GRAHAM WARWICK/WICHITA
To coincide with its 75th anniversary, Cessna is expected to introduce a series of new models in its Citation business jet line later this year
Anyone who has entered aviation within the past 20 years is likely to know Cessna more for its Citation business jets than its propeller aircraft - an extraordinary accomplishment for a company that has produced over 150,000 piston singles in its first 75 years,
Cessna will deliver its 4,000th business jet next year, three decades after handing over its first Citation. Already the largest among business jets, the Citation fleet grew by a record 313 aircraft last year. Despite the current downturn in the market, another 300 will be delivered this year as Cessna works off its backlog.
The continued vitality of the Citation line is due largely to Cessna's strategy of incremental product development. Since the first Citation was launched, the company has introduced new iterations at regular intervals, providing customers with an incentive to trade in or trade up for a new or larger aircraft. Of the 17 Citation models introduced over the last three decades, only five have been all or largely new designs. They made the latest member of the family, the mid-size Citation Sovereign, now in flight test.
Cessna's incremental approach is expected to continue when it introduces the latest members of the Citation family later this year. The company is not saying much, except to confirm that it plans an announcement at September's National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) show - the traditional venue for unveiling new Citations. If Cessna follows its established formula of multiple launches - three in 1976, three in 1990, two in 1994 and no fewer than four in 1998 - NBAA could be in for a bumper event.
Unveiled in 1968 as the Fanjet 500, the original Citation was Cessna's first business jet. It offered ease of handling and short-field performance similar to the piston and turboprop twins it was designed to replace. The straight-wing Citation was relatively slow and simple by business jet standards, but it was backed by sophisticated marketing and support systems that proved successful with the target customer - smaller businesses which had never owned a jet. The aircraft was designed for single-pilot operation and the owner-flown market has remained an important part of the Citation customer base.
The original Citation light jet was followed by the upgraded Citation I and stretched, longer range Citation II. Later, a modified supercritical wing laid the foundations for the further stretched Citation V. The Citation II and V remain in production today as the Bravo and Encore, two of seven models in a line-up reflecting Cessna's incremental approach in its mix of generations.
The CJ1 and CJ2 are upgrades of the entry-level CitationJet, first introduced in 1989 as a direct successor to the original Citation. The "super light" Excel, introduced in 1994, is a widebody derivative of the Citation V, and currently Cessna's best-selling jet. And the mid-size Sovereign reuses some features from the top-of-the-range, super mid-size Citation X, introduced in 1990. At Mach 0.92, it remains the fastest business jet available.
The changing tide
Cessna has already refreshed the top and bottom of its range and if there is room for improvement in this business jet family, it is in the middle of the line-up. CJ1 and CJ2 deliveries began in 2000 and in January this year Cessna began shipping an improved Citation X. The Excel is still selling well, meanwhile, and the Sovereign is on track for certification late next year.
The CJ1 and CJ2 were built on the success of the CitationJet, which was introduced to recapture the entry-level market tapped by the original Citation and close the widening gap between piston and turboprop aircraft and business jets. The CitationJet took advantage of a new laminar-flow wing and Williams-Rolls FJ44 engine to provide more range on less fuel. The CJ1 has increased gross weight and upgraded avionics. The new Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 cockpit is also used in the CJ2, which is a stretch of the CitationJet with more powerful FJ44 engines.
"The CJ1 is a block point change, not a new model," says Mark Fuhrman, director, marketing support, adding: "Avionics is the big story with the CJ1." The Pro Line 21 installation was certificated by Rockwell Collins for the retrofit market, and incorporated by Cessna on the production line, beginning with aircraft number 360, the first CJ1. The standard system has two large liquid-crystal displays, with a second primary flight display available as an option and required for reduced vertical separation minima operations.
The CitationJet introduced a fresh look to the line-up, with its still-straight, but exceptionally clean wing and new T-tail. The wing carry-through structure passes under the fuselage, so there is no spar intrusion into the cabin as there was in the original Citation, and still is as original in the Bravo and Encore. The stretched CJ2 has a longer version of the same wing, housing more fuel, and a larger, swept version of the T-tail. The CitationJet also introduced trailing-link main gear for a smoother ride, a feature now used across the range to replace the notoriously stiff straight-leg gear of the early Citations.
