Cessna Citation
The Citation is a family of aircraft from the American manufacturer Textron Aviation (formerly Cessna ). All aircraft are bidirectional and fall into the category of business aircraft . They are between 12 and 23 meters long and, alongside the Learjet series, form the most successful aircraft family in their class. The design was originally presented as a dummy in 1968 under the name FanJet 500 . On its first flight in 1969, the machine, which was longer than the original design, already bore the name Citation, derived from a famous racing horse .
development
First generation
Cessna's goal was to design a jet that would have low operating and construction costs, and be safe and easy to use. In addition, the goal was to build a jet plane that could compete with smaller fan guns in order to reach smaller airports. Cessna developed an aircraft with a pressurized cabin, retractable nose-wheel landing gear and unswept wings. The engines were mounted on the side of the stern and the horizontal stabilizer was above the engine jet. The result was the FanJet 500 , whose maiden flight took place on September 15, 1969. A type certification took place in 1971 after a change in the engine position and an extension of the fuselage. The approval, which already ran on the designation Cessna Citation 500 , was followed by the first delivery in 1972.
In 1976, Cessna launched the Citation I , which featured an increased maximum take-off weight, greater range, extended wings and a thrust reverser . In addition, the engines were revised and from 1977 the Citation I / SP (model 501) was offered, the greatest innovation of which was the Single Pilot Certification , which means that it was only allowed to be flown by one pilot. In March 1978 an extended version of the Citation I followed, the Citation II (model 550), which was equipped with the improved Pratt & Whitney JT15D-4 engines, which made 1.3 kN more thrust. It has been available as an SP version since its launch. A total of almost 700 pieces of the Citation I were produced and delivered. In 1984 the Citation II was replaced by the revised version Citation S / II (model S-550), which in turn was replaced in 1997 by the more powerful Citation Bravo .
In 1987, the development of the Cessna Citation V (model 560) began, which completed its maiden flight in August of the same year and was delivered for the first time in 1989. Up until the replacement in 1994, a total of 262 Cessna Citation Vs had been produced and delivered.
The successor was the Citation Ultra , which was first delivered in 1994 and, thanks to the new Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5D engines, had a longer range and was much more economical. In total, Cessna built 340 aircraft of this type.
With the Citation Encore , Cessna once again increased its range by using the newly developed Pratt & Whitney PW530A engines. The aircraft received approval in April 2000 and was replaced by the Citation Encore + in early 2007. This revision is primarily characterized by revised avionics and a FADEC system, as well as further changes to the engines (PW535B).
Second generation
With the Citation III (model 650), Cessna introduced a completely new aircraft in 1979. The biggest differences were a 25 ° wing sweep and a T-tail. The first flight took place on 30 May 1979, the first delivery in 1983. Through two turbofan engines of the model Honeywell TFE731 could a maximum cruise speed of Mach 0.81 and a service ceiling of 15,500 meters (51,000 ft) can be achieved. The Citation III could carry up to 13 passengers, but was mostly designed for 7 to 9 people. Until the replacement in 1992, 202 machines of this type had been built.
In 1989, Cessna announced a revised version of the Citation III, the Citation IV . This model should be characterized by larger fuel tanks and a shorter take-off-landing distance. However, development was stopped before the first prototype was built.
Instead, Cessna launched two new aircraft in 1992:
The Citation VI and the Citation VII . Both machines made their first flight in 1991, but production of the Citation VI was discontinued in May 1995 after just 39 machines had been built. The Citation VII, on the other hand, convinced with a significant increase in range thanks to revised engines. This also solved the problem of weather dependency in hot weather due to the density altitude , which had often led to problems with the Citation III. 119 aircraft of this type were built and delivered over a nine-year production period.
In October 1994 the Cessna Citation Excel (model 560XL) was presented. The prototype flew for the first time on February 29, 1996 and the first machine was handed over to its buyer shortly after approval in April 1998. The hull comes from the Citation III and was also used in the VI, VII and X variants.
The current market version, Citation XLS + , was approved on May 30, 2008 and first shipped in America at the end of September of the same year. Compared to its predecessor, the Citation XLS , the XLS + has revised avionics and improved engines. In addition, as with the Citation Encore +, a FADEC system was used.
To date, more than 200 Cessna Citation Excel, XLS and XLS + have been built and delivered. There are 225 orders for the XLS +.
Third generation
In 1989 Cessna presented the successor to the Citation I, the CitationJet (model 525). The first flight took place on April 29, 1991. This was followed by approval on October 16, 1992 and the first delivery in March 1993. In 1998, Cessna replaced the CitationJet with the CJ1 and the extended version CJ2 . Both versions are much more efficient and have new electronics. In April 2006, both were replaced by the CJ1 + and CJ2 + versions , with the CJ2 not only improving the avionics, but also increasing the range. In September 2002, Cessna announced the development of another extended variant under the name CJ3 . Its maiden flight was on April 17, 2003, the market launch in December 2004. The market launch of the CJ4 , which made its maiden flight on May 5, 2008, is planned for 2010 . It is also an extension of its predecessor. All aircraft of this generation can be flown by one pilot.
Fourth generation
When Cessna launched its first aircraft in the 1970s, the machines were considered comfortable and practical, also because of their short take-off and landing distances, which is why they can take off and land on small airfields. Over time, however, the image of the slow jets emerged, as the aircraft flew up to 100 km / h slower than their competitor Learjet. To counteract this, Cessna presented a new aircraft in New Orleans in October 1990 that was based on the fuselage of the Citation III.
