Analysis
Cessna Citation Excel
Midsize cabin comfort, light-jet runway distances
and class-leading climb performance.
By Fred George
Paul Bowen
A
t first glance, you might conclude
that Cessna’s newest Citation has
an identity crisis. For example, if
you were blindfolded, led inside and then
shown the cabin, initially you might
assume that you’re seated in a midsize
Citation VII. On closer examination
you’d discover that this aircraft, however,
has a continuous, dropped aisle, with no
spar intruding through the rear floor of
the cabin. This Citation actually has more
seated head and shoulder room because
its floor has been lowered. And a tape
measure would prove that, compared to a
Citation VII, its interior is slightly longer.
Then, throw in a major challenge for a
midsize business aircraft. Bound for a destination 1,000 miles away, this Citation is
going to depart from a 2,000-foot elevation airport with less than 4,000 feet of
runway on a 75°F (24°C) day.
Don’t cringe. This new Citation also
behaves as though it were a sprightly light
jet, such as an Ultra or Learjet 31A on
short runways. It can climb directly to FL
430 in 18 minutes. No other Citation,
including the Ultra, can match that. In less
than two hours, you will be descending
for landing.
The trip time is two hours, 29 minutes,
about eight minutes longer than the flight
would have taken in a Citation VII. This
aircraft, though, burned 190 pounds less
fuel than the Citation VII on the 1,000mile trip. Notably, this Citation also
would have beaten by a nose the bestselling midsize jet on the 1,000-nm trip,
while saving more than 300 pounds of
fuel, according to B/CA’s 1998 Purchase
Planning Handbook.
What is this aircraft with the apparent
identity problem? It’s the Citation Excel,
an aircraft that combines the midsize
cabin of the CE-650 Citation VII, a
scaled-up version of the CE-560 Citation
Ultra’s wing and second-generation Pratt
& Whitney Canada turbofans. The result
is a combination of cabin volume and
runway performance unmatched by
any previous Citation. No wonder it de-
Cessna CE-560XL Citation Excel
fies simple classification as a light or
midsize jet.
The Excel’s PW545 turbofans, flat-rated
to 3,804 pounds of thrust to 82°F (28°C),
earn most of the credit for its sporting
performance numbers. The Excel, a larger
and heavier version of the Ultra, has a
slightly better takeoff thrust-to-weight
ratio than its smaller sibling. More noticeably, the Excel’s thrust-to-weight advantage increases significantly as the airplane
climbs, compared to the Ultra. The Excel
cruises at considerably higher altitudes
and at slightly faster speeds than the
Ultra, resulting in six to 10 percent higher
fuel burns on typical missions in spite of
the Excel’s longer, wider and higher cabin,
and 22-percent heavier MTOW.
The Excel is a product of Cessna’s
return to its roots: bread-and-butter basic
design simplicity. Functionality, flexibility
and cabin comfort were design essentials.
Everything else was given lower priority.
That enabled Cessna to keep the price of a
typically equipped Excel below $8 million,
at least 25-percent less than most midsize
aircraft.
To some, the Excel’s appearance may
seem as plain as potatoes. But its innovative blend of cabin comfort, conventional
technology, proven systems and new
engines is plenty attractive to customers, if
Cessna’s order book is any indication.
Cessna has amassed 230-plus orders for
the Excel, making it the most-successful
new Citation introduction in almost three
decades. As of early this year, 18 Excels
had been delivered. Cessna will build 45
Excels this year and plans to bump up
production to 80 aircraft per year in 2000
in an effort to fill orders. The next available delivery slot is in third quarter 2001.
Structure and Systems
As with current production Citations, the
Excel’s primary airframe structure is made
from riveted, bolted and hot-bonded aluminum alloy components. The circular
cross-section fuselage and the two-spar
wing are built as entirely separate assemblies, then mated together by means of
“dog bone” suspension links and fore/
aft/yaw fittings. The relatively low position of the wing reduces interference drag
FROM MARCH 1999 BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL AVIATION.
© 1999, THE McGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Cessna (3)
Lights in the Excel’s airstair steps, along with a
sturdy folding handrail, help passengers find solid
footing and board with ease.
and keeps the main wing spar from
intruding into the cabin. It also makes
room for a large fuselage to wing fairing
that houses systems components for ease
of maintenance. The battery, for example,
is tucked behind a door in the left side of
the fairing, just aft of the wing.
The primary control surfaces are manufactured from aluminum alloys. Composites are used for the radome, wing/
fuselage fairing and two-section wing
flaps.
