Cessna Citation CJ2

with IFR fuel reserves. That's just the basic, 45-minute IFR fuel reserve require- ment, mind you, and doesn't represent NBAA IFR fuel reserves. NBAA IFR fuel reserves factor in allowances for a missed approach, a climb to 5,000 feet, a five- minute hold, another climb to a cruise altitude, a diversion to designated alter- nate airports at long-range cruise power, and a descent and landing with 30 min- utes' worth of holding fuel. Complying with these very conservative fuel reserve requirements will necessarily reduce any airplane's range below the maximum trumpeted by most manufacturers. Even so, the CJ2's expanded pay- AOPA PILOT - 80 -/ANUARY 2001 Cj2's cabin comes with a six-seat setup and the option of a seventh seat in the form of an aft, belted potty seat. There'sa refreshment center up front, as well as a side-facing bench seat. load/range envelope advertises almost a 300-mile advantage over the CJ's and CH's. It all boils down to more flexibility in the trade-off between fuel weight and passenger weight, which is what the payload/range chart is all about. A Pro Line ptlllel Like the CH, the CJ2 uses the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite. The standard configuration is the same as the CH, which gives you two huge, eight-by- 10-inch displays-one a primary flight dis- play (PFD) and the other a centrally mounted multifunction display (MFD). A copilot's PFD is a $118,150 option. You really can't say enough about the intuitive nature of this integrated system. Line select keys along the edges of the PFD and MFD let you call up course arrows or bearing pointers, a V-speed selection menu, weather radar, and route displays. Rotating knobs to the right of the PFDs are for entering altimeter set- tings, dialing in V-speeds, or working the radar antenna tilt. Vertical tapes show airspeed, altitude, and vertical speed, and purple trend lines predictively iden- tify the altitude and airspeed you'll real- ize in 10 seconds-a feature that lets you anticipate and control these variables with a pro's touch. Afraid you'll set off the overs peed warning during a steep descent? The purple line will confirm it, in which case you yank back on the thrust levers-or exert aft-stick pres- sure-and the trend lines will show you exactly how much you'll slow down. Driving all this wizardry are two small digital quartz AHRS (attitude heading reference systems). No spin- ning gyros here. This extremely sensi- tive equipment detects changes in roll, pitch, and yaw in milliseconds, and is reliable, to boot. Mean times between failure are rated at 10,000 hours. Engine and fuel information is dis- played across the top third of the MFD, and groundspeed, true airspeed, ram and static air temperature, and status with regard to standard atmosphere appear along the bottom of the MFD. A Honeywell Bendix/King KLN-900 serves as the standard-issue flight man- agement system, but most customers have ordered their CJ2s with either the Honeywell GNS-X,s ($36,800) or Univer- sal Avionics UNS-IK ($30,775). The lat- ter two units have built-in fault de~c- tion capabilities and meet FMS specifi- cations for flight in European airspace. Speaking of European compliance, another CJ2 option (at $4,100) is a set of communications radios with 8.33 kHz fre- quency spacing. And for the trip across the pond, the addition of a second air data computer, installation of a Honeywell AM- 250 altimeter, and the customers' skin mapping of the fuselage area around the static ports let the CJ2 fly in the North Atlantic's reduced vertical separation min- imums (RVSM) airspace-the altitudes between Flight Level 290 and FlA1O. A Honeywell TCAS I ($87,375) and EGPWS ($86,375) are two more factory- installed options. Allavionics are covered by a five-yearwarranty with no hourly limits. Price ami operati1lg eco1lomics The first 170 CJ2 orders were placed at a base price of$4.2 million; by 2004 Cessna is expecting a sales price escalation to $4.8 million. To this, add another $300,000 to $400,000 for a typically outfitted airplane, which includes TCAS and the copilot's PFD. Not so surprisingly, 25 of the first 40 CJ2 orders came from existing CJ opera- tors, and 70 percent of all CJ2 depositors are current or former Citation owners. Operating costs of any airplane vary greatly,particularly with regard to the price of fuel. Based on 500 hours of flying per year and a fuel cost of $2.25 per gallon (those days are long gone) Cessna guide- books give a year-one direct operating cost of$527.19 per hour. This breaks down to include $344.25 for fuel, $45.50 for labor reserves, $11 for Cessna's ProParts airframe For landing, expect to use approach speeds in the 105- to 113-knot range. After touchdown, the last. 6O-degreeflap setting will raise the spoilers, dump a lot of lift, and help