Aircraft
Sovereign on track to fly early next year
Wichita-based Cessna Aircraft is continuing to make progress on the development and certification activities of its super-midsize Citation Sovereign.

Wichita-based Cessna Aircraft is continuing to make progress on the development and certification activities of its super-midsize Citation Sovereign. Announced at the 1998 NBAA Convention, the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306C-powered Sovereign will have an NBAA IFR range exceeding 2,500 nm (two crew and eight passengers), an mtow of 29,250 lb, a 454-kt max cruise speed and a 47,000-ft ceiling.

According to Sovereign program manager Brad Thress, the cyclic fatigue test article (S/N E-9) last month was shipped to the test facility, where it will undergo a 60,000-cycle test over the course of two years. He said the structure static strength test article’s (S/N E-3) fuselage section was completed last month and the wing was expected to be mated by press time. E-3 will be used for airframe fatigue and load-limit testing.