The main entry door, a three-step
airstair design, measures 24 inches wide by
54.5 inches tall. Counter springs and gas
shocks make it easy to operate, and triple
seals all but eliminate sound and cold
leaks. Lights in the airstair steps, along
with a sturdy folding handrail, help passengers find solid footing and board with
ease. There is a Type II, plug design,
emergency exit at the right rear of the
cabin, accessible through the lavatory.
Early in the development program,
Cessna made two changes to widen the
center of gravity envelope. Small ventral
fins were added to the aft fuselage to augment the nose-down pitching moment at
stall. And a two-position horizontal stabilizer, hydraulically actuated and linked to
flap position, was fitted to the tail. The
two-position stab, a first for Cessna,
enhances elevator control authority at low
speeds and reduces drag at high speed.
The Excel’s wing, a scaled-up version of
the modified 23000-series wing first developed for the Citation SII, has 3.6 feet
more span than that of the Citation Ultra.
The wing features a wide-chord, swept
leading edge, inboard cuff that increases
the chord-to-thickness “fineness” ratio.
Increasing the chord without changing the
thickness results in a thinner airfoil that
has less drag rise at high speed.
The scaled-up Ultra wing also has a
larger leading radius and a flatter upper
surface, similar to a super-critical airfoil.
This results in a more even pressure distribution along the chord, thus reducing
shock-induced drag.
The PW545’s relatively high altitude
thrust makes it possible to climb directly
to FL 430 at MTOW and routinely cruise
well above the wing’s critical Mach
number, a typical operating characteristic
of high-performance business aircraft. As
a result, Cessna fitted each wing with a
long row of vortex generators to help keep
the airflow attached in order to preserve
fat stability and control margins at, and
above, MMO.
Stability and control characteristics near
the stall limits are enhanced by a variety of
add-on devices. These include leadingedge boundary layer energizers to help
keep the flow attached over the ailerons,
partial stall fences that inhibit span-wise
flow outboard of the swept leading edge
cuff and inboard leading edge stall strips
that provide aerodynamic buffet pre-stall
warning. The small fences near the
wingtips, though, have nothing to do with
aerodynamics. They simply are glareshields for the recognition, position and
strobe lights.
Pilots and passengers take note. Unlike
the notoriously stiff-legged Ultra, the
Excel has long-travel, trailing-link landing
gear that provide exceptionally smooth
landings and a soft ride over bumps on the
taxiways.
The glass windshields, surface sealed to
make them rain repellent, are flanked by
left- and right-side weather windows that
can be opened. Two other fixed pane side
windows are at the rear.
The nose equipment bay is sparsely
populated with standard equipment, pro-
The Excel has long-travel, trailing-link landing
gear that provide exceptionally smooth landings
and a soft ride over bumps on the taxiways.
viding ample room for avionics options.
The aft equipment bay is no hellhole.
Rather, it’s designed for coat-and-tie-clad
pilots. A detachable light is available to
illuminate inspection items. The circuit
breakers and junction boxes, hydraulic
reservoir and air cycle machine all are
within easy view and comfortable reach.
The fire bottles are located above the baggage compartment and need no preflight
inspection because they are electrically
linked to indicators in the cockpit.
The engines are easy to preflight. For
example, snap open the low mounted, oil
filler access doors on the nacelles and
you’ll find oil level sight gauges that eliminate the need to check dipsticks. Leave the
ladder and rags in the line shack.
A standard equipment, vapor cycle air
conditioner, mounted above the baggage
compartment, augments the refrigeration
provided by a three-wheel, air cycle
machine located in the tail cone. Starting
with the 22nd production unit, an
AlliedSignal RE-100 [XL] APU, certificated for inflight operation, will be offered
Twenty-six tiny delta-wing vortex generators prevent airflow separation aft of the shock wave on the
Excel’s wing.
FROM MARCH 1999 BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL AVIATION.
© 1999, THE McGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Cessna (2)
Analysis
The standard aircraft is fitted with a belted potty
seat on the left side of the lavatory, certificated
for occupancy during takeoff and landing.
as a 150-pound, $194,650 exchange option
in place of the vapor cycle air conditioner.
The APU will be approved for use while
refueling and its mounting location does
not intrude in the baggage compartment.
Most of the Excel’s systems are adapted
from earlier 500-series Citations. The primary flight controls, for example, are
pushrod and cable operated. An
aileron/rudder interconnect helps maintain coordinated flight. Nosewheel
steering is mechanically actuated by
“bungee” spring linkage actuated by the
rudder pedals. Trim wheels mechanically
actuate trim tabs on the left aileron, elevator and rudder. Electric pitch trim also
is available.
