Their bypass ratio is of 5:1, which grants them excellent fuel efficiency and makes them quieter. After the first 172 units were produced, this was changed to the AE 3007C1 variant, which outputs an additional 322 lbf. Unlike previous designs powered by Garrett medium-bypass turbofan engines, the Cessna Citation X uses a pair of high-bypass Rolls-Royce AE 3007C engines, producing 6442 lbf of thrust each. Parts commonality with the Citation III, VI and VII is limited to some cockpit controls, the windshield glass, and the light bulb on the tail. The rest of the aircraft is all-new, however. The Citation X is spiritually rooted on the 1983 Citation III, with both models sharing the fuselage cross section dimensions. For comparison, the Citation X’s top speed is slightly higher than the Vne of the Soviet Mikoyan-i-Gurevich MiG-15bis fighter of Korean war fame. Its exterior is characterized by a 37º swept wing with 527 sqft of area, which allows for extremely high speeds for business jets.

The Cessna Citation X is a twin-engine medium size business jet. After a repeat of Citation III’s certification program marred by delays, the first Cessna Citation X was finally delivered in 1996 to golfer and avid Cessna enthusiast Arnold Palmer. This became a core goal of the proposed 750 series. The need for speed was partially initiated by Cessna as an image concern, but its customers also requested more during a meeting in 1990 despite the Citation III being in the top bracket of business jets in terms of top and cruise speeds. The impressive speed performance was married by a high service ceiling at FL510 and a range of 2348 nmi with six people aboard. The Citation III enjoyed a top speed of Mach 0.851 and a cruise speed of 472 KTAS, which grew to 476 KTAS in later models. The very first production model set two time-to-altitude records, 12 minutes and 1 second to 39350 ft and 23 minutes and 43 seconds to 492000 ft, and an airspeed record by traveling from Gander in Canada to Paris, France, in only 5 hours and 13 minutes. Compared to the straight wing citations, performance was night and day. With the slow speed/good handling reputation cemented, Cessna attempted to break away from it with the Citation III, announced in the 1976 NBAA convention and scheduled to be delivered in 1980.Īfter considerable delays, the first Cessna Citation III was finally delivered in October 1982. The aircraft’s standard cruise settings were an airspace of 357 KTAS flown at F元50, with a service ceiling of FL410. Trade-offs were as expected, however – the maximum speed of the Citation I, also known as Model 500, was an uninspiring Mach 0.705. The aircraft could work out of very short airstrips for a jet, particularly at the time, and was nothing short of a dream to fly. The first Citation series to hit the market in 1971, the Citation I, followed that philosophy to the letter. The Learjet 25 introduced in 1967 cruised at Mach 0.81 (464 KTAS) at FL410 and could fly up to FL450.Ĭessna, in turn, had opted to stick with what they did best in their general aviation line: straight wing airplane with very predictable handling, honest but hardly impressive performance, and able to work off most runways. With its sleek profile and swept wings, performance, and handling for the early Learjet series were fitting for a fighter – high top speeds, excellent climb performance, but tricky at slow speeds and with mediocre short field performance. The blame for the reputation lay in the philosophies incorporated by the competing bureaus.ĭuring the early days of The Great Business Jet Race, the Learjet came in with a hotrod design rooted on a cancelled Swiss fighter aircraft project. However, back in the 1970s, there was some truth in this generalization, and the slowpoke reputation bothered Cessna to the point of designing an aircraft with blistering speeds as a project requirement. If this statement seems too generic and absurd, that is because it is. The Learjet is fast, the Citation is slow.

To understand the Citation X, introduced as the world’s fastest private jet, one needs to contextualize it in the Cessna Citation lineage. Question: What is the Range of a Citation X?.

Question: Is the Cessna Citation X Single Pilot?.Question: How Many Cessna Citation X are There?.Question: Why did Cessna Discontinue the Citation X?.Question: How Much Does a Cessna Citation X Cost?.Citation X / Where to Find Replacement Parts.

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Citation X / Modifications and Upgrades.

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