Citation Latitude Marks Five Years, 240 Deliveries

The worldwide fleet of 240 Cessna Citation Latitudes has exceeded 320,000 hours in the five years since the first delivery of the twinjet model, Textron Aviation announced this week. The Wichita airframer also noted on the aircraft’s fifth anniversary that the Latitude accounts for more than 40 percent of midsize jet deliveries since 2015.

Half of the Latitude deliveries have involved fractional operator NetJets, where, according to Textron, the airplane holds the distinction as having the highest average daily utilization. “Customers have returned to the Citation Latitude time and time again, proving its enduring performance over the past half-decade,” said Textron Aviation senior v-p of sales Rob Scholl.

Certified in more than 40 countries, the Latitude also has found footing as a special-missions aircraft, serving as an air ambulance for Babcock Scandinavian Air Ambulance in Norway and more recently for flight inspections by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

Powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney PW306D1 turbofans, each generating 5,907 pounds of thrust, the Latitude has a 2,700-nm NBAA IFR range and a maximum cruise speed of 446 ktas. Its six-foot-high cabin with a flat floor can carry as many as nine passengers.

AINsight: Trigger Happy

New details are beginning to emerge from the shootdown of a Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 by Iranian missiles in January. In a report released this week by Iran’s Civil Aviation Authority, both the flight data and voice recorders functioned for 19 more seconds after the initial missile strike. During that period, all aircraft systems reportedly were functioning normally, and the flight crew were uninjured. Six seconds later, a second missile would hit the aircraft, causing it to plummet into the ground and kill all 176 aboard. Unanswered in the report are why the airspace around Tehran was open, why the missiles were launched, and why an airline would opt to fly in a conflict zone in the first place.

In each decade, for the past 50 years, there has been an average of around one civilian aircraft shot down, unintentionally, by military forces. In the first six months of this year, there have been two.

The number of politically volatile and hostile areas around the globe are not only growing, but ever-changing. To keep track of all the hot spots around the world, the Safe Airspace Initiative offers a free conflict zone and risk database to users. ICAO studied airliner shootdowns and found that a risk assessment is the best approach for operators to mitigate this risk.

Otto Aviation Reveals Celera 500L Business Airplane

Otto Aviation this week unveiled the Celera 500L, a six-passenger pusher-prop business aircraft powered by a single 500-hp Red A03 diesel engine. To date, the company’s full-scale prototype has completed 31 test flights. Otto said FAA certification is expected in 2023, with service entry to follow in 2025.

According to the company, the submarine-shaped aircraft will have a maximum cruise speed of 391 knots and a range exceeding 3,900 nm, while offering a stand-up cabin and fuel economy of 16 to 22 nm per gallon. To achieve this efficiency, Otto said the Celera 500L employs “extensive” laminar flow over the fuselage, wings, and tail surfaces.

The company also claims that the airplane’s carbon emissions will be about 80 percent lower than comparable business aircraft.

“Our goal was to create a private aircraft that would allow for direct flights between any city pair in the U.S. at speeds and cost comparable to commercial air travel,” said William Otto Sr., chairman and chief scientist at Otto Aviation. “In many cases, individuals and families will be able to charter the Celera 500L at prices comparable to commercial airfares, but with the added convenience of private aviation. We believe when the price of private air travel is competitive with commercial air travel, an enormous market opportunity will result.”

NBAA Activates Hero Database for Hurricane Laura

NBAA stood up its Humanitarian Emergency Response Operator (Hero) database for relief assistance as the Category 4 Hurricane Laura made landfall in Louisiana early Thursday. NBAA compiled the Hero database to provide a list of business aircraft and industry personnel who participate in disaster response activities. Basic information from the list is furnished to organizations that coordinate disaster response relief efforts.

The association has previously activated the database for hurricanes, natural disasters, and medical crises. One such example was in response to a major earthquake in Haiti in 2017.

“Business aircraft are uniquely suited to relief operations, which often occur in small outlying airports or even on beaches or other off-field locations, providing critical supplies and aid in areas where ground transportation might not yet be feasible,” said Doug Carr, NBAA v-p of regulatory and international affairs. “NBAA’s Hero database provides partner relief organizations with one-stop access to business aircraft owners and pilots willing to volunteer their aircraft and time to assist in response efforts.”

The association encouraged aircraft operators to register their ability to support relief missions, noting that registration indicates interest. Operators are not under obligation to accept relief requests if the database is activated.

Bizav Industry To Hold Online SAF Summit Next Month

The Business Aviation Coalition for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF Coalition) will sponsor its first two-day summit next month to address ways to accelerate the market for renewable jet fuels. This online summit replaces a live event originally slated to take place in Washington, D.C., in March but canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Included will be four panel discussions featuring the industry’s top experts on sustainable aviation fuel, with sessions including a review of the current SAF situation, short-term supply strategies from fuel providers, long-term regulatory perspectives, and operators' overview. Each will include a Q&A session.