The landing gear, wing flaps, speed
brakes, thrust reversers and two-position
horizontal stabilizer are powered by an
on-demand, low-pressure, open-center
engine-driven hydraulic system that
straight-wing Citations have used for
three decades. Similar to other Citations,
internal down locks in the landing gear
actuators eliminate the need for safety pins
on the ground. A separate, electrically
powered hydraulic system is used to
power the anti-skid, carbon disc, wheel
brakes.
A pneumatic bottle provides pressure
for emergency landing gear extension and
wheel brake actuation.
Wet wing tanks hold all 6,740 pounds of
fuel. It takes eight minutes to refuel the
aircraft by means of the single-point pressure refueling (SPPR) port located just
ahead of the right wing root. The SPPR
system does not require electrical power
for operation.
Alternatively, over-wing ports may be
used to refuel the aircraft. Anti-icing additives are not required because the engines
have fuel/oil heat exchangers to warm the
fuel. Jet pumps in the wings normally
supply fuel to the engines. Electrically
driven boost pumps in the wings provide
Cessna’s “optional center club plus couch” configuration also features a forward, left-side
refreshment center.
fuel for engine starting, cross feed and in
the event of a jet pump failure.
Engine driven, 28-volt, 200-amp
starter/generators provide DC power for
most electrical equipment, but the electrically heated windshields are powered by
separate, engine-driven AC alternators. A
small solid-state AC inverter powers the
electroluminescent panel lights and an
optional, 117-VAC, 60-cycle inverter is
available to power office equipment in the
The Excel’s P&WC PW545 Engines
Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PW545, currently the most powerful member of the PW500 family, has a thermodynamic
thrust rating of 4,500 pounds. Cessna originally needed
3,640 pounds of thrust for takeoff, but as the Excel grew in
weight to 20,000 pounds MTOW during the development
process, more thrust was needed. The generous thermodynamic rating allowed Pratt & Whitney to dial up thrust to
3,804 pounds for takeoff, up to an ambient temperature of
ISA+13°C, with no degradation in reliability. Wide temperature margins help make possible a 2,500-hour HSI interval
and a 5,000-hour TBO.
The PW545 currently is the highest thrust version of the
PW500-series turbofan family. The basic PW500-series engine, such as the Citation Bravo’s PW530 or Citation Encore’s PW535, has a 4:1 bypass ratio, a one-piece,
titanium, integrally bladed rotor (IBR) fan, powered by a
two-stage low-pressure turbine. The IBR fan weighs 20 percent less than a fan with individual blades and it offers better tip clearance control, resulting in higher pumping
efficiency.
The PW545 shares the same high-pressure core with the
Bravo’s PW530 and Encore’s PW535 engines, but it’s fitted
with a larger, 27.3-inch diameter IBR fan for more thrust. An
axial flow, supercharger stage, mounted on the same shaft
as the fan and ahead of the high-pressure compressors, increases the air flow through the core. The high-pressure turbine is fitted with single cr ystal blades to handle the
additional heat stress and a third stage is added to the lowpressure turbine to power the additional load of the larger
fan and supercharger stage. The overall pressure ratio is approximately 14:1.
The high-pressure core features two axial and one centrifugal compressor stages, a reverse-flow annular combustor and a single-stage, high-pressure turbine. Hot core and
cold fan bypass flows are combined at the tailpipe with a
deep fluted mixer nozzle to enhance thrust output at altitude and to reduce FAR Part 36 noise levels. PW530 and
PW535 turbofans have a conventional hydromechanical fuel
control to keep down the cost.
The PW545, in contrast, has a single-channel electronic
engine control to provide FADEC-like, set-and-forget functionality in flight. Similar to other single-channel EECequipped engines, if the PW545’s engine computer fails,
dispatch is prohibited. Manual reversion to the hydromechanical fuel control is strictly an emergency procedure.
The PW545 produces 932 pounds thrust at 40,000 feet,
ISA, 0.80 Mach, uninstalled, with a specific fuel consumption of 0.709 lbs/lbf/hour. Those numbers are very competi-
FROM MARCH 1999 BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL AVIATION.
© 1999, THE McGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
cabin. A 44-amp/hour NiCad battery provides power for engine starting and serves
as a source for emergency electrical
power. A lead/acid battery is available as a
no-charge option.
The wing leading edges, engine inlets
and fan stators are heated by engine bleed
air when needed for anti-ice protection.
Bleed air flows continuously to the fan
spinners to keep them ice free. Highspeed pneumatic boots deice the leading
edges of the horizontal tail. The pitot
tubes, static ports, total air temperature
probe and angle-of-attack vane are electrically heated for ice protection. The
surface seal coating on the windshields
makes them repel rain. There also is an
electrically powered, rain removal blower.
