Textron Rolls Out First Production Citation Longitude
There are currently five of the super-midsize twinjets on the production line.
Textron Aviation recently rolled out the first production Cessna Citation Longitude from its Plant IV facility at Beech Field in Wichita, Kansas. Five of the super-midsize twinjets are on the production line, which Textron Aviation senior vice president of integrated supply chain Ron Draper said incorporates “new and innovative fabrication and assembly techniques.”
According to the company, one of these new technologies is monolithic machining, where major assemblies are milled from a single piece of metal, reducing the number of parts and resulting in more precise tolerances for easier assembly. Textron Aviation also has expanded vertical tooling on the assembly line of the Longitude.
The twinjet is expected to enter service later this year. To date, the four flight-test Longitudes have logged more than 550 hours. A fifth Longitude will be added to the flight-test program this summer. The first production airplane will also join the company’s demonstration fleet this summer.