Cessna Aircraft Co. has announced the $4.195 million Citation M2, a light business jet that fills the gap between the Mustang entry-level jet and the Citation CJ family. It can carry two crew and up to six passengers at a maximum cruise speed of 400 knots true airspeed. It has a Garmin G3000 glass cockpit, as does the HondaJet and the PiperJet. Synthetic vision is an option.
“Operator feedback and owner insight have indicated a market for a Citation with the size, speed, and range of the Citation M2. We expect to see customers new to the Citation family, Mustang owners looking for a logical next step, or CJ1+ operators who want a new, more advanced Citation,” said Scott Ernest, Cessna president and CEO.
Ernest told reporters Sept. 26 that he is now learning to fly in a Cessna 172 with the company’s chief piston-engine test pilot, Kirby Ortega.
The aircraft is targeted to compete with the Embraer Phenom 100, Cessna’s chief rival. It is powered with Williams FJ44-1AP-21 engines that generate 1,965 pounds of takeoff thrust at static sea level. While a cabin mockup shown to customers in Wichita, Kan., carries the M2 designation plus a picture of a Mustang, Cessna officials insisted they are not calling it a Mustang 2. The M2 name was chosen by Cessna workers.
It is based on the Citation CJ1+, and therefore will require Mustang owners to get a new type rating. The model designation is the Cessna 525. It features a new Clairity (officials said the unusual spelling could change) cabin entertainment and information system that is received on smartphones and the Apple iPad. It includes moving maps, entertainment, flight information, and Internet browsing. Cessna joined with Heads Up Technologies to develop the system.
The aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of 10,700 pounds, a mission fuel load of 3,309 pounds, and a full-fuel payload of 500 pounds.
A prototype will be completed in November or December, with a first flight planned for the first quarter of 2012. FAA type certification is expected in the second quarter of 2013.
The Garmin G3000 system features 14-inch screens, LED backlighting, and touch screens. Garmin Vice President of Marketing Gary Kelley said the system is capable of accommodating “expanded abilities” in the future. Kelley was present at the Cessna plant for a presentation to customers. Word of the new aircraft leaked out, and there are already deposits for the new jet, although Cessna officials did not say how many.
Cessna has sold 380 of the Mustang models. The M2 is described as an entry level to the CitationJet line. While Mustang customers were offered a limited choice of a few interior schemes and minor tweaks to the paint scheme, M2 customers will choose from a full line of options offered for the CitationJet line.
The aircraft has a takeoff distance of 3,250 feet, a landing distance of 2,640 feet, a maximum operating altitude of 41,000 feet (where it has a cruise speed of 385 knots true airspeed), and a range of 1,300 nautical miles. It has an aft lavatory with a solid door (as opposed to a curtain) and LED interior lighting. It can reach 41,000 feet in 24 minutes.
Popular options from other Citation models are standard on the Citation M2. Among the standard features of the avionics system are weather radar, TCAS I, terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS), and ADS-B Out. Chair arms are also standard.