The 9.3-psi differential pressurization
system uses bleed air supplied by the
engines and/or optional APU. Normally,
the crew only has to set the landing field
elevation prior to takeoff. All other functions are controlled automatically by a
digital pressurization controller. The maximum cabin altitude is 6,800 feet.
Temperature sensors in the cabin and
cockpit are used by the two-zone temperature controller in the cockpit to maintain
a comfortable environment for both passengers and crew. A cabin thermostat,
allowing temperature selection by the passengers, is available as an option.
The standard 50-cubic-foot, or optional
76-cubic-foot, emergency oxygen bottle is
located in the nose equipment bay.
Similar to the Citation Jet, the Excel has
high intensity, flush mount, Fresnel lens
landing lights in the belly fairing, plus
landing/taxi/recognition lights in the wing
leading edges near the tips. A ground
recognition light, in lieu of a mechanically
rotating beacon, is mounted at the top of
the vertical fin. Anti-collision strobe lights
are mounted next to the position lights at
the wingtips, but not at the tail light. Standard equipment also includes tail flood, or
“logo,” lights and left- and right-wing
inspection lights.
Pilots take note. The standard cockpit
layout has the landing gear handle
mounted on the center-left side of the
panel, for single-pilot operations. However, Cessna had not yet achieved a
single-pilot waiver for the Excel by the
time we went to press. As a no-charge
option, the aircraft may be configured
with a right-hand mounted landing gear
handle for two-crew operations.
Passenger Amenities
The Excel has appreciably more usable
cabin volume than a Citation VII. The
cabin is about four inches longer, there is
no intruding wing spar in the aft cabin
Cessna Citation Excel
floor and the floor below the passenger
seats has been dropped 3.5 inches, which
yields more seated headroom and legroom
and lessens the trough depth of the
dropped aisle. The cabin has indirect
ceiling lighting, individual reading lights
at the passenger seats and dropped aisle
lighting.
The cabin windows are triple pane for
thermal and acoustic insulation. Each has
a lever-operated, accordion shade.
Seven fore/aft facing passenger seats are
included in the standard configuration.
The aircraft I flew for this report has a
right-side storage closet, with room for
navigation chart storage just aft of the
cockpit divider, adjoining a side-facing,
two-place divan, with fold-down center
armrest, in place of the aft-facing, seventh
seat.
Cessna’s “optional center club plus
couch” configuration also features a forward, left-side refreshment center that has
a four-pound ice drawer; storage room for
beverage containers, water and a coffee
thermos; plus a wide, shallow drawer for
FROM MARCH 1999 BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL AVIATION.
© 1999, THE McGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Cessna
Analysis
Aft of the entry door, the Excel’s club/couch interior has four seats in club configuration, with two additional forward-facing seats in the rear of the cabin, forward of the lavatory.
box lunch storage. Aft of the entry door,
the club/couch interior has four seats in
club configuration, with two additional
forward-facing seats in the rear of the
cabin, forward of the lavatory. There are
no exposed seat tracks, but each of the six
seats has pitch, rake, lateral position and
swivel adjustments. Each fore/aft seat has
a sliding headrest. The club section has
left- and right-side fold-out executive
tables in the sidewalls. Smaller fold-out
work tables are available for the frontfacing, rear seats.
Optional, half-width pyramid cabinets
are installed in the aircraft I flew, providing additional storage for reading
materials. RJ11 telephone jacks and 117VAC power outlets are available as options
for laptop computer users.
The standard aircraft is fitted with a
belted potty seat on the left side of the
lavatory, certificated for occupancy during
takeoff and landing. Standard equipment
includes an internally serviced, selfflushing potty. The aircraft I flew for this
report, in contrast, has an optional rightside, externally serviced, flushing potty
that is not certificated for full-time occupancy. A left-side belted seat, though, is
available as an option, as is a lavatory sink
with hot and cold running water.
The lavatory compartment also has an
aft, central coat or hanging bag closet and
various small storage compartments.
There is an 81-cubic-foot, 700-pound
capacity external luggage compartment
located aft of the pressure vessel. It’s not
heated or pressurized, but it’s long enough
to accommodate skis or golf clubs. It’s
fully carpeted, well lighted and is accessible by means of a 32.5-inch-wide by
28.4-inch-tall airstair door below the left
engine. A word of caution applies, though.
Pilots will have to watch the center of
gravity limits when loading the baggage
compartment with light passenger loads.
And if the optional 150-pound APU is
installed, the c.g. envelope will limit the
allowable baggage weight further.
As the accompanying specifications box
indicates, the Excel can carry four to five
passengers with full fuel, resulting in a
high-speed cruise range of 1,723 miles.
