Textron shows off Citation Latitude at NBAA

Textron Aviation kicked off media day ahead of the world’s largest business aviation convention in Orlando on Monday announcing product upgrades to its Beechcraft King Air line and promising there’s more to come.

“It’s all about new products,” Scott Ernest, Textron Aviation CEO and president, told a packed room at a news conference at the Orlando Convention Center. “We’ve got 1,700 engineers that are interested in keeping busy.”

The company will invest in jets and turboprops.

There are several projects in the works, he said.

Textron, Cessna’s parent company bought Beechcraft Corp. in March, after it had emerged from bankruptcy, and formed Textron Aviation.

The National Business Aviation Association convention opens to the public Tuesday and runs through Thursday.

Planes used for business are also on display at the Orlando Executive Airport. About 25,000 attendees and 1,100 exhibitors are expected to attend this week’s show.

The improvements to the King Air line come as Textron Aviation marks the 50th anniversary of the King Air series.

Since 1964, Beechcraft has delivered nearly 7,200 King Airs.

“We’ve spent the last six to eight weeks talking to customers around the world on the King Air products,” Cristi Tannahill, Textron Aviation senior vice president for turboprop aircraft, said ahead of the convention.

Now, the company can showcase what the team has been working on and offer customers what they’ve been wanting for a while, she said.

One aircraft it’s interested in is a single-engine turboprop.

Beechcraft and Cessna have looked at offering a single-engine turboprop aircraft, company officials say.

It’s something that’s still under consideration.

One project it’s apparently not interested in resurrecting is the former Citation Columbus, a project shelved during the economic downturn.

There’s obviously a market for that size of an airplane, Ernest said after the news conference.

But the Columbus was designed six years ago and technology has advanced since then, Ernest said.

In the meantime, Cessna is in the midst of bringing the Citation Latitude, its largest Citation to date, to the market now, he said.

It will be certified next year.

The Latitude is making its NBAA debut at the show.

ProAdvantage

Textron Aviation is expanding a program called ProAdvantage, designed to help first-time airplane owners navigate aircraft operations.

It will help first-time buyers with pilot services, training, hangar leasing, insurance, cost management and other support.

It also helps with maintenance and spare part support.

It’s a program offered to Citation owners. It will now be offered to owners of King Airs.

King Air C90GTx

The Beechcraft King Air C90GTx turboprop will now offer standard features that deliver shorter takeoff and landing distances, better handling characteristics and better passenger experience, officials said.

The plane is Beechcraft’s entry level plane in its twin-turboprop family.

The most significant change is the shortened takeoff distance, the company said.

The distance the plane needs to take off was reduced by 23 percent, from 2,575 feet to 1,984 feet. That opens up more airports for the plane to use, Textron officials said.

Enhancements also include a longer propeller to give the plane more takeoff and climb thrust with less cockpit noise and improved ice and rain protection.

Other improvements have been added to improve directional stability at low speeds, the passenger ride quality and aircraft handling characteristics.

Deliveries will begin between now and the end of the year.

King Air 250

Beechcraft also announced improvements to its King Air 250, which are now available with optional modifications to improve range by about 500 miles with six passengers on board.

That’s an important upgrade that owners have been requesting, Tannahill said, especially special mission operators wanting to carry heavy equipment or those that want more range with more passengers and bags.

The improvements also will be offered as an after-market option for King Air250s already in service.

Aftermarket

As part of the transition into a single company, Textron Aviation is putting together two large aftermarket businesses into one, said Brad Thress, Textron Aviation senior vice president for aftermarket service and support.

The combined company services 6,600 Citations and 2,300 Hawkers.

It’s combining company-owned service centers, mobile service units and a wide network of authorized service providers. It’s also establishing relationships with the Hawker supply base.

“Those contracts went away with the bankruptcy,” Thress said. “The other things that have been a struggle for Hawker owners in the bankruptcy is parts availability. We’re working hard on that.”

The company is hiring technicians across its service network. It has openings for more than 100 positions across 21 service centers.

Citation Latitude

Textron Aviation’s new Citation Latitude is making its public debut at the NBAA.

The $16.2 million nine-passenger plane is Cessna’s largest Citation to date.

“We’ve worked hard on the Latitude,” said Mike Pierce, Textron Aviation manager of technical marketing.

It’s the first midsize business jet with six feet of cabin height, the company said.

The company has paid close attention to details. For example, it developed the passenger seats by using foam for people to sit on, then looking at the pressure points and cutting foam to fit.

First, “we made it comfortable,” Pierce said. Then they built the seat’s frame. Customers can add footrests for the seating.

Its side facing seat has an airbag system for safety.

An app on a phone or tablet can be used to control the cabin lighting.

The cockpit was designed with leather stitching on the yoke, and fewer switches for pilots.

“We made everything very logical,” Pierce said.

The company is two-thirds through the program with four test airplanes flying. They have logged more than 260 flights and more than 600 total flight hours.

The company is also moving forward on its Citation Longitude, which fits in the super-mid to large business jet segment. The program is at an early stage, said Chris Hearne, vice president for business jets.

“We’re meeting with customers to understand the needs of the product and making the tweaks to the design,” Hearne said.

Customers have said they want larger business jets.

“We need to be wise about it,” said Kriya Shortt, Textron Aviation senior vice president for sales and marketing. The Latitude is the first foray into larger aircraft.

As the company grows that way, it will make continued investment in new products.

“You’ll see more from us,” Shortt said.

This story was originally published October 20, 2014 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Textron shows off Citation Latitude at NBAA."