Textron Aviation brings its quietest cabin to the market with the super mid-size Cessna Citation Longitude, coming in with a dba rating in the mid to low 60s, or the equivalent noise level of an office or inside a luxury car.
Noting that market surveys revealed low cabin noise ranked at the top of the list for passengers, president and CEO Scott Ernest said, “We set out on the mission that this will be mid-60 from a decibel rating, and we achieved it. The team did a wonderful job in applying sound techniques and technology with this airplane. It’s so quiet you start to look for other noises to listen to.” And Textron Aviation believes the results are among an industry low.
Noise was so important, the company hired a specific team dedicated to the cabin noise, Ernest said.
“Philosophically, we approached the design of the airplane from the occupants ear outward,” added Brad Thress, senior v-p engineering. To reach dbas that dip to 61 or 62 in the forward cabin, “Your really have to understand every single element in the airplane and the noise it produces.”
A primary element of design has been the customer experience, Thress said. This involved cabin comfort, a flat floor and a stand-up cabin. “But noise is a huge piece of that.”
