Cessna Aircraft rolled the first production Citation CJ4 off the company’s Wichita, Kan., assembly line Nov. 17. The $8.7 million, 451-knot, 1,963-nm eight-seater features wings with a moderate sweep and twin Williams FJ44-4A engines of 3,400 lbs thrust apiece.
Maximum operating altitude is 45,000 feet. The CJ4 is a stretched version of the CJ3, and has a cabin two feet longer than the CJ3’s. The airplane was introduced in 2006, and first deliveries are expected in the first half of 2010.
The rollout airplane goes to the paint and interior shops next, while three additional CJ4s serve duty in certification test flights. The test airplanes have flown more than 1,000 flights and logged more than 1,600 flight hours.
The CJ4 will have four-screen Collins ProLine 21 avionics, with electronic charts, graphic weather, traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS II), enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS) Class A terrain awareness and warning system, and dual Mode S transponders with ADS-B “out” capability. There’s also an emergency descent mode that will automatically perform a descent in case of a loss of cabin pressurization.
In the cabin, there’s a Rockwell Collins Venue cabin entertainment system that features BluRay DVD with high-definition monitors and XM radio.
