While there was an apparent miscommunication between the Textron team and the EAA AirVenture team about a press event involving the new Beechcraft Denali, which did not make the trip to Oshkosh, that did not mean there was nothing noteworthy at the Textron display at the event.
A press event set for Monday morning, the official start of AirVenture, was scrubbed as staffers said the Denali is still undergoing flight testing in Wichita.
However, on the Cessna side of the Textron world, the Citation M2 Gen2 is making its first-ever airshow appearance this week at AirVenture.
GlobalAir.com took a tour of the revamped business jet, complete with an updated layout with new cabin technology, seat fabric and new “upwashed” LED lighting.
The new configuration of the Citation M2 Gen2 offers an additional 105 pounds of storage, split between the back of the plane and behind the copilot seat, as the space for logbooks has been moved across the aisle from the original Citation M2. It is now between the entryway and the pilot seat, where a passenger seat can fold down for additional storage.
The redesign includes more legroom in the cockpit, as well as wireless charging for devices, and more storage that can be utilized in the cabin. New interior styling and lighting features can be controlled with a mobile app.
The update to the M2 comes nearly a decade since the first Citation M2 rolled off the assembly line in 2013. Ahead of the Gen2 configuration, the cockpit was updated with new avionics hardware and software with the Garmin G3000 suite. Those updates continue in the jet’s present form with the GWX 8000 Storm Optix weather radar and automatic turbulence detection.
“We are reducing the pilot workload, letting them do what they do best, which is fly the plane,” said Jimmy Besson, manager of sales and engineering for Textron, while conducting the tour.
While the maximum takeoff weight on the Cessna Citation M2 Gen2 remains at 10,7000 pounds, the maximum passenger limit increases to seven, or eight total occupants including the pilot.
The Citation M2 Gen2 has a maximum cruise speed of 404 knots true airspeed (464 miles per hour) and a range of 1,550 nautical miles. The aircraft can operate at airports with runways as short as 3,210 feet and will climb to 41,000 feet in 24 minutes, according to Textron.
The first Citation M2 Gen2 was delivered to a California business in April 2022.
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