The Range/Payload Profile chart also
shows that the Excel can fly eight people
1,404 miles at high-speed cruise. Although
the Excel is not a full tanks/full seats aircraft, it can fly four to eight people
between most business destinations in the
United States, against 85 percent probability winds with no more than one fuel
stop.
Flying Impressions
The aircraft I flew for this report had a
12,450-pound BOW, 100 pounds lighter
than the average BOW for the past 10 aircraft delivered. The club/couch configuration adds 36.4 pounds to the standard
aircraft’s BOW and this aircraft has the
optional externally serviced lavatory. However, the lavatory doesn’t have running
water because the operator intends to use it
for comparatively short missions. In addition, the owner deleted the vapor cycle air
conditioner to save weight.
Strap into the left seat of the Excel and
it initially seems like any other 500-series
Citation, except that it has more room up
front. The panel, though, is busier. A
triple-row annunciator panel, similar to
that of a Citation VII, is mounted in the
glareshield. The controls for the three
large-format EFIS tubes are mounted in
the instrument panel. New features and
functions require additional switches and
controls. It only took a few minutes,
FROM MARCH 1999 BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL AVIATION.
© 1999, THE McGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Cessna
though, before the panel’s and console’s
controls, displays and switches felt as
easy to use as those of the original Citation 500.
Our ramp weight was 17,225 pounds,
including 4,500 pounds of fuel and a safety
pilot. With four passengers, we could have
flown more than 900 miles at 400-plus
knots and landed with NBAA IFR
reserves. The PW545s’ electronic engine
controls (EECs) are the next best thing to
FADECs when it comes to reducing
workload in flight. The EECs automatically set thrust when the throttles are
placed in the takeoff, climb or cruise
detents. They also provide overspeed limiting, reduced ground idle speed with
weight on wheels and engine diagnostic
plus malfunction logging functions.
Unlike FADECs, though, the PW545’s
engine computers don’t have automatic
hot/hung/false/wet start protection functions. That’s left up to the flightcrew.
The engine start procedure is virtually
the same as it is in other Citations. Turn
on the battery, press a start button and
advance the throttle to the idle position at
eight percent N2 turbine rpm. A ground
power unit was used for both starts and
the ITTs peaked at about 460°F, well
under the 720°F start redline.
OAT was 0°C, we dialed 30.05 on the
PFDs and standby altimeter displays and
Wichita’s field elevation is 1,332 feet.
Based on a 17,000-pound takeoff weight,
our V speeds were 102 KIAS for the V1
decision speed, 106 KIAS for rotation and
118 KIAS for the V2 one-engine-inoperative takeoff safety speed. According to the
AFM, the FAR Part 25 takeoff field length
was 3,410 feet for the seven-degree flap
takeoff. The takeoff N1 fan speed setting
was 86.4 percent.
The Excel comes equipped with a standard, Honeywell Primus 1000 integrated digital avionics package. Two IC-600 integrated avionics computers in the nose equipment bay form the hub of the huband-spoke architecture system that features left- and right-side, eight-by-seven-inch CRT PFDs, plus a
central eight-by-seven-inch MFD.
Cessna publishes simplified takeoff data
that eliminates the need to use the takeoff
data tables on most departures. The AFM
allows the crew to dial in preset V speeds
for flaps 15-degree takeoffs, if the runway
is at least 5,000 feet long, the pavement is
dry, there is no tailwind, anti-ice is not
required and there are no obstructions in
the takeoff climb path. For example, if we
had selected flaps 15 degrees for takeoff,
the preset bug speed would have been 106
KIAS for V1, 107 KIAS for rotation and
119 KIAS for V2.
With such a cold temperature and comparatively light weight, it took very little
thrust to start the Excel moving from
Cessna’s factory ramp. The carbon brakes,
especially with such cold temperatures,
were more sensitive than the brakes of
other Citations I’ve flown. In addition, the
bungee-operated, nosewheel steering
adapted from smaller 500-series aircraft
was somewhat sluggish for making tight
turns with an aircraft as heavy as the
Excel. However, I quickly became comfortable with taxiing by allowing more
lead time to start and stop turns and by
occasionally using a little differential
thrust and braking.
