Winglet Technology

Oct 19, 2022

- October 19, 2022, 6:00 AM Winglet Technology received FAA approval of the supplemental type certification for its Citation Sovereign in June 2017. (Photo: Winglet Technology) Winglet Technology will amend its current Cessna Citation Sovereign winglet supplemental type certificate (STC) to include the Sovereign+, the company (Booth 1828) announced Wednesday at NBAA-BACE 2002. Winglet Technology president Bob Kiser called the amended STC a natural follow on to the original Sovereign STC awarded by the FAA in June 2017 and EASA in April 2020. The company also  previously said it would add the Citation Latitude to the STC. To date, Winglet Technology has delivered more than 35 transitional winglet STC kits to Sovereign customers domestically and internationally. “We have seen interest in our winglets from owners of each—Sovereign, Sovereign+, and Latitude—product line,” Kiser explained. The amended STC would apply to a combined fleet size of more than 700 jets. The Sovereign winglets allow the modified aircraft to climb to FL450 at a higher maximum takeoff weight of 30,755 pounds. Additionally, the winglets increase the speed of the aircraft by up to 35 knots at top of climb, as well as a step climb from FL450 to FL470 at a weight that is 3,000 pounds heavier than a Sovereign without the winglets. Other performance features include a range improvement of up to 340 nm when payload limited, and a weight, altitude, and temperature (WAT) limit improvement of 8 degrees C or 2,000 pounds at departure elevations of 5,000 feet or higher. Second-segment climb gradients are improved by 0.5 to 0.7 percent at the higher mtow. The company also recently announced it delivered its 100th Citation X elipitical winglet kit. The milestone kit was installed by Yingling Aviation in Wichita, which recently became an authorized installer. Winglet Technology was awarded the STC for the Citation X kit in June 2009, followed by EASA approval in 2010. Further, Cessna announced in 2010 that it selected the elliptical winglet’s design for the upgraded production version, the Citation X+, deliveries of which began in 2014. “For Citation Xs that incorporate the STC, the winglets provide a 315-nm-range increase when payload limited over a non-winglet-equipped Citation X,” Kiser said. “The overall consensus among Citation X operators is that the winglets enhance the lateral and directional stability of their aircraft.” This year also marks the 10th anniversary of an elliptical winglet-equipped Citation X’s record flight. The flight from Anchorage International Airport to Miami International Airport—3,479 nm—exceeded the published maximum range of a Citation X without the winglets and logged a record time of seven hours and 11 minutes at an average speed of 482 knots.