Challenger 350: Raising the Bar? Farnborough: E2 to be star of Embraer’s show, Cessna Flies Citation X+

Cessna completed the first trans-Atlantic flight with its newly certified Citation X+ business jet. En route to the Farnborough Airshow, the trip lasted five hours and 33 minutes and spanned 2,788 nautical miles between the Cessna factory in Wichita, Kan., and the company’s facility at Paris Le Bourget airport prior to making the trip to TAG Farnborough Airport. During the trans-Atlantic portion of the flight, the Citation X+ climbed to 45,000 feet and accelerated to a cruise speed of .86 Mach.

“We filed a fairly standard flight plan to demonstrate the capability a customer can expect in normal operations, and it was very impressive,” said Kriya Shortt, senior vice president, sales and marketing for Textron Aviation. “While the operator will realize a huge benefit from the Citation X+ during shorter cross-country flights, long flights like this is where it really shines.”

One year after launching the re-engined E-Jet E2 family at the Paris air show, Embraer is putting the program at the heart of its Farnborough presence.

The airframer’s E2 strategy at the show is two-pronged, says chief executive Frederico Curado. The firm wants to keep increasing its backlog of the current-generation E-Jet to bridge to the new model, while also highlighting the development of the E2.

“It’s a major development for us,” he says. “It’s not just a re-engining, but a major improvement of the aircraft, including new wings.”