Pilot Report 2002 Cessna Citation X Mo r e tanks-full payload, shorter takeoff distances, better hot-and-high climb perfo r mance, nicer handling qualities By Fred George T hen, Citat ion X pilots start i ng racing he a v y - i ron jets acro s s t he No rth Atlantic. In spite of having to make a 20-minute pi t stop in Canada or Iceland for fuel, the Citati on X could best most l arg e - c abin jets flying nonstop betwe e n Euro pe and the Uni t e d ix years ago, the 0.92 Mach Citati on X, Cessna Chairm a n St a tes by up to one hou r. If you wanted to top the X, you had to R uss Meyer ’s riposte to dec ades of “slow - t at ion” joke s , buy a Gulfstream V or a Global Express at two and one - h a l f Sst a r ted strea k i n g past every other busi n ess jet at speeds of times the pri c e . 500 - p l us knots. With 3,000 - m ile range, it could beat the ne x t But the Citat ion X potentially had its share of Achil les’ hee l s . fastest midsize bus i ness jet betwe e n New York and Los Ang e le s Ty pically equipped, it could carry only four or five passenger s by 30 minutes against 95 - perc ent prob ab il i t y wint er he ad w i n d s with full fuel. A seri es of weight increa s es had sapped its takeo f f and burn 2, 500 pounds less fuel in the process, much to the fi eld and climb perfo rm a nce. On warm days, for example, the X delight of new own ers . needed more than 6,000 feet of runway for takeo f f. Weight limit- 78 Business &C ommercialA viation■ July 2002 www.AviationNow.com/BCA Pilot Report ed, one - eng i ne - i n o per ative climb per- fo rm a nce cut up to 350 miles off its four- p a s seng er range when depart i ng from hot - a nd-high air p o r ts, a short c om i n g fully ex p l oited by archrival Dassault Falcon Jet with its trijet Falcon 50. In ad d i t ion, the Ci t at i on X’s climb perfo rm a nce with anti - ice on was anem i c . Mo re o v e r, roll contr ol author i t y and rol l feel left plenty to be desired, espec i a l l y wh en land i n g with a strong cros s w i n d . E nt er the 2002 Citat ion X. Start i ng at serial number 173, the Citat ion X re - ceived a 400-pound weight increa s e, plus a 5 - perc ent take o ff thrust incre a se. The co mbo gives the Citati on X a slightly bet- t er take o ff thrus t - t o - weight rat io than a Gu l f s t r eam IV-S P . Now it can carry six to sev e n passenge rs with full fuel and it nee d s less runway at its 36, 100-pound MTOW th a n the old air craft req u i r ed at its 35,7 00- pound MTOW. (See accom p an y i ng The Citation X’s standard equipment now includes TCAS II, EGPWS and CVR. The Honeywell Primus “R a nge / Pa y lo a d Prof i le” chart. ) 2000 avionics also has been upgraded. T he new Citat ion X also has more climb thrust, enab l i ng it to reach cru i se a l low a 19°C boost in maximum ITT for No rth Atlantic, for example, the new ai r- altitude sooner, which gives it slightly t a ke o ff and a six-deg ree higher temper a- craft cannot climb directly to FL 410 at m o re range. The climb impro v e m ent is t ure for climb and cru i se. This allows a MT O W in ISA+ 1 0°C cond i t i ons. Plan on e s pecially app a rent with bleed air anti - i c e 5 - perc ent incre a se in take o ff thrust with a 52-minute climb with an int erm e d i at e on. Time to climb to FL 290 with anti - i c e no loss of flat rati n g and only a $4 increa s e le v e l - o ff at FL 390. At ISA + 20°C, FL 370 on, for instance, is 15 minutes for the new in each engi n e res erve . is the initial crui s e altitude and that takes a C i t at ion X. The old ver s ion needed 26 Five perc ent more take o ff thrust may 67-minute climb. It can step-climb from minutes. The res ult? The new Citati on X not seem like much, but it produces virtu - FL 370 to FL 390 after 37 minutes, an d sp ends cons id er a bly less time in icing and ally the same re d u c t ion in take o ff fie l d t hen climb from FL 390 to FL 410 after tur b u l ence duri n g the climb. length distances. The impro v e m ent is ju st over two hour s . Th e aileron contr ol linkage has been re- e v en more app a rent when depart i ng ho t - Ru l e of thumb? After lev e l - o f f, if the air - g e a red. This doubles aileron deflec t ion and-high ai r p o rts. The Citat ion X still is craft can climb 500 fpm or more at 0. 80 with the same degr ee of yoke rot at i on, up weight limited under such cond i t i ons, but Mach, then it can make a 2,000-foot step to maximum deflect i on. Roll spoiler gear- t here is less range pena l ty. De p a rt i ng climb to a more- e ff i c i ent crui s i n g altitude. i ng re m ains unchanged. The re sult is R en o - S t e ad, ele v at ion 5,046 feet, on an Each 2,000-foot step climb nets a 200- pp h cr is per initial roll res p on s e and softer ini- ISA + 2 0°C day, for example, the Citati on X red u c t i on in fuel flow. At FL 410, for exam- tial rol l - c o ntr ol feel. c an fly four passeng ers 3,003 miles, on l y pl e, total fuel flow is about 2,2 00 pph. But at S t an d a rd equipment now includes 138 miles less than the range when depart- FL 470, fuel burn drops to 1,6 00 pph . TCAS II, EGPWS and a CVR, along with i ng San Fra ncisco on a stand a r d day. The On long trips, few oper ators thro t t le a 76-cubic-foot oxygen bottle, lighted old Citat ion X, in contrast, had a 2, 738 - back to 0. 82 Mach to stretch the rang e . a pproach plate ho l d ers and logo lights. A mi le range with an 800-pound payload . Th ey climb at 285 to 300 KIAS to 0.8 0 or deluxe inter io r , including high-gloss wood With se v en passeng ers on board, the 0.8 3 Mach unti l rea c h i n g initial crui s e alti- ve nee r cabi n ets, also comes stand a rd . 2002 Citati on X has about the same range tude. Cro s s i ng the No rth Atlantic, for T he Hone y well Primus 2000 avioni c s ad v antage in such ho t - and-high con d i- i n s t ance, they get enough he ad start to package also has been upgraded. High- t ions. The new model can fly a 1, 400 - climb to FL 410 pri or to rea c h i n g oceanic s peed yaw dampi ng is more ro b us t . pound paylo ad 2, 778 miles, while older airspace, if ambient temperat u re perm i t s . Vertical path guida nce is availab l e for non- models were limited to a 2,5 14- m i le range Once level, they let the speed build up to prec i s ion appro a c hes. And the EICAS m i s s ion with se v en passeng ers, assu m i ng 0. 86 or 0. 88 Mach and then request a n ow spells out the causes for a “No th e same air p o r t cond i t i ons . h i g her cru i se altitude, usually FL 430 to Ta ke o ff” message, enab l i ng the crew to B et we en 5,000 feet and 8,000 feet , FL 450.