Straight To The Top

Textron Aviation has unveiled the Cessna Citation Ascend – the newest addition to its line of the best-selling Citation family of business jets. The announcement could not have come at a better time. With a solid 1,900nm range, the citation Ascend is optimized for flights within Asia where most private aircraft flights are typically between one to three hours. The range of the Ascend is therefore more than sufficient to cost effectively connect city-pairs. The Citation Ascend will also offer more time in the air, enhanced warranty, and less downtime, providing owners and operators greater savings with increased warranty for the engine, exterior paint and interiors.

Striking Features, Amenities
The most striking features of the Citation Ascend are evident in the design – particularly of its interiors. The company’s design and engineering teams worked with a customer advisory board comprised of owners, pilots, mechanics and passengers to gather their feedback and input to help create a design that will deliver the ultimate aircraft experience in the segment. This begins at the new entryway with its enhanced lighting and substantial stairs leading up to the aircraft. Inside customers will see a range of standard and customizable features that meet the preferences of the customers. Immediately noticeable is the expansive flat floor. With a consistent height throughout the main passenger area, the flat floor elevates the spaciousness, comfort and mobility around the cabin, allowing the seats to swivel for enhanced flexibility and roomier legroom. The Citation Ascend can seat up to nine passengers in its standard seating configuration, and up to 12 passengers in other configurations. Seating in the main cabin puts passengers in an optimized posture for maximum ergonomic benefits. A push button releases the electrically powered seat to swivel on the pedestal and move along the track, while the dual armrests add to passenger comfort. The backs of the side facing seats can be folded down to create additional luggage space.

Standard and Custom Options
To personalize the aircraft, customers of the citation Ascend can customize the firmness of the seat base cushion. Personalized seat quilting and tailoring, footrests and electronically controlled lumbar support are available options. Customers can select a stone or luxury vinyl flooring in the entry vestibule and lavatory area, a feature often seen only in larger business jets. Through the cabin management system, passengers can control the entertainment, lighting, temperature, and window shades wirelessly via their personal devices connected with the onboard Clairity Cabin Management System. The cutting-edge Bongiovi speaker-less sound system is available to give an immersive entertainment experience for passengers in every seat. Connectivity is provided through the standard Gogo US Avance L3 Max WiFi or the optional US Avance L5 WiFi. Another option is the Aviator 300 system for WiFi and worldwide calling. There are 19 standard USB-C charging points throughout the aircraft, as well as power points at every seat.

More Natural Light, Quieter Cabin

The new windows in the cabin are about 15% larger—able to fill the space with ample natural light and give the aircraft an impressive external profile. These are fitted with standard translucent and opaque shades; lighted window rings for enhanced illumination are also an option.

The Citation Ascend boasts advanced acoustic treatment systems like that  of the larger Citation Latitude. The quiet cabin technology uses materials to absorb a wider range of sound frequencies to give ambient audio level similar to larger business jets. Together, with the sound-dampening curtains, it ensures a more comfortable, quiet, and distraction-free passenger environment that is suitable for both productivity and relaxation. Passengers can arrive feeling more refreshed compared to similar jets in the category and ready for what’s next in their schedule.

State-of-the-Art Avionics

The Citation Ascend is fitted with the state-of-the-art Garmin G5000 Avionics suite, updated with the latest software and hardware including standard features like the auto-throttles that helps reduce pilot workload, maximize fuel efficiency, and provide flight envelope protection. It will also feature synthetic vision, Garmin weather radar and other optional features like Surface Watch to provide improved situational awareness for pilots. In the cockpit are three large (14 inches) high-resolution displays with split screen capabilities, a standard dual-flight management system, and a synthetic vision that shows obstacles on the primary flight display.

The system also includes a cockpit voice and data transceiver for satellite calls, and the new Garmin weather radar features. A pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PW545D turbofan engines will power the Citation Ascend. This engine is designed to deliver better fuel efficiency and increased thrust while being optimized with the new auto-throttles that is now standard in the cockpit. This gives customers the benefits of flying longer, reduced trip fuel cost, and less maintenance downtime. Preliminary performance data indicates that a typical fourpassenger range of 1,900 nautical miles at high-speed cruise power cruises at 441 knots with the ability to climb directly to 45,000 feet. For long-range cruise, the aircraft can achieve 1,900 nautical miles, easily connecting Singapore and the Maldives, and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to Fukuoka in Japan.

A Host of Other Advantages

Stepping outside the airplane, one will appreciate the ramp presence of the aircraft. With a new windshield, larger cabin windows and a new LED-lighted wingtip design, the Citation Ascend holds its own at airports. More than a design upgrade, the aircraft is a class above the competition. The Citation Ascend is based on the 560XL, which includes the Cessna Citation Excel, Cessna Citation XLS, and Cessna Citation XLS+ and Cessna Citation XLS Gen2 models, all of which were designed and manufactured by Textron Aviation. To date, more than 1,000 Cessna Citation 560-series aircraft have been built and delivered over the past 25 years, several of which are used by charter companies in North America and Europe. It is also flown by a number of private operators across Asia. Textron Aviation towers above competitors in offering jets in the category with high-level factory-direct support. While it owns and operates 20 service centers worldwide, it has four service centers and two parts distribution centers in the Asia-Pacific region. No other aircraft OEM has the same presence in the region to provide support to its customer. Recently unveiled by the company with a full-size cabin mock-up at the EBACE tradeshow in Geneva, the Citation Ascend expected to be certified and enter into service in 2025.

Visit www.cessna.com/ascend for videos and more information about the Citation Ascend.