Every two seconds, a Pratt & Whitney Canada-powered airplane takes off somewhere in the world.
Because the top segment of the business jet industry is the fastest growing, manufacturers are staking out the highest part of the market they can possibly reach. This is creating exhilaratingly fresh products that challenge the very notion of private jet travel. Cessna’s new aircraft, the Citation Columbus, perfectly illustrates this key trend.
The Columbus is the company’s new ultra-large, ultra-long range cabin jet. As an all new, clean sheet of paper design, Cessna invested five years of market research before deciding on the final look and specs. The Columbus will fly 4,000 miles nonstop (New York to Munich, for example) at more than 600mph. Up to 10 passengers can ride in the back, comfortably nestled in newly designed seats, or on the optional couch. “This aircraft will be Cessna’s greatest achievement,” says Cessna CEO Jack Pelton. A pair of next-generation Pratt & Whitney Canada jet engines are hailed as ultra-quiet and fuel efficient with fewer emissions. Prices start at $27 million; deliveries are expected to start in 2014.
The Columbus will provide owners with the tremendous power of unlimited global spontaneity. Opt for this aircraft and you’ll have some of the fastest reflexes on the planet. No matter where or how quickly your opportunities arise, the new flagship will enable a swift response, and as personal as you want it to be. Instead of the tedious maneuverings often associated with intercontinental travel, you’ll go worry and hassle-free. And you’ll do it when you want, where you want, and as often as you’d like.
With the Columbus, Munich to New York nonstop is a done deal. So are London to Dubai, Sydney to Singapore, São Paulo to Miami, and numerous other long hauls throughout the world. Johannesburg to Europe, for example, becomes a simple matter when you’re flying the Columbus. You’ll accomplish missions such as these and countless others without having to dial back to the much slower speeds required with many other aircrafts. Being as the efficiency of the new Pratt & Whitney Canada PW810 engine has been optimized for high altitudes and speeds, typical long-range trips can be flown just a few ticks below the aircraft’s maximum cruise speed of Mach .85.
Columbus flight crews will be among the most informed in the sky. The new Pro Line Fusion system from Rockwell Collins combines the proven success of Pro Line 21 with significant new technological advancements. This fully integrated flight deck will feature four landscape high-resolution LCD displays working in concert with an available Head-up Guidance System, graphical flight planning, synthetic and the available enhanced vision, and Rockwell Collins’ award-winning MultiScan Hazard Detection system. Pilots can operate the system conventionally or by using the latest voice-recognition technology.
The 15-inch displays are the largest high-resolution displays available in the industry and allow for high-speed display interfaces that facilitate point-and-click access to flight planning, aircraft performance monitoring, and hazard avoidance. The cursor control panel helps reduce pilot workload while increasing flight deck operational efficiency. With Synthetic Vision on the head-down displays, Columbus operators are equipped for situational awareness in low-visibility conditions and unfamiliar territory. The available Synthetic-Enhanced Vision technology integrates synthetically generated scenes with real-time enhanced imagery, allowing flight crews to operate with improved situational awareness and safety.
Pro Line Fusion is designed to accommodate technologies for current and future airspace requirements such as Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC), Required Navigation Performance (RNP), and self-separation. By uniting new capabilities with the best of Pro Line 21, the Pro Line Fusion system will deliver unprecedented levels of flight deck capability and operational efficiency to Columbus operators.
The Citation Columbus represents a quantum leap, but it won’t be a leap of faith. Cessna’s engine partner, Pratt & Whitney Canada, has designed and built engines that power thousands of airplanes that move millions of people every day. Every two seconds, a Pratt & Whitney Canada-powered airplane takes off somewhere in the world. With a thrust of more than 8,800 pounds, each of the PW810 two-spool propulsion engines on the Columbus will perform with an unprecedented combination of muscle and efficiency.
Powerful, efficient new engines, sleek aerodynamics, and a best-of-all-worlds wing design make the Columbus a performance superstar for a wide range of mission profiles. For pure speed, it will blur the scenery at Mach .85, and unlike most aircrafts, the Columbus does not require you to back off the throttle very far to achieve maximum range numbers. At Mach .80, you can easily handle long hauls in the 4,000-nautical-mile range. Because of the aircraft’s abundant power and efficient wing design, you’re able to depart using runways as short as 5,400 feet at maximum takeoff weight.
As you and your Columbus happily speed on your way to new adventures, regardless of your destination, you can smile with the knowledge that to fly even slightly faster on such missions, you’d need an airplane priced at nearly $10 million more than it costs you to purchase a Citation Columbus.
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