While the CJ1 is an entry-level jet, the CJ2 is a step-up aircraft, based on a "wish list" from CitationJet operators. Higher cruise speed, longer range and larger cabin topped the list. "CitationJet operators have tended to migrate to the CJ2 because the CJ1 is not enough of an incremental step," says Fuhrman. Single-pilot operation is an important feature of the aircraft as the owner-pilot is a large part of the market for both. Buyers are turning to the CJ1 from high-performance piston singles and single turboprops as well as older twins.
Head to head
The CJ1 is priced at $3.8 million and the CJ2 at $5.3 million, which is just $100,000 less than the slightly larger and longer range Bravo. "We do get some cannibalism," says Fuhrman. The original CitationJet did not meet its sales projections in part because the Bravo is good value, he says, but "the CJ2 has stolen some sales from the Bravo because the Bravo is older technology". Less cannibalisation occurs between the Encore at $7.8 million and the Excel at $9.7 million - their performance is similar but the price differential lies in the latter's larger cabin.
Introduced in 1994, the Bravo light jet is an upgrade of the Citation II featuring new Pratt & Whitney Canada PW530A turbofans. The Encore followed four years later, replacing the upgraded Citation V Ultra and introducing PW535A turbofans. Other changes included the move to heated wing leading-edges, eliminating the de-icing boots still used on the Bravo. Typical Encore customers are Citation II operators moving up and Citation V owners replacing their aircraft. While the Encore remains popular, particularly in the fractional-ownership market, "we've taken this model about as far as we can, and the same applies to the Bravo," Fuhrman says.
Suppliers have let slip that the manufacturer is working on a CJ3. Cessna declines to comment, but it seems logical that the company would want to take the low-drag wing, modern styling and efficient performance of the CitationJet family up another notch. This, however would mean moving out of the Part 23 certification category of the CJ1 and CJ2 into the Part 25 domain of the Bravo and Encore. But "most of the Part 25 standards were picked up" during development of the original CitationJet, Fuhrman says.
Another Citation looking at a facelift is the Excel. The aircraft was conceived as a logical step-up from the Citation V, and the concept has proved sound. With over 240 delivered, two-thirds have gone to previous operators of Citation V-series aircraft. Excel costs were kept down by reusing parts of the Citation V, including the straight wing and cruciform tail. Fuhrman says the most likely upgrade to the Excel would be a new wing. It remains to be seen whether Cessna will choose to use the mildly swept wing and new-style tail of the Sovereign now under development.
Future flagship
The $13.3 million Sovereign is the successor to Cessna's mid-size, swept-wing Citation III/VI/VII series - now out of production. The PW306C-powered aircraft is essentially all new. It shares the Citation X's cabin cross-section, but with improvements which are likely to be introduced into the high-speed jet. Similarly, the Sovereign's Honeywell Primus Epic integrated avionics could find their way into an upgrade of the Citation X.
Sovereign deliveries are scheduled to begin early in 2004, and Cessna has a backlog of some 125 orders. Early order takers include Excel operators, although some Encore owners are electing to skip the Excel and go straight to the Sovereign.
The $19 million Citation X, meanwhile, looks set to remain Cessna's flagship. With over 180 delivered, the aircraft's success has confounded those who criticised Cessna for abandoning its "sensible Citation" approach to pursue development of a high-speed jet. With increased thrust and gross weight, the 2002 model is more competitive against other super mid-size jets that emphasise cabin size over speed.
Cessna is not immune to current downturn in the business aircraft market. Citation deliveries will drop to the 2000 level of around 250 aircraft next year, with most of the reduction being in production of the owner-flown CJ1 and CJ2. But sales of its larger aircraft are holding up. If figures stay true to form, Cessna will view the current downturn as an ideal opportunity to stimulate and feed the demand with a series of new products.
Source: Flight International
