FAA Certifies Cessnas Latest Citation

The FAA earlier this month awarded Cessna the type certification paperwork necessary for the company to keep its Model 525 Citation CJ1+ on schedule for first customer deliveries during the last quarter of 2005, according to the company. The new type’s certification — actually a growth version of the CJ1 — was earned after slightly more than 200 flights and 400 flight hours, spanning just eleven months. When compared with the model it replaces, the “Plus” offers better performance, a new integrated avionics suite and more cabin amenities along with an expanded standard equipment list. For example, and thanks to its Williams FJ44-1AP dual-channel FADEC-controlled engines, the CJ1+ is more than 20 knots faster than the earlier CJ1 at FL410. Another example is in the CJ1+’s maximum gross takeoff weight, which saw a 100-pound increase. Receiving certification on the CJ1+ is a culmination of a very important partnership between our customers and our employees, said Jack J. Pelton, Cessnas chairman, president and CEO. According to Cessna, the upgraded (from the CJ1) standard avionics package in the Citation CJ1+ is a set of Collins Pro Line 21 products nearly identical to what’s offered on the new Citation CJ2+ and Citation CJ3 models. It includes three 8-inch by 10-inch displays, two air data computers, a file server system with cursor control panel and enhanced map overlays, Pro Line 21 CNS radios, broadcast weather, and Collins FMS-3000 with performance database. In the cabin, standard CJ1+ equipment includes a flushing toilet and indirect LED lighting, among other features. To date, the CJ1+’s predecessors — the CitationJet and Citation CJ1, which number more than 550 airframes — have logged over 975,000 flight hours.