Cessna Aircraft delivered the first Citation CJ4 on April 15, just a month after obtaining type approval for the light twinjet from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. It went to an unnamed U.S.-based customer and was also the first Citation delivered with Cessna’s newly released GreenTrak flight planning software, which uses cost indexing to minimize total trip cost by balancing the costs of direct operation, fuel burn and carbon emissions.  

   
While European customers can see and touch the newest member of the CJ series here at EBACE, they won’t be able to take delivery of their business jets until at least the first quarter of next year, following expected approval by the European Aviation Safety Agency in October. The U.S. certification for the CJ4 includes single-pilot operations and a common pilot type rating with the other CJs–the CJ1+, CJ2+ and CJ3–something Cessna senior vice president of engineering Dave Brandt said the company plans to replicate with the European approval.

European Deliveries
According to Brandt, Cessna plans to ship 15 CJ4s this year and will begin European deliveries starting with S/N 25. The start of CJ4 deliveries also marks the end of production of the Citation Bravo and Encore, since the moderately-swept-wing, clean-sheet model fulfills the missions of both of these older jet designs.

The CJ4 offers enhanced performance over projections made when the aircraft was announced at the NBAA Convention in 2006, sporting a maximum cruise speed of 453 knots and a maximum range of just over 2,000 nm. Thanks to its 3,621-pound-thrust Williams FJ44-3AP engines, it’s capable of a direct climb to 45,000 feet in 28 minutes.

Inside, the CJ4’s cabin is slightly wider than those of its CJ siblings, and optimal window placement allows for a better view for passengers, while four inches of added width at the floor yields more legroom. Taking a cue from the Mustang, the new CJ has a 24-inch-wide cabin door that doesn’t taper at the top, making it easier for passengers and crew to enter the twinjet. The CJ4’s fuselage is 21 inches longer than the CJ3’s and includes an external baggage compartment.

The standard cabin layout is a six-place club seating arrangement with a seventh side-facing seat and a belted aft lavatory seat. Seats in the CJ4 are more contoured and comfortable than those in the other CJ models. A newly styled refreshment center resides behind the pilot’s seat and includes a heated liquid container, ice chest and other storage. LED cabin lighting comes standard on the CJ4.

The CJ4 is the launch platform for the new Rockwell Collins Venue integrated cabin management and entertainment suite, offering both cabin lighting/environmental control and an audiovisual system capable of playing CD/DVD/MP3 media. A single satellite radio receiver is standard, and additional satellite receiver units, LCD displays and other cabin equipment are available as options.

Like its siblings, the CJ4 comes with the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics system, though the new jet has four screens versus the three-screen layout in the smaller CJs. The Pro Line 21 comes standard with electronic charts and graphical weather, TCAS II, EGPWS, Class-A TAWS, dual mode-S diversity transponders with ADS-B out capability, multi-scan weather radar, emergency descent mode and an essential electrical bus.

Additionally, the CJ4 offers a new tilted panel with push-button switches, more ergonomically designed pedestal and redesigned crew seats that have two inches more legroom than the CJ3. Electric windshields are a first for a CJ.

Retail price in 2010 dollars for a typically equipped Citation CJ4 is $9 million, Brandt said. Cessna has orders for more than 150 of the light jets.