Cessna Citation I
| Citation I / I/SP | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Corporate jet |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Cessna |
| First flight | September 15, 1969 (FanJet 500) |
| Produced | 1969-1985 |
| Number built | 689[1] |
| Variants | Cessna Citation II |
The Cessna 500 Citation I, built by the Cessna Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kansas, is a small-sized business jet, the first turbofan powered. The Citation I is the basis for the early Cessna Citation family. The Citation I/SP aircraft is a single pilot variant.
Design and development
FanJet 500
In October, 1968, Cessna announced plans to build an eight-place business jet that, unlike its competition, would be suitable for operations from shorter airfields, essentially aiming to compete in the light-to-medium twin turboprop market, rather than the existing business jet market. First flight of the prototype aircraft, then called the FanJet 500, took place a little under a year later, on September 15, 1969.[2]
500 Citation
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After a longer-than-expected development flight test program, during which the name Citation 500 was tried, and a number of changes to the design, the finished aircraft was debuted with the new name Citation (Model 500) and received its FAA certification in September, 1971. The aircraft was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-1 turbofan engines after Cessna's experience with the T-37 Tweet twinjet trainer.[3]
Turbofan rather than turbojets and straight wings rather than swept wings made it cruise slowly compared to other business jets and Learjet salesmen mocked it as the “Nearjet” vulnerable to “bird strikes from the rear”; Cessna renamed it the “Citation” after the thoroughbred but it was nicknamed as “Slowtation”.[3]
500 Citation I
In 1976, several product improvements were added to the aircraft in response to market pressures, including a longer span wing (47 ft 1 in vs 43 ft 11 in),[4] higher maximum gross weight and thrust reversers, which made shorter landing fields available to customers. With these improvements came the name Citation I[2] When production on the model 500 ended in 1985, 377 airframes had been built.[5]
501 Citation I/SP
Like the Learjets, the Citation I required a crew of two. But since the Citation was intended to be marketed against twin turboprops, which can be flown by a single pilot, this restriction limited its intended market. Cessna's answer was the Model 501 Citation I/SP, with SP referring to its certified single-pilot capability. The aircraft was first delivered in early 1977, and a total of 312 aircraft were produced, and production also ended in 1985.[2][6]
Operators
Civil operators
- FlyDirect
Military operators
Accidents
New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson was killed in his Citation I/SP on August 2, 1979 while practicing touch-and-go landings.[8]
Specifications (Cessna Citation I)
Data from Jane's Civil and Military Aircraft Upgrades 1994-95 [9]
General characteristics
- Crew: Two (One pilot on I/SP)
- Capacity: Five passengers
- Length: 43 ft 6 in (13.26 m)
- Wingspan: 47 ft 1 in (14.35 m)
- Height: 14 ft 3 in (4.37 m)
- Wing area: 278.5 ft² (25.9 m²)
- Empty weight: 6,631 lb (3,008 kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 11,850 lb (5,375 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-1B turbofan, 2,200 lbf (9.77 kN) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 0.705 (465.3 mph) (above 28,000 ft (8,530 m))
- Cruise speed: 357 knots (411 mph, 662 km/h) at 35,000 ft (10,670 m)
- Stall speed: 82 knots (95 mph, 152 km/h)
- Range: 1,328 NM (1,528 mi, 2,459 km) (45 min reserves, max fuel, 1,562 lb payload)
- Service ceiling: 41,000 ft (12,495 m)
- Rate of climb: 2,719 ft/min (13.8 m/s)
- Wing loading: 42.5 lb/ft² (208 kg/m²)
- Thrust/weight: 0.37
See also
- Related development
References
- ↑ "500-Series Technical Review". Textron Aviation. April 28, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
- 1 2 3 "Cessna 500 & 501 Citation, Citation I & Citation I/SP". Airliners.net.
- 1 2 William Garvey (Feb 10, 2017). "Can A Cessna Succeed The G450?". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
- ↑ Taylor, J.W.R. (editor) Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1976-77. London: Macdonald and Jane's, 1976. ISBN 0-354-00538-3, p.275.
- ↑ Citation I info from Aviation Safety Network
- ↑ Citation I/SP info from Aviation Safety Network
- ↑ Flores, Santiago A. "From Cavalry to Close Air Support". Air International. May 2001, Vol. 60, No. 5, ISSN 0306-5634, p. 301.
- ↑ NTSB Thurman Munson accident brief
- ↑
- Michell, Simon. Jane's Civil and Military Upgrades 1994-95. Coulsdon, Surrey UK:Jane's Information Group, 1994. ISBN 0-7106-1208-7. p.300-301.
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