With several aircraft moving through certification, Textron Aviation is providing fresh looks at its current and future light-to-mid-sized executive jet lineup at the NBAA show in Las Vegas, highlighted by the first public appearance of the Cessna Citation Ascend.
Textron Aviation has four Cessna Citation jets at the static display, including the Ascend, Longitude, Latitude and CJ4 Gen2.
A mock-up of the Citation CJ3 Gen 3 – development of which was announced at last year’s NBAA show, along with “Gen 3” variants of the M2 and CJ4 platforms – is also at the static display.
In the hall, Textron Aviation is presenting a half-shell interior mock-up of the CJ3 Gen3, which is positioned to enter service in 2027.
Most notable is the debut of Ascend, with an example of the mid-sized jet landing at Henderson Executive airport in the morning on 13 October.
Ascend’s certification is imminent, Textron Aviation chief executive Ron Draper says on 13 October, describing the end of the process as “this close”, holding up a small gap between his thumb and forefinger.
Draper adds that the US federal government shutdown is not holding up certification of the Ascend, which has logged some 1,000 test-flight hours. Textron Aviation is a “document or two” away from the finish line.
Cessna recently rolled the first production example of the Ascend off its line in Wichita. The jet is a refresh of the company’s “XL” line, with upgrades going well beyond surface level.
“The Citation Ascend will be all-new interior, all-new cockpit, and even the engines have had technology inserted into them,” Draper says. “We’re thrilled that this will be certified soon.”
Textron Aviation is hopeful that Ascend’s certification will come shortly after revealing on 13 October that it has secured FAA certification of the Citation CJ3 Gen 2 and M2 Gen 2.
Certification of the M2 Gen2 comes after Textron Aviation completed nearly 300 test-flight hours with the FAA. The light jet variant comes with Garmin’s Autothrottle system as a standard feature, providing protection from engine exceedance incidents and reducing pilot workloads.
The airframer says that the Autothrottle system “supports the most-delivered light-entry jet’s capabilities by optimising engine power, simpliflying flight-management and increasing overall operating efficiency”.
Textron Aviation put the CJ3 Gen2 – the larger of the two light jets – through about 445 test-flight hours prior to clearing the final certification hurdle. The variant also integrates Garmin’s Autothrottle and, incorporating customer feedback, provides a bit more legroom for pilots as part of ”enhancements throughout the aircraft”.
REGULATORY AND CERTIFICATION CHALLENGES
Civil aviation regulators in Europe and North America have made “positive movements” in recent months, but Draper would like to see aircraft certification become less time-consuming. He recalls the “deep freeze” on moving products through certification during the Covid-19 pandemic and notes that, relative to those lows, aircraft certification processes “are back moving again”.
For example, Textron Aviation recently received FAA certification for advanced features of the Garmin G5000 avionics suite, including a synthetic vision guidance system, improved connectivity and a taxiway routing feature.
But the manufacturer’s only in-certification clean-sheet aircraft, Beechcraft’s single-engined Denali, has faced repeated delays, with certification of GE Aerospace’s Catalyst turboprop engine holding up the process. GE Aerospace finally cleared that hurdle in February, providing Denali with both an engine and a certification pathway.
That aircraft will compete for market share mainly against the Pilatus PC-12, with Denali seating four passengers in an executive configuration and up to nine passengers in a commuter configuration.
Textron Aviation now expects to secure type certification of Denali in 2026.
“There are some cases where they still need to move faster, and they’re working on that,” Draper says. “Sometimes, that is a resource issue with EASA or the FAA, [where] they’re one or two experts deep in a particular area.”
However, regulators recognise areas where they are thin and are “heading in the right direction”, Draper says.
“The FAA, I know they’ve been bashed a lot the past five years,” he says. “We can throw rocks at them over specifics – why is this taking so long, or that taking so long? I do see them listening and trying to react, so that’s not keeping me up at night.”
Draper says Textron Aviation is weighing in on the rapid changes underway at EASA and the FAA, pointing specifically to the USA’s air traffic control overhaul.
“We’re lending our voice to that, as well as continuing to push for speed and common sense in certain aircraft certifications and bilateral agreements,” Draper adds. “How do we get the FAA and EASA and all the other regulatory bodies around the world, how do we get them honouring bilaterals?”
Currently, Textron Aviation faces headwinds from getting products certificated country by country, a years-long process that holds up the rollout of new aircraft platforms, such as the Cessna SkyCourier utility aircraft. Draper would like regulators to smooth out those processes.
