Cessna gives its Encore a plus

Cessna Aircraft  (Stand E705) has continued with recently introduced nomenclature for its newly upgraded models by turning the Citation Encore into the Encore+. Previous Citation models that received the plus treatment are the CJ1+ and CJ2+ light jets. Key upgrades to the midsize Encore+ include Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics, Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535B engines with Fadec, a 200-pound increase in payload capability and LED indirect  cabin lighting, now standard on all models, all for a price of around $8 million.

Cessna said the Pro Line 21 system in the Encore+ will incorporate many of the features of the CJ series airplanes, including three 8- by 10-inch liquid-crystal displays, TCAS II, EGPWS , Nexrad weather uplink capability, meteorological terminal aviation routine weather report (METARs) and textual terminal aerodrome forecast (TAF). The advanced avionics package supports reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM) requirements. The Fadec-equipped PW535B turbofans use a similar architecture to the Encore’s PW535A engine, but is rated at 3,400 pounds of thrust. The payload increase enables the operator to realize a useful load (over and above two pilots) of 6,600 pounds.