Aircraft
Interest Grows as Citation Longitude Nears Approval
Textron Aviation anticipates to learn more about the Silvercrest engine this summer for ghe large-cabin Hemisphere.
Certification of the Cessna Citation Longitude is taking longer than planned, but is now expected in the third quarter of 2019. (Photo: David McIntosh)
Certification of the Cessna Citation Longitude is taking longer than planned, but is now expected in the third quarter of 2019. (Photo: David McIntosh)

Textron Aviation’s newest Citation jet, the super-midsize Longitude, is set for full U.S. FAA certification and entry into service (EIS) in the third quarter of 2019, with EASA validation due to follow next year. Ron Draper, who stepped in as the company's CEO in October, conceded that certification will follow a longer-than-anticipated certification process. “We may have gotten a little aggressive, to put it in perspective, with some of the dates we put out,” Draper said, to achieve FAA certification of its biggest Citation, which was originally expected in 2017.