Legendary collaboration, innovation, lift Citation Ascend P1 to first flight

Two Textron Aviation test pilots speak to the immense team effort that led to the Cessna® Citation Ascend™ P1 first flight. Mike Bradfield and Moe Girard each share their perspective from a unique vantage point in the milestone calling it a full team effort.

“We just completed first flight of the P1 airplane for the Citation Ascend, it went exceptionally well,” shared Bradfield.

“We make sure the aircraft handles as predicted, and the flight was seamless and smooth,” echoed Girard in confidence of the mission. “One of the main things we did on the Citation Ascend P1 was the use of SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) fuel. All of Aviation is trying to go to SAF fuel to reduce carbon emission,” he shared.

“From airport operations, fueling the airplane is no different, piloting the airplane is no different, all the indications are the same. It feels the same,” explained Bradfield. “What I am excited about is the little tweaks we have made here and there to make the experience better.”

“The entire cockpit has been redesigned entirely. The wing tips, some landing gear, the windows, both in the cockpit and the cabin itself,” Girard shared regarding his favorite features on the Cessna® Citation Ascend™.

“Most of the design changes on the Citation Ascend are directly from customer feedback. It is a great, easy-to-use airplane, it is very intuitive,” described Bradfield. “The [Garmin] G5000 is incredible. It has a lot of cool new features that really help with situational awareness for the crew and system monitoring so they can focus more on what they are doing.”

Girard agreed with the admiration of the Garmin® G5000® avionics system saying, “Included with that now is the autothrottle system that provides underspeed protection and overspeed protection. It is a significant upgrade.”

The pair says rooted at the center of this effort is a spirit of teamwork and collaboration that rivals none other.

“I am extremely honored to have flown this plane for the first time, there’s definitely a sense of accomplishment,” beamed Bradfield. “When I started with the company 12 years ago as an engineer, I never would imagine the opportunity to do a first flight like this.”

“Pride probably is the first word that comes to mind. Pride and being a part of a huge, amazing, wonderful team, all focused on one objective and that is to make an amazing product for our customers. The team effort is enormous. That is probably the best word I can describe it,” Girard noted.

“Getting 1,000 people together and collaborating together to get an airplane in the air and have a successful first flight like this is as legendary as it gets,” smiled Bradfield.