Visibility from the left seat, while being
very adequate in all directions, isn’t as
good as it is in smaller 500-series Citations
that have narrower cockpits and larger
side windows. For example, traffic and
Excel Avionics
The Excel comes equipped with a standard, Honeywell
Primus 1000 integrated digital avionics package. Two IC600 integrated avionics computers in the nose equipment
bay form the hub of the hub-and-spoke architecture system
that features left- and right-side, eight-by-seven-inch CRT
PFDs, plus a central eight-by-seven-inch MFD. Dual radio
management units, to the right of the MFD in the instrument panel, control the Honeywell Primus II CNI radios, including dual 760-channel VHF comm transceivers, dual VHF
nav receivers, dual Mode S transponders, dual DME transceivers and a single ADF receiver, plus dual digital bus
(noise free) audio control panels. The standard package
also includes a 10-KW Honeywell Primus 880 weather radar
and one Rockwell Collins ALT-55 radio altimeter. Dual LITEF
LCR-93 fiber-optic AHRS and dual Honeywell digital air data
computers, one Loral/Fairchild CVR and an ARTEX 110-4
ELT also are included in the standard package. Standby in-
struments include a Meggitt AMLCD flat-panel attitude and
air data indicator, plus an electromechanical HSI. Dual, 30minute JET emergency batteries furnish the standby instrument power.
The IC-600 avionics computers don’t have provisions for
internal FMS cards. As a result, the Excel is fitted with a
single, console mounted, one-box configuration, Universal
Avionics UNS-1Csp as standard equipment. A second UNS1Csp is offered as an option, installed in an optional doublew
i
d
t
h
console.
A Teledyne Controls (nee Magnavox) MagnaStar C-2000,
two-channel radio-telephone is offered as optional equipment. Other options include an AlliedSignal KHF-950 HF
transceiver, AlliedSignal AFIS or Universal UniLink datalink
communications, AlliedSignal Enhanced GPWS (certification
date TBA) and AlliedSignal TCAS I or II.
FROM MARCH 1999 BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL AVIATION.
© 1999, THE McGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Analysis
Cessna Citation Excel
These three graphs are designed to be used together to provide a broad view of Citation Excel performance. Do not use these data for flight planning. For a complete operational performance analysis, use the Approved Airplane Flight Manual and appropriate mission planning data published by Cessna Aircraft.
Time and Fuel Vs. Distance — This graph shows the performance of the Excel at long-range and high-speed cruise. The numbers at the hour lines indicate the miles flown and the fuel
burned for each of the two cruise profiles. Each of the hour points is based on appropriate mission data supplied by Cessna. While flying the Excel for this report, we found Cessna’s
data to be very accurate, if not slightly conservative.
Specific Range — The specific range of the Citation Excel, the ratio of nautical miles flown to pound of fuel burned (nm/lb), is a measure of fuel efficiency. Each curve on this graph is
mathematically derived from four data points supplied by Cessna; thus it is an approximation of the actual change in SFC from long-range to high-speed cruise at the speeds and altitudes depicted on the chart.The sharp decline in SFC in low cruise altitudes and high cruise speeds indicates that the Excel’s strong suit is 400-plus-knot cruise speeds above FL 430,
as shown by the top two curves.
Range/Payload Profile — The purpose of this graph is to provide rough simulations of trips under a variety of payload and airport density altitude conditions, with the goal of flying the
longest distance at high-speed cruise. The payload lines, solely intended for gross simulation purposes, are valid only for the 250-mile marks and endpoint marks. The time and fuel
burn dashed lines are based on high-speed cruise with four passengers with NBAA IFR fuel reserves as shown on the Time and Fuel Vs. Distance graph. Notably, the runway distances
for the Excel are based on flaps 15 degree takeoffs from both the sea-level standard and hot-and-high airports. The flap configuration does not have to be reduced to comply with
one-engine-inoperative, second-segment climb requirements when departing from hot-and-high airports depicted on this chart.
FROM MARCH 1999 BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL AVIATION.
© 1999, THE McGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
obstacles aft of the four o’clock position
are best seen by the copilot.
Once cleared for takeoff, I pushed the
throttles up to the takeoff, or third, detent
in the quadrant. Whoa. I had to ask myself
if this light jet had winglets and a pointy
nose. The acceleration was decidedly
brisk. The N1 stabilized at 86.8 percent
and the total fuel flow was 3,460 pph.
Rotation force was light in spite of our relatively forward center of gravity with just
the crew and one passenger. After flap
retraction and a thrust reduction to the
climb detent, the rate of climb stabilized at
4,500 fpm at 250 KIAS. Twelve minutes
after brake release, we passed through FL
370 in ISA conditions, having burned 350
pounds of fuel. The climb performance
was just as the book predicted, but our
fuel burn was 100 pounds lower than
forecast.
During the climb, basic stability and
control checks revealed that the Excel is
well damped in yaw and short-period
pitch. It also has excellent spiral stability.
It’s as comfortable to hand fly as any other
Citation, including the CitationJet.
After leveling at FL 390 for a quick
speed check, the aircraft stabilized at 0.748
Mach, equivalent to 428 knots at ISA-1°C,
while consuming 1,280 pph. Cessna’s book
values apparently are somewhat conservative. The performance charts predicted
424 knots and a fuel burn of 1,350 pph.
