Aircraft Overview: Cessna Citation Longitude

The Cessna Citation Longitude is a super-midsize business jet produced by Wichita, Kansas-based Textron Aviation. Unveiled at the 2012 European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE), the 2-hr. 2-min. first flight of the Longitude took place on Oct. 8, 2016, from the company's Beech Factory Airport. The Longitude, which is the commercial designation for Textron Aviation’s Model 700 type, was subsequently certified by the FAA on Sept. 21, 2019, ahead of the first deliveries on Sept. 30, 2019. 

Cabin 

Although Model 700 is certified by the FAA to have as many as 13 seats—for the two required pilots and as many as 11 passengers—the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certificate data sheet (TCDS) increases the number of passengers to 12, matching the maximum passenger capacity promoted by Textron Aviation.

Those passengers are accommodated in a flat-floor cabin that has a length of 25 ft. 2 in., height of 6 ft. and width of 6 ft. 5 in. The cabin also has “double-club seating” in seats that are “fully berthable,” with sleeping accommodations for up to four passengers possible.

According to Textron Aviation, the standard configuration of the Longitude’s cabin has eight seats, with an optional configuration replacing two of the aft seats with a side-facing couch that has three places. Another optional cabin configuration retains the eight seats of the standard configuration, adds an additional forward seat that is side facing and reduces the space available for the galley.

Located in the forward cabin is a wet galley, while in the aft cabin is a 112-ft.3 walk-in baggage compartment that is certified to accommodate as much as 1,000 lb. and which can be accessed regardless of the airplane’s altitude.

Despite the fact that the “aft-cabin baggage compartment” is approved to that weight, Textron Aviation states that the airplane’s overall baggage capacity weight is 1,115 lb. Beyond the outfitting of the cabin and volume and weight of baggage that can be carried, the Longitude is described as providing legroom that is 11% greater—the available legroom is 30 in.—as well as having “the quietest cabin in its class.”

Avionics 

Pilots operate the Citation Longitude using Garmin's G5000 integrated flight deck that includes three glass displays that measure 14 in. and four touch-screen controllers.

Other standard features of the G5000 include very-high-frequency (VHF) aircraft communications addressing and reporting system (ACARS), autothrottles that are fully integrated, diagnostics for maintenance, “synoptics for key systems” and Garmin Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT). Supplementing those standard features are avionics options such as Iridium ACARS, dual LASEREF inertial reference systems (IRS), an “enhanced-vision camera”, Future Air Navigation System (FANS) 1/A and a head-up display (HUD).

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