On May 19th, Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. company, completed the first flight of the first production Citation CJ4, just more than three months after the CJ4 prototype initially flew May 5.
The 41-minute flight departed McConnell Air Force Base in east Wichita and completed numerous systems evaluations. Flown by Cessna Engineering test pilots David Lewandowski and Dan Morris, the CJ4 returned to Cessna`s facility on Mid-Continent Airport as scheduled and where it will continue development and certification testing.
The first production aircraft, Serial 0001, will primarily be used for avionics and systems certification. The second production aircraft, Serial 0002, is nearing completion at Cessna`s Pawnee Advanced Engineering facility in Wichita and will fly function and reliability along with company service tests.
Since the CJ4 prototype completed first flight in May it has logged 59 flights and accumulated more than 90 hours. The aircraft has completed system verification flight tests - such as speed brakes and flaps systems - and has been cleared through its operating envelope. Certification tests for the prototype and production airframes are on schedule to begin later this year.
Cessna plans to achieve Federal Aviation Administration type certification in the second half of 2009, followed by customer deliveries beginning in the first half of 2010. Concurrently, Cessna is working toward European Aviation Safety Agency certification.