We then climbed to FL 450 for additional cruise speed and high-speed buffet
boundary checks. The climb took three
minutes at a weight of 16,600 pounds,
which is consistent with Cessna’s book
values for a 0.62 Mach cruise climb.
Cessna’s 397 KTAS high-speed cruise and
1,040 pph fuel flow predictions were spoton accurate. Rolling into a turn, I found
that the straight-wing Excel doesn’t have
exceptionally large high-speed buffet margins. Approaching 38 degrees of bank, I
encountered palpable and audible airframe rumble, indicating that the long
array of vortex generators on each wing
isn’t cosmetic. The VGs help keep the airflow attached to the wing up to at least a
1.5-g load factor at high-altitude, highspeed cruise.
Down at FL 430, I performed a basic
long-period pitch stability check. The
Excel’s pitch cycle is well damped and of
relatively long duration.
We then descended to lower altitudes
for air work, deploying the speed brakes
for a trim check. The result was a very
slight nose-down pitching moment,
accompanied by a small increase in speed
and more substantial increase in descent
rate. Retracting the speed brakes produced the opposite result. I noted that the
Tradeoffs are a reality of aircraft design, although aircraft engineers attempt to give each model exceptional capabilities in all areas at an affordable price.
In order to graphically portray the strengths and compromises of specific aircraft, B/CA compares the subject aircraft to the composite characteristics of other aircraft in its class. We average parameters of interest for the aircraft
that are most likely to be considered as competitive among other aircraft in the subject aircraft’s class. We then compute the percentage differences for the various parameters between the subject aircraft and the composite group. We
also include the absolute value of the parameter under consideration, along with the ranking of the subject aircraft
within the composite.
The Excel, though, defies easy classification as a light or medium jet. As a result, we included both light and medium jets in the composite.The group comprises the Citation Ultra, Excel, Learjet 45, Raytheon Hawker 800XP and Citation VII. The Comparison Profile, for example, shows that the cabin of the Excel is highly competitive with other
midsize aircraft. Its payloads with maximum fuel, speed and range, however, are more in line with a light jet. The Price
Index line shows that the Excel has a 14-percent lower purchase price than the composite group, thus providing another perspective on the Excel’s relative strengths and shortcomings.
305 KIAS VMO above 8,000 feet permits
the Excel to keep up with traffic flows into
major airports.
Clean stalls were preceded by generous
airframe buffet, well prior to the stallwarning stick shaker, no doubt a result of
the leading-edge stall strips. Just prior to
the stall, the pitch force became slightly
lighter. At the stall, the nose dropped
gently, nudged down in part by the ventral
strakes, and there was plenty of roll control authority. To recover from the stall, I
used the conventional blend of power up,
pitch down and flaps out. Recovery from a
full aerodynamic stall, though, was not
immediate, especially at the 25,000-foot
altitude limit for such maneuvers. However, the Excel never lost its aerodynamic
composure.
In contrast to the clean stall, there was
much less aerodynamic buffet preceding
the stall with gear and flaps extended.
Mild pre-stall buffet was followed by the
stall-warning stick shaker. Approaching
the stall, the pitch forces became lighter.
At the stall, the nose pitched down with
no hesitation, again helped by the ventral
strakes. Relaxing the yoke pressure,
adding full power and retracting the flaps
to 15 degrees produced a rapid recovery.
Extending the flaps to seven degrees
caused a very mild pitch-down moment.
Extending the flaps also causes the twoposition horizontal stabilizer to move
from one degree nose-up to two degrees
nose-down during a 25-second period,
thus increasing the pitch control of the
elevator authority at slow speeds.
FROM MARCH 1999 BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL AVIATION.
© 1999, THE McGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Analysis
Extending the generously sized flaps
beyond seven degrees produced a noticeable pitch-down moment, although it was
easy to compensate for with pitch trim. I
noted that retracting the flaps caused the
opposite nose-up effect. At a constant
speed, though, the repositioning of the
stabilizer to one degree nose-up caused a
fairly strong nose-down pitching moment.
Normally, however, the aircraft is accelerating while the stab is repositioning to one
degree nose-up, resulting in little pitch
feel change.
With full flaps and a landing weight of
15,700 pounds, we slowed to our V REF
landing speed of 108 knots on the ILS to
Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. Our
charted no-wind landing distance was
2,930 feet. Only 41.9 percent N1 was
needed to maintain speed on the glideslope. The fuel flow was 410 pounds per
side, about the same as in a Citation 500.