The Citation X (model 750) reaches a maximum cruising speed of 972 km / h and thus revolutionized the entire division of business jets. To this day, it is one of the most economically effective business flyers in the world. After initial design flaws, the prototype was launched for the first time on December 21, 1993. The first delivery in America followed in June 1996, followed by approvals for Canada and Europe in 1998 and 1999. As early as 2000, Cessna announced a revised version that came onto the market on January 1, 2002.
Based on the Citation Excel, the Citation Sovereign (model 680) was presented in 1998 . This midsize jet should fill the gap between the Citation Excel and the Citation X. The first flight followed on February 27, 2002 and the first delivery in September 2004. Since 2013 it has been replaced by the Sovereign +, which has a greater range with different avionics, higher take-off and landing weights, more thrust and a larger wingspan.
Cessna countered the growing interest in Very Light Jets with the Citation Mustang (model 510). The jet, which weighs just 3000 kg, has four seats and can be equipped with a fifth on request. First flight was on April 23, 2005, first delivery on November 23, 2006.
The introduction of the newest and largest model in the Citation range, the Cessna Citation Columbus, was planned for 2014 . Although the board of directors decided on January 23, 2008 to release $ 780 million, the project was put on hold in April 2009 and completely discontinued in July 2009. The reason for this was the financial crisis and the resulting drop in demand. The plan was an aircraft with a total length of 23.5 meters and a range of 7500 kilometers, but a lower cruising speed than the Citation X. The first flight was planned for 2011, and in October 2008 70 orders had already been placed. So far, more than $ 50 million had been invested in the development.
Overview of the Citation models
| model |
First flight | Commissioning | End of production | Number of items (2015) | Take-off weight | Passengers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FanJet 500 | |||||||
| Cessna Citation I (C500) | 09/15/1969 | September 1971 | 1985 | 377 | 5,380 kg | 9 | |
| Cessna Citation I / SP (C501) | 1977 | 01/25/1977 | 312 | 6th | |||
| Citation II (C550) | January 31, 1977 | April 1978 | 1994 | 604 | 6,163 kg | 13 | |
| Citation II / SP (C551) | 1984 | ? | 1989 | 83 | 6,850 kg | 6th | |
| Citation Bravo (C550) | 04/25/1995 | February 1997 | 2006 | 336+ | 6,730 kg | 11 | |
| Cessna Citation III (C650) | |||||||
| Citation III | May 30, 1979 | 1983 | 1992 | 242 | 9,980 kg | 13 | |
| Citation VI | 1991 | 1992 | May 1995 | ||||
| Citation VII | February 1991 | 1992 | 2000 | 119 | 10,455 | 13 | |
| Cessna Citation V (C560) | |||||||
| Citation V | 08/18/1987 | April 1989 | 1994 | 636 | 7,410 kg | 11 | |
| Citation Ultra | ? | 1994 | 1999 | ||||
| Citation Encore (+) | ? | September 2000 (beginning of 2007) | ? | ||||
| Cessna CitationJet (C525) | |||||||
| CitationJet | April 29, 1991 | March 30, 1993 | 1998 | 725 | 5.625 kg - 7.761 kg | 6-10 | |
| Citation CJ1 (+) | 1998 | Summer 2011 | |||||
| Citation CJ2 (+) | 2000 | 2014 | |||||
| Citation CJ3 (+) | April 17, 2003 | December 2003 | in production | ||||
| Citation CJ4 | May 5, 2008 | ? | |||||
| Citation M2 | 03/09/2012 | 2013 | 4,853 kg | 6th | |||
| Cessna Citation Excel (C56X) | |||||||
| Citation Excel | February 29, 1996 | July 1998 | 2004 (?) | 575 | 9,090 kg | 12 | |
| Citation XLS (+) | ? | July 2004 | in production | ||||
| Other models | |||||||
| Citation X (+) (C750) | December 21, 1993 | July 1996 | in production | 302+ | 16,410 kg | 12 | |
| Citation Sovereign (+) (C680) | 02/27/2002 | 2004 from 2013 Sovereign + | Sovereign: 339, Sovereign +: 60+ | 13,744 kg
13,959 kg |
12 | ||
| Citation Mustang (C510) | April 23, 2005 | 11/23/2006 | May 11, 2017 | 472 | 3,930 kg | 5 | |
| Citation Latitude (C680A) | 02/18/2014 | June 2015 | in production | ? | 13,971 kg | 9 | |
| Citation longitude | October 8, 2016 | probably 2017 | Program start in 2012 | ? | 24,947 kg | 12 | |
| Citation Columbus | Project discontinued | 10 | |||||
Web links
- The manufacturer's official website (English)
- Cessna Citation representative in Germany
- Type certification of the 500, 550, S550, 560, and 560XL (Citations) - EASA-TCDS-A.207 (PDF; 239 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cessna Fanjet 500, in Flug Revue November 1968 , p. 84
- ^ First flight: Cessna Citation, in Flug Revue November 1969 , pp. 70/72
- ↑ Chad Trautvetter: Cessna Ending Citation CJ1 + Production This Summer . AIN Online, March 31, 2011, accessed November 18, 2011
- ↑ Air-Britain Aviation World (English), March 2016, p. 12.
- ↑ Flight . May 2017.
- ^ Flight International . May 23, 2017, p. 20 (English).
- ↑ Alexandros Mitropoulos: Successful maiden flight of the Cessna Citation Longitude. In: aerokurier.de. October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2016 .
- ↑ ainonline.com: Cessna Launches Longitude Jet | Business Aviation News: Aviation International News , accessed November 7, 2016