Cessna’s Citation Ten, an improved development of its popular Citation X business jet, made its first flight on January 17.
The two hour flight, which operated from Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport, assessed aircraft stability and control, the autopilot and autothrottle system, engine operability and avionics operation.
“It took a significant amount of work by a large number of people to get us to this milestone today and I am happy to report that the aircraft performed exceptionally well and handling characteristics were excellent; just as predicted,” said Cessna engineering test pilot Michael Voigt. “All systems functioned as expected including the Garmin G5000 avionics system.”
Cessna says that US Federal Aviation Administration type certification is “on track” for mid-2013. First deliveries are planned for the second half of that year.
