Cessna Aircraft Company announced at the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition it has completed a series of seven wind tunnel tests as part of the design phase of the new Citation Columbus, Cessna’s largest ever business jet.
The testing was done at three locations in the U.S. and Europe by Cessna’s Aerodynamics Group. Results from tests at the low-speed wind tunnel in San Diego, Calif., the ONERA French Aerospace Lab near Toulouse, and the high-speed wind tunnel at the Aircraft Research Association in Bedford, England, will be analyzed in the coming months, though preliminary data analysis revealed no surprises.
“Low speed wind tunnel testing has allowed us to optimize flaps and slats for making our landing and low speed goals achievable,” said Cessna Senior Manager, Aerodynamics and New Product Analysis Greg Rincker. “Much of this data will allow the slat and flap structure, including actuators, to be optimized to meet the loading needs without being excessively heavy. In the high speed tests, we have been fine tuning the wing airfoils and platform for more efficient manufacturability, lighter weight and the needs of systems like landing gear and anti-ice protection.”
At the California wind tunnel, Cessna technicians used a complete model of the Citation Columbus to generate data to fine-tune the low speed attributes of the Columbus. Performance and handling qualities from these low speed tests have proven pre-test estimates. At the French wind tunnel, the Aerodynamics Group used a semi-span model of the Columbus weighing nearly 3,000 pounds, the largest model ever tested by Cessna, to generate low speed data at typical flight operating conditions. High speed wind tunnel testing was carried out at the Bedford facility.

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