Cessna also expects to receive FAA certification of its new XLS variant as early as this week. The XLS, Cessna’s follow-on to the Citation Excel, features a number of improvements when compared with its predecessor. For example, Cessna said when it announced the XLS that it expected the new model to have a 200-pound gross weight increase over the Excel. Maximum IFR range with two pilots and five passengers was projected to increase 225 nm, to 1,945 nm. Up front, the XLS will fly with Honeywell’s all-new Primus 1000 Control Display System (CDS) avionics system. The Primus 1000 features three 8″ x 10″ liquid crystal displays divided into two primary flight displays (PFDs) and one multi-function display (MFD). [More]The Citation XLS was announced at NBAA 2003, at which time the company said it expected certification in the first calendar quarter of 2004, with customer deliveries to begin by mid-2004. By the time you read this, at least the certification hurdle may have been crossed.
