Story ID: 045April17
Textron Aviation Fields Third Flight-test Longitude
By: Chad Trautvetter
Caption: The twinjet—registered as N702GL—reached an altitude of 13,600 feet and speeds up to 256 knots during the maiden flight.
Word Count: 165
The third Cessna Citation Longitude joined the flight-test fleet last month, making a one-hour, 40-minute maiden flight from Wichita Colonel James Jabara Airport to nearby Beech Field, where the super-midsize business jet will be manufactured. According to FlightAware, the twinjet—registered as N702GL—reached 13,600 feet and 256 knots during the flight.

Test pilots Corey Eckhart and UJ Pesonen, along with flight-test engineer Mike Bradfield, successfully tested various systems, according to Textron Aviation. The aircraft will be used for avionics and systems development, as well as collecting flight-simulator data.

Aircraft three joins the test program less than six months after the first Longitude flew. At press time, the first two flight-test aircraft had logged 250 hours on 125 flights. Textron expects certification of the Citation Longitude by year-end.

The company has started assembly line flow in the east campus Plant IV manufacturing facility at Beech Field, with the first four production Longitudes now on the line.

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