated to use Silvercrest. Nevertheless Safran says it will continue development of the 11,000-pound-thrust engine.
