Cessna has announced that it will complete certification of its new, higher-speed Citation X in the second quarter and deliver several production aircraft. The latest version of the Citation X – featuring a record Mach 0.935 top speed for a transport category aircraft in production – has wrapped up flight testing, so all that is left is completion of paperwork, according to Textron chief executive Scott Donnelly. The original schedule called for delivering the first Citation X in late 2013, but tests were extended for several months. The new Citation X will enter service as the fastest business jet on the market, beating the Mach 0.925 standard set by the Gulfstream G650.
Powered by 7,030-lb-thrust Rolls-Royce AE3007C2 turbofan engines, the new Citation X can carry nine passengers 3,240 nm. It features a Garmin G5000 integrated avionics suite on the flightdeck, including three large-format, touch-screen displays. Deliveries are expected to begin prior to the end of June. We have customers who were kind of standing by and wanting these aircraft at the end of last year, Donnelly says. Flight testing has taken longer than we expected. We have customers who are waiting for their aircraft. So once we get that [paperwork] done we will certainly get a few deliveries here in the quarter.