braking. parts reserve program, and $126.44 in engine reserves. Cessna says this boils down to a per-mile operating cost ($1.46 per nautical mile) that beats that of any turboprop twin-something that Citation salesmen harp on a lot. (See, it really is cheaper to fly a jet than a turboprop!) As for fixed costs, Cessna figures a pilot will cost $75,000 a year in salary and ben- efits, hangar rental will come in at around $12,000 a year, hull insurance will cost $31,500, liability and medical insurance will be another $6,500, and recurrent pilot training at FlightSafety International (initial training is included in the pur- chase price) will run $7,100 per year. This gives you $132,100 in annual fixed costs. Add the fixed costs to the direct costs and Cessna comes up with a total first- year annual cost of$388,595. Subsequent years are pricier primarily because main- tenance costs tend to increase over time. This is just a Cessna-provided budget esti- mate, remember, and it was made when Jet-Awas less expensive than it is today. F(}'illg tbe CJ2 Starting a CJ2, like any other Citation, is a matter of pushing a button and watching the engines' interturbine temperatures (lTTs) rise. If they threaten to go into the red arc, then pull the appropriate thrust lever up and out of its detent, then pull it back to the idle cutoff position to prevent any heat-related engine damage. Like most, my starts are uneventful, and soon we're taxiing away from the Cessna ramp at Wichita's Mid-Continent Airport, bound for a two-hour, 20-minute flight to AOPA'shome field at the Frederick Munic- ipal Airport in Maryland. Taxiing took a little getting used to. The nosewheel steering is sensitive, and the new digital antiskid braking system really grabs when you make even slight steering pressures. With the thrust levers at the Flight Idle position, small, scoop-shaped thrust attenuators (TAs) aft of the engine pylon automatically deploy. TAsare the CJ family's answer to thrust reversers. They deflect and diminish engine thrust with- out the complicated assemblies bound up in conventional thrust reversers. For long or uphill taxis you can manually stow the TAsfor faster taxi speeds or extra oomph. With help from my demonstration pilot, David Bodlak, I program our route into the airplane's Universal UNS-IK, then go to the unit's fuel pages to add up aur weights, which come to a 12,109-lb takeoff weight. Of that figure, 4,070 pounds is fuel. We plug in our takeoff V-speeds and soon we're in position for takeoff. I run the power up to 98.9-percent N1, release the AOPA PILOT· 81. JANUARY 2001 Cessna Citation CI2 (C-525A) Base price: $4.2 million 45,000 ft Maximum operating altitude Landing distance Performance Takeoff distance, balanced field length 3,450 ft Max demonstrated crosswind component 26 kt Rate of climb, sea level 3,870 fpm Single-engine ROC, sea level 1,160 fpm Cruise speed/endurance w/45-min rsv (fuel consumption) @ High-speed cruise 33,000 ft @ Long-range cruise Specifications Williams-Rolls FI44-2C, 2,400 lbst ea 46 ft 11 in 13 ft 11 in 49 ft 6 in 264 sq ft 46.6Ib/sq ft 2.56Ib/lb thrust 2+6/7 18 ft 10 in 4ft 11 in 4ft lOin 7,5271b 12,4251b 5,0591b 868lb 12,3751b 11,500 lb 9,3001b 586 ga1/3,932 lb 400 lb, 20 cu ft 100 lb, 4 cu ft 600 lb, 50 cu ft (589 pph/88 gph) 45,000 ft 2,980 ft What lliche lle.\·t? The CJ2 is more like a low-end mid-size jet than a high-end "baby jet," which proves once more that Cessna seems to be the master at finding-or inventing-new niches and subniches of aircraft. Because of its straightforward handling, simple sys- tems, single-pilot certification, and increased capabilities the CJ2 ought to be every bit as successful as the other CJs were. Strong rumors suggest that the next Cessna might not be a jet at all. It could be a turboprop with a single propeller driven by a dual-engine installation-something to fill the niche between the Caravan and the CJs. Which would make it, what? An entry-entry level to high performance tur- bines? Pay attention next fall, when any new turbine aircraft worth their salt are paraded at the annual National Business Aircraft Association convention. 0 stops wim a minimum of fuss. The trailing link landing gear can certainly take some of the credit for whatever smoothness mere was in my plant-it -now touchdown. All specifications are based on manufacturer's calculations. All performance figures are based on standard day, standard atmosphere, sea level condi- tions unless otherwise noted. •...