Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. After spending several years in the Pacific Northwest, she has returned to the Knoxville area.

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Cessna Citation 560XL, Excel, XL, XLS, and Ascend

Hanneke Weitering

Textron Aviation’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2023-05-22/textron-aviation-unveils-ascend-latest-xl-family">Cessna Citation Ascend</a>, the latest Excel/XLS variant, will make its U.S. debut at NBAA 2023 in Las Vegas this month in cabin mockup form. The full-size cabin replica of the midsize jet, which the company announced at EBACE 2023, will be available for viewing at its BACE static display.
While EBACE attendees had the opportunity to look <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/video/ascend-midsize-jet-joins-textron-aviation-citation-family">inside the Ascend cabin mockup</a>, guests at BACE will be the first to see the aircraft’s exterior.&nbsp;“This mockup has been completely reworked since EBACE, including the hardshell with a beautiful exterior, fully sustainable interior, [and] more functionality within the cabin,” said Lannie O’Bannion, Textron Aviation’s senior v-p of sales and flight operations.
A key feature of the Ascend is its flat floor, which makes the cabin feel more spacious despite having a little less headroom than earlier models with trenched floors. Taking advantage of the added floor space in the Ascend, Textron designed new ergonomic seats that passengers can swivel and track to create more legroom and get comfortable. Customers can choose from a variety of sustainable materials to customize the seats and other aspects of the interior.
The Ascend aircraft will come with the Garmin G5000 avionics suite, which includes an integrated autothrottle system that helps to reduce pilot workload and improve safety. Visitors at NBAA can see the full flight deck on display inside the cabin mockup.
Textron Aviation CEO Ron Draper said the company has already begun flight testing with an early prototype of the Ascend equipped with Garmin G5000 avionics. He said a production-representative version is on track to begin flight testing before year-end. The $16.7 million jet is expected to enter service in 2025.

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NBAA-BACE 2023

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Cessna Citation 560XL, Excel, XL, XLS, and Ascend

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