News
Citation Soverign makes first flight with elliptical winglets
Oct. 22, 2013, Wichita, Kan. - Wichita, Kansas-based Winglet Technology announced today that it completed the first flight of a Cessna Citation Sovereign business jet equipped with its patented Elliptical Winglets on Saturday, October 19, 2013.
October 23, 2013 By Carey Fredericks
The aircraft departed from Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport at 10:21 a.m. and flew as planned for just under two hours. Winglet Technology and the Cessna Service Center network announced plans to upgrade existing Cessna Citation Sovereign business jets with Elliptical Winglets this week at the 2013 NBAA convention. In addition to the Elliptical Winglets, the upgrade will include a 350 gross weight increase.
“We plan to confirm performance estimates and assess the overall handling qualities of the aircraft over the next few months and move forward with FAA Certification flight testing early next year. We believe our Elliptical Winglet design will allow the Sovereign to climb direct to FL450 at the 350 lb higher take-off weight.” said Bob Kiser, President and Managing Member of Winglet Technology, LLC.
Winglet Technology expects the upgrade to provide higher weight / altitude/temperature (WAT) limits allowing more flexibility when operating from high / hot airports, improved climb performance that allows higher initial cruise altitudes, higher maximum cruise speeds at high altitudes, and longer range for a given payload throughout the operating envelope. The Elliptical Winglets will increase the Sovereign’s wingspan from 63 feet 4 inches to 69 feet 4 inches. The 350 lb gross weight increase from MTOW from 30,300 pounds to 30,650 pounds.
Winglet Technology submitted application and certification plan for FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) project to the FAA in July and received project go-ahead from the Wichita FAA ACO earlier this month. Winglet Technology and the Cessna Service Center network are targeting entry into service during the first quarter of 2015.
Wichita based Triumph Aerospace Systems – Wichita played a key role in the first flight by fabricating the prototype Elliptical Winglets under a very compressed schedule. Seattle based AeroTEC supported the first flight by providing instrumentation and flight test resources that led to a very successful first flight.