• Links to additional information U on the Citation series may be found on AOPA Online (www.aopa. org/pilotllinks.shtml). E-mail the author at tom.horne@aopa.org For more information, contact Cessna Market- ing; at The Cessna Aircraft Company, Post Office Box 7706, Wichita, Kansas 67277; telephone 316/517-6449;fax 316/517-6640; or visit the Web site (www.CJ2.Cessna.comJ. ' VS1 (stall, clean) Vso (stall, in landing configuration) Limiting and Recommended Airspeeds VMCA(min control w/one engine inoperative, air) 87 KIAS VMCG(min control w/one engine inoperative, ground) 89 KIAS VA(design maneuvering) 205 KIAS VFE(max flap extended), 15 degrees 200 KlAS 35 degrees 161 KlAS VLE(max gear extended) 275 KlAS Vw (max gear operating) Extend 185 KlAS Retract 185 KlAS V~IO(sl to 8,000 ft) 260 KlAS VMO(8,000 to 29,300 ft) 275 KlAS M~IO (29,300 ft and above) Mach 0.72 VREF (reference speed @ max landing weight) 113 KlAS 103 KIAS 89 KIAS 410 kt/2.3 hr (1,165 pphl173 gph) 351 kt/3 hr plete with an arrow depicting wind direction) gives us a 471-knot ground- speed. Soon, we'll need to descend. After a bout of furious tapping at the FMS, we set in our next fix. This involves us crossing a point 15 nautical miles west of the Morgantown, West Virginia, VOR at 15,000 feet. Using auto flight and the FMS' VNAVmode, the FMS brings us down with precision not once, but three times before we finally spot Frederick. We have had absolutely beautiful VFR weather all the way, and for good reason. A massive high-pressure system moved over the entire eastern half of the United States the night before the flight. That's great for visibility, but not so good for low-level turbulence and gusty winds. The mechanical man in Frederick's AWOSgives the news: winds 20 knots out of the northwest, gusting to 30 knots. To compensate for me gusts, I use a ref- erence speed of 120 knots on short final. Final checklist complete, Bodlak readies to put the flaps to the 60-degree, full down position as soon as we touch down. This invokes a "lift dump" feature similar to that used in Hawker jets: Spoilers deploy as the flaps reach the 60-degree position, thus killing lift and putting maximum weight on the wheels. Add in the effect of the TAsand firm braking, and me airplane Powerplants Length Height Wingspan Wing area Wing loading Power loading Seats Cabin length Cabin width Cabin height Standard empty weight Maximum ramp weight Maximum useful load Payload w/full fuel Maximum takeoff weight Maximum landing weight Maximum zero fuel weight Fuel capacity, std Nose baggage capacity Cabin baggage capacity Tailcone baggage capacity brakes. and wait for our VI of 102 knots. That behind us, we settle into a 3,500-fpm climb on our way to 5,000 feet and Butler VOR, our first fix. Then will come the Bel- laire, Ohio, VOR, then good old FDK-a remarkably direct route. Thirty minutes after takeoff we're in a high-speed cruise at FL370 (we had a few ATC-issued step climbs along the way). doing 403 knots true airspeed. Thanks to a healthy tailwind our ground- speed is 458 knots. Occasionally, our air- speed creeps up to 227 knots indicated, which gives us a 41O-knot true airspeed, or Mach 0.718. The fans are set at 101.2 per- cent N I' we're burning 900 pph of Jet-A (about 134gph), and our static air temper- ature is minus 55 degrees Celsius, or ISA plus 2 degrees. You can see all this in an instant across tlle lower edge of tlle MFD. The CJ2's panel layout is worth mentioning in some detail. Up on the gIareshield you find the annunciator lights and engine fire detection and extinguish- ing switches. The emergency gauges (atti- tude indicator, combination airspeed/ altimeter, N] gauge, and slaved EHSI with course arrow and bearing pointers) are lined up along the top of me MFD for easy reference during difficult times. The Hon- eywell Bendix/King CNI-5000 avionics panel includes dual nav/coms, ADF,and dual transponders, and sits just to the right of the MFD. The environmental and pressurization controls are on a tilt panel just below the MFD. All ice-protection switches are green, and all electrical sys- tem switches are white. An angle-of-attack (AOA)gauge is to me immediate left of me pilot's airspeed vertical tape readout, which simplifies your scan on approach. Below me AOAis me audio panel, below it are gauges for reading voltage and amper- age, then come me battery, generator, and avionics master switches. Fuel boost and transfer switches come next as you move down the panel. followed by the engine start and ignition switches. Finally, you come across me ice-protection and light- ing switches. It's all well organized and intuitive. Same thing with the pressurization controls. Youjust set in me destination air- port's elevation, and the system does the rest-automatically. By the time you descend to 200 feet agl, the cabin has depressurized. Of course, there's a means of manually changing cabin pressure should me automatic system fail. We reach mid-Ohio in one hour, 50 minutes, having burned some 1,627 pounds of fuel in the process. As a result we're truing out at 411 knots, and a 59- knot tailwind (shown on the PFD, com- AOPA PILOT' 82 . JANUAHY 2001