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Making the move to the Latitude
WHY ROGERS GROUP TURNED TO THE MIDSIZE JET
For Rogers Group, a producer of crushed stone, sand and gravel based in Nashville, Tennessee, traveling is the norm. Private businesses, cities and states rely on the company for road projects and construction materials, which means staff at all levels – from engineers and sales representatives, to management and senior leadership – are constantly on the move, traveling between the various crushed stone and asphalt plants and offices owned by the company.
For 16 years, its flight department counted on a CESSNA CITATION EXCEL jet to easily transport staff to the plants and small satellite offices located in the Southeast and Midwest regions of the U.S.
But as the company continued to stretch its customer base, the Rogers Group flight department found itself in need of a larger aircraft capable of faster travel to locations where new business opportunities were emerging.
“We were making more trips to the West Coast and places like Texas, Colorado and Wyoming. We needed a larger aircraft that could make the nonstop trips faster and more comfortably,” said Bill Torphy, Rogers Group Director of Aviation and Chief Pilot.
It was the CITATION LATITUDE jet which combined needed range and cabin comfort with low operating costs, a pairing that maximized the value of business aviation for the company without significantly impacting its bottom line.
Finding the right aircraft for the mission
Torphy and Rogers Group wanted to transition into a larger aircraft that could operate similarly to their company - efficiently, but capable of greater performance. Click on each one of the company’s mission profile features and see why the Latitude aircraft is the perfect fit.
The midsize Latitude seats up to nine passengers. A flat floor and a six-foot stand-up cabin provides the space needed to stretch out and get comfortable.
“It’s quiet and it’s roomy, and with the wireless cabin control and entertainment system back there, it’s just much nicer,” Torphy said.
Accommodate7+ Passengers
The Latitude has the range for nonstop coast-to-coast travel, but it also carries an extended maintenance interval. The result? Low operating costs and less downtime that allows Rogers Group to easily take on longer trips.
5 Trips to theWest Coast
Rogers Group flies approximately 40 hours per month to cities throughout the Midwest and Southeastern U.S., with multiple stops in one day of travel.
The 2,700 nautical-mile range of the Latitude allows Torphy and his flight department pilots to transport Rogers Group personnel to its 70 locations in nine states.
Multiple StopsIn 24 Hours
With class-leading takeoff field length of 3,580 feet, the Latitude is cleared for operation on 3,000 runways in the U.S – over 300 more than its nearest competitor at max weight.
“Even with a large aircraft like the Latitude we can get into the smaller airports closer to our plants and offices in places like Arkansas and South Carolina,” Torphy said.
Operate InMore Airports
“The selling point for us was probably the combination of everything the Latitude offers in this category. It’s quieter and the space in the cabin lets you get up and move around easily, which the passengers really like. As a flight operations person I also liked the extended maintenance intervals which help with the direct operating costs and maintainability of the plane."Bill Torphy, Director of Aviation and Chief Pilot, Rogers Group
Torphy, a veteran pilot with nearly 20,000 hours of flight time, calls the Latitude jet and other aircraft he has flown for the company “time machines.” Rogers Group counts on the Latitude jet for long hauls, but it is also utilized for shorter hops that allow leadership to quickly return to the office.
“We’re able to save this group tremendous amount of time,” he said. “A majority of the places where we go don’t even have airline service at all.”
The Rogers Group's Latitude jet is now on track to log approximately 450 hours in its first full year of operation. And although no stranger to the Citation family of aircraft – he has more than 11,000 hours of Citation jet flight time- Torphy said the Latitude aircraft is a step in a new direction.
“The reliability that we’ve had in these aircraft for the last 20 years has been extremely good. That alone had a big impact in our final decision. The Latitude takes that reliability we value and gives us more of what we’re looking for in terms of technology, range and cabin comfort.”
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