The coalition includes EBAA, NBAA, NATA, GAMA, and IBAC, as well as its newest member: the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI). The two days of programming will feature the heads of those organizations, in addition to an array of executives representing all aspects of the fuel supply chain from fuel producers and fuel distributors to FBOs, airframers, and aircraft operators.

This summit follows on the heels of SAF events last year in Van Nuys, California; Farnborough, England; Geneva, Switzerland; and other demonstration locations, all aimed at increasing the education and awareness of the benefits of these fuels in reducing the industry’s carbon emissions. The coalition also recently released the second edition of its SAF guide, Fueling the Future.

Avidyne FMSs Integrate with Appareo Insight EFB

Appareo’s Insight electronic flight bag app can now integrate with Avidyne’s new Atlas and Helios flight management systems. The new FMSs share many design and interface features of Avidyne’s IFD 440, 540, and 550 series GPS navigators, and Insight is already integrated with those units. 

Atlas and Helios are designed to replace legacy FMSs in older business jets/turboprops and helicopters, respectively, adding new features such as vertical guidance for Rnav approaches. The Atlas pilot interface includes flight planning with one-touch departure, airway, and arrival navigation, GeoFill waypoint nomination, a Qwerty keyboard, and a touchscreen.

The integration lets users share flight plans between the FMS and Insight EFB app and display ADS-B In traffic and weather in the app, as well as share AHRS data to provide attitude information for the app’s synthetic vision display. The bidirectional communication between the Insight app and Atlas/Helios FMS is enabled via Wi-Fi from an iPad or iPhone to the FMS. 

“With their expansion into new markets with the Atlas and Helio products, it provides more options for Stratus Insight users when selecting their hardware,” said Appareo Aviation president Kristofer Garberg.

Western Aircraft Installs First PC-12 Speed Cowl

Western Aircraft has installed its first Speed Cowl on a Pilatus PC-12 that the Boise, Idaho-based MRO provider said improves the performance of the single-engine turboprop. Developed by Edmo Distributors, which also holds the STC, the non-invasive modification increases ram air recovery to the aircraft's Pratt & Whitney PT6-67 engine.

Compared with the standard cowl, it lowers the interstage turbine temperature (ITT) by 20 to 30 degrees at the same psi setting, which helps to improve performance during climb and cruise. According to Edmo, the cowl increases ram air recovery by 54.7 percent in climb, 24.5 percent in cruise, and 33.4 percent in cruise with the inertial separator open. This results in more available torque to the propellor, reducing time to climb to altitude and increasing cruise speed, Edmo said. Uninstalled, the Speed Cowl is priced at $85,000.

“The modification can be done efficiently while the aircraft is already here for an annual inspection,” said Western Aircraft PC-12 technical representative Carl Coffelt. “It takes minimal time to install, so it won’t extend the amount of time the aircraft is with us, making it a very convenient upgrade for our customers.”

A Greenwich Aero Group company, Western Aircraft is an authorized Pilatus Aircraft service center and dealer for the PC-12 and PC-24.

Urban Aeronautics Launches Plan for EMS CityHawk VTOL

Urban Aeronautics is partnering with Hatzolah Air to jointly offer an emergency medical service (EMS) version of its planned CityHawk VTOL aircraft. The company is aiming to complete certification of an initial hybrid-powered aircraft within three to five years, with a hydrogen-powered version set to enter service after 2028.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed last week, Hatzolah Air, which is a U.S.-based EMS operator, will help Israel-based Urban Aeronautics to develop, produce, and market the CityHawk in the emergency response market. According to Hatzolah Air president Eli Rowe, there is a potential market for 800 of the EMS version of the aircraft.

The main passenger-carrying design for the CityHawk will be adapted to accommodate a pilot, a patient plus a companion, along with two emergency medical personnel and life support equipment. The aircraft is to be powered by Urban Aeronautics’ Fancraft ducted fan technology developed for the company’s existing Cormorant unmanned aircraft, which is intended for missions such as carrying cargo. It is expected to have a range of around 125 miles, although a hybrid-powered version could extend this to 175 miles and this could be ready to fly by early 2023.

This story comes from the new FutureFlight.aero resource developed by AIN to provide objective, independent coverage and analysis of new aviation technology, including electric aircraft developments.

Photo of the Week

This sunrise photo of a Dassault Falcon 8X shows off its sleek silhouette. Like the trijet, AircraftPost president Dennis Rousseau was up at dawn and ready to go to work when he snapped this image at Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport. Thanks for sharing this beauty, Dennis.

If you'd like to submit an entry for Photo of the Week, email a high-resolution horizontal image (at least 2000 x 1200 pixels), along with your name, contact information, social media names, and info about it (including brief description, location, etc.) to photos@ainonline.com. Tail numbers can be removed upon request. Those submitting photos give AIN implied consent to publish them in its publications and social media channels.