In The Works: Cessna Citation Sovereign

All major milestones with the Sovereign have been completed on or ahead of schedule, according to Brad Thress, Sovereign senior product director, who added that Cessna displayed the super-midsize jet, with completed interior, for the first time at the NBAA Convention last month. So far two test airplanes (a prototype and S/N 001) have logged 220 hr on some 120 flights. The prototype first flew in February, while S/N 001 made its maiden flight in June.

Milestones recently completed include FAA and CAA certification of the model’s Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306C engines; completion of three lifetimes of cyclic fatigue testing (36,000 cycles); stall development and stability control work; and engine installation on S/N 002, scheduled to join the flight-test program this fall. The $12.695 million Sovereign is expected to receive FAA certification late next year. Customer deliveries are to begin in early 2004.