One particular metric reveals much about Textron Aviation’s strategy with the forthcoming Cessna Citation Hemisphere. The large cabin jet unveiled last year is in development with a targeted range of 4,500nm, or 29% beyond the endurance of any previous Citation, including the high-speed X+ currently in service and the wide-cabin Longitude still in development. The Hemisphere will fly from Orlando to Rome without stopping to refuel.
For a Citation jet, the Hemisphere’s promised range is unprecedented for a Wichita-built business jet. It is partly aimed at creating space for Citation customers to move up within Cessna’s product line-up, and partly intended to win market share against much older aircraft designs. At 4,500nm, the clean-sheet Hemisphere is bracketed by aircraft, such as the Gulfstream G450 and the Dassault Falcon 900LX, which are based on fuselage cross-sections defined in the 1980s. The Hemisphere is most closely positioned against another 1980s-derived cross-section in the Bombardier Challenger 650, which offers the same fuselage diameter but 500nm less range.
So when the Hemisphere cabin mock-up makes its debut at the NBAA convention in Orlando, Textron Aviation has a lot riding on how the conceptual lay-out is received. The customers who buy the Hemisphere expect a cabin offering a high standard for comfort and luxury. That standard must be maintained over a time period stretching hours longer than possible on previous Citation jets. By attacking a new market segment, matching the competitors’ cabin experience may not be enough. The design of the interior may be needed to five customers a reason to buy the Hemisphere.
A preview tour of freshly-completed mock-up in early October reveals Textron Aviation is not approaching the large cabin segment timidly. The mock-up is filled with bold strokes, including two large skylights, and clever features created to maximize function while conceding nothing to form.
The entrance area of the aircraft has multiple functions. It is an area for the flight crew to rest on long flights and the cabin crew to sit and work on short flights, so includes a crew rest area, galley and lavatory. Such spaces are typically darkened by a lack of windows, but Textron Aviation uses a skylight here and in the aft cabin lavatory to enlighten the space. The counters of the galley include expandable panels, more work area when it is needed. Although the lavatory is mainly intended for crew, it is outfitted to be used by passengers.
Though not intimately experienced with large cabin interiors, Textron Aviation’s cabin designers turned to those who are. A customer advisory panel with roughly 20 members was convened at Cessna headquarters last spring. Ninety-five percent of the members are not active Cessna operators, but instead use the Hemisphere’s competition.
“They provided us their insights around performance parameters they’d like to see improved upon and what the customer experience needs to be,” says Kryia Shortt, senior vice-president of sales and marketing for Textron Aviation.
Based on the panel’s advice, Textron Aviation started building the mock-up inside the L-22 building, a facility located on the southern fringe of Cessna’s sprawling “West Campus” near Wichita’s Mid-Continent International Airport. The bed of a tractor-trailer serves as the base for the mock-up, which makes it easy for Textron Aviation to hitch it to a truck for transport to major events.
The panel’s influence can be found all throughout the interior mock-up. For instance, Textron Aviation’s advisors explained underscored the importance of seat comfort on long missions, so the mock-up features 30in-wide seats between 4in-wide arm rests. In previous Citation models, such dimensions would have made for cramped cabins, but the seats look comfortably snug when tucked into the 102in-diameter of the Hemisphere.
The cabin seats are outfitted to support the electronic connections and storage needs of the passengers. Large windows are positioned to allow visibility at any seat without requiring the passenger to lean forward and back.
The customer advisory panel identified two primary mission for the aircraft: domestic shuttle and intercontinental VIP transport, Shortt says.
For the shuttle mission in particular, large cabin jets are also used like conference rooms on the ground. Four club chairs are positioned front and aft of a conference table in Zone 2. Across the aisle is a credenza. The top of the credenza is a laminated surface, but the middle section can be opened up to reveal a cushioned seat. In cruise flight, this seat can be used as extra seating space for a conference meeting or presentation, says Christi Tannahill, Textron Aviation’s vice-president for interiors.
The embedded credenza seat represents a through-line from the cockpit door to the back wall of the pressurised storage compartment. It is similar to the crew seat in the entrance area that can be transitioned into extra work space.
“Every point you can turn at every opportunity to expand space, we’re doing that,” Tannahill says.
The aft lavatory mock-up reveals a conventional lay-out with a toilet on one side and a sink and mirror on the other. By stacking the toilet and sink on the same side, customers create room to add an optional shower. Like the entrance area, the absence of windows is offset by a skylight.
The mock-up does not quite reveal all of the Hemisphere’s secrets. Large cabin jets compete on interior sound levels as much as seat comfort and window size. So far, Textron Aviation is not releasing interior noise targets for the Hemisphere. The aircraft will also feature new advances in pressurisation levels and air purity systems, but details are not yet available.
In this case, time is on Textron Aviation’s side. First flight of the Hemisphere remains scheduled in 2019. No date has been released for certification and first delivery, but generally could be expected one to two years after first flight. That gives Textron Aviation as much as four to five years to continue defining and refining details of the cabin interior. Displaying the mock-up at NBAA is the first step in that process.
Source: Flight Daily News
