Textron Opens NBAA Convention

Textron Aviation launched NBAA's annual Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Orlando on Monday morning, with a news conference marking their first appearance at the show since uniting the Cessna and Beechcraft lines under one corporate umbrella. The company brought 12 aircraft to the static display at Orlando Executive Airport, with turboprops and jets from both lines, including the newly certified Citation CJ3+ and the Citation X+, which regained for the company the claim to the world's fastest civil aircraft when it was certified in June. The Citation Latitude, Cessna's newest midsize business jet, is making its public debut at the show, with one of the four flight-test articles on display. The company also announced upgrades to the latest King Air model.

A suite of performance enhancements by Raisbeck Engineering, including swept-blade Hartzell props and dual aft body strakes, shorten the takeoff distance for the King Air C900BTx by nearly 600 feet, the company announced on Monday. The changes also boost climb and landing performance. The new model will start deliveries later this year. So far, the corporation is maintaining the mix of Beechcraft and Cessna aircraft as separate brands in its Textron stable, and no plans have been announced to trim or change any of the lines now in production. The NBAA event will continue through the week, and AVweb staff are on site to bring you daily video, podcasts, and news.