On Wednesday, September 18, Textron Aviation announced a significant avionics upgrade to its existing fleet of Cessna Citation XLS aircraft. These aircraft now have the ability to upgrade to the latest Garmin G5000 integrated flight deck. Existing Cessna Citation XLS owners can upgrade their aircraft to the newest avionics suite at a select number of Textron Aviation service centers within the United States.
New Garmin G5000 system certification
Recently, Garmin received an official Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certificate for its supplemental type certification (STC) that provides the Garmin G5000 flight deck for existing aircraft. This formally allows the installation of the Garmin G5000 avionics system on a select number of existing aircraft types. This includes the installation of the avionics suite to the Cessna Citation XLS series, which includes the Cessna Citation XLS, the Citation XLS+, and the Citation XLS Gen 2. The certification also comes ahead of the type certification of the next variant in this series, the
Citation Ascend
, which will include this avionics system. Textron Aviation expects to certify the Citation Ascend in 2025.
The Senior Vice President of Customer Support at Textron Aviation, Brian Rohloff, spoke about the new upgrades. Rohloff stated,
“The G5000 avionics upgrade for the Cessna Citation XLS series modernizes the cockpit and addresses the evolution of FAA airspace, while also offering a lower cost of operation. We are continuously investing in new enhancements for our customers and their aircraft and expanding the G5000 avionics system to Citation XLS+ and XLS Gen2 operators supports our mission to deliver the best aviation experience for our customers.”
Specifically, the Garmin G5000 integrated flight deck represents several significant upgrades to existing avionics systems. This includes three landscape flight displays with split-screen capability. This allows pilots to choose to view a wide variety of maps, charts, checklists, and other displays. Some improvements include the following upgrades:
- Terrain Awareness Warning System (TAWS)
- Traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS)
- Synthetic Vision technology (SVT)
- Fully automatic advanced weather radar
- Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B)
This upgrade is available at several Textron Aviation service centers spread across the US.
About the Cessna Citation XLS
The Citation XLS is one of the first upgrades to the popular Citation Excel series of aircraft. The
Citation Excel
is one of the most flown fleets globally, and was first introduced in April 1998. However, Cessna began offering the Citation XLS as an upgrade in 2004. This upgraded variant included a glass cockpit and upgraded engines. The Citation XLS+, launched in 2008, also featured more powerful engines and upgraded aerodynamic surfaces.
Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock
Each of these aircraft is powered by a variant of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW500 turbofan engines, which can provide over 4,000 pounds of thrust each, depending on the variant. Overall, the Cessna Citation XLS has the following performance specifications:
|
Maximum capacity |
Nine passengers |
|---|---|
|
Length |
52 feet six inches |
|
Height |
17 feet two inches |
|
Wingspan |
56 feet four inches |
|
Maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) |
20,200 pounds |
|
Cruise speed |
441 knots (507 miles per hour) |
|
Range |
1,858 nautical miles (2,138 miles) |
|
Service ceiling |
45,000 feet |