Over the threshold, I pulled the thrust
to idle and slowly decreased the pitch
angle. Just above the runway, I flared
slightly nose-up and was rewarded with a
feather-bed touchdown. Note well. This
was not a product of pilot expertise.
Rather, the Excel, in my opinion, simply
has the softest landing manners of any
Citation built.
We reconfigured for takeoff and executed a touch and go to the visual pattern.
The second landing, to a full stop, produced identical results at touchdown. I
deployed the thrust reversers to cut
residual thrust and used a few thousand
extra feet of runway to stop. Some operators say that using full reverse thrust
causes the tail to rumble, but I didn’t
encounter vibration with my low reverse
thrust settings.
The next takeoff was a simulated oneengine-inoperative exercise. Retarding the
thrust lever to idle on the right engine
after V1 produced moderate yaw, which I
overcame with a moderate push of the
rudder pedal. At a V2 takeoff safety speed
of 118 KIAS, the 15,500-pound aircraft
climbed at 1,300 fpm. There was plenty of
thrust on one engine to fly around the pattern and reposition for our final landing.
Total flight time was one hour, 33 minutes, with a block time of one hour, 45
minutes. The total fuel burn was 1,950
pounds.
Conclusion? The Excel has the sporting
thrust-to-weight feel of a Bravo or an
Ultra, the most-refined slow-speed handling characteristics of any straight-wing
Citation and the softest touchdown and
taxi ride. Its ability to sprint up to FL 430
to 450 on all missions and cruise at 400
to 430 knots results in block times on
typical trips that are quite competitive
Cessna Citation Excel
SPECIFICATIONS
B/CA Equipped Price . . . . . . . . . .$7,574,000
Characteristics
Wing Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . .54.1
Power Loading . . . . . . . . . . . .2.63
Noise (EPNdB) . . . . . . . . . . . .74.2/93.1
Seating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2+8/11
Dimensions (ft/m) . . . . . . . . . . . .See Three Views
Power
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 PWC PW545
Output/Flat Rating OAT°C . . .3,804 lb ea/
ISA+13°C
Inspection Interval . . . . . . . . .5,000 hrs
Weights (lb/kg)
Max Ramp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20,200/9,163
Max Takeoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20,000/9,072
Max Landing . . . . . . . . . . . . .18,700/8,482
Zero Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14,500/6,577
BOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12,550/5,693
Max Payload . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,950/885
Useful Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7,650/3,470
Executive Payload . . . . . . . . .1,600/726
Max Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,740/3,057
Payload with Max Fuel . . . . . .910/413
Fuel with Max Payload . . . . . .5,700/2,586
Fuel with Executive Payload . .6,050/2,744
Limits
MMO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0.750
FL/VMO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .FL 289/305
PSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.3
Climb
Time to FL 370 . . . . . . . . . . . .14min
FAR 25 OEI rate (fpm) . . . . . .699
FAR 25 OEI gradient (ft/nm) . .352
Ceilings (ft/m)
Certificated . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45,000/20,412
All-Engine Service . . . . . . . . . .44,000/19,958
Engine-Out Service . . . . . . . . .28,600/NA
Sea Level Cabin . . . . . . . . . . .25,230/11,444
Certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .FAR Part 25, 1998
with medium jets having higher cruise
speeds, but the Excel’s fuel consumption is
lower.
Sensible Citation
Thirty years ago, Cessna introduced the
“sensible,” albeit slow, Citation, which was
intended to be a comfortable, docile handling business aircraft with simple
systems, solid reliability and low operating
costs. The Excel, although having a much
larger cabin, embraces the same design
philosophy. It has plenty of room for six to
eight passengers, plus a copious external
baggage compartment. It was designed for
excellent maintenance accessibility. Pilots
undoubtedly will laud its handling ease
and forgiving nature. CFOs will appreciate
its operating economy, matched by few
midsize aircraft.
Cessna, however, seems to have left
behind two memorable attributes of the
early 1970s vintage Citations: high drag
and low thrust. The modified wing and
peppy PW545 engines endow the Excel
with spirited climb and cruise performance unmatched by any previous
500-series Citation, including the spirited
Ultra.
The accompanying Comparison Profile
also says plenty about the Excel’s virtues.
We lumped it into a group with the Citation Ultra, Learjet 45, Hawker 800XP and
Citation VII. Compared to the composite
average, the Excel’s cabin is slightly
shorter, but it offers more headroom and
width. Its maximum payload and available
fuel with maximum payload aren’t in a
class with the best midsize jets, but the
Excel wasn’t designed for long-range
missions.
Look at the tallest columns on the chart.
The Excel’s light-jet wing loading and
strong thrust-to-weight ratio make
its runway performance and time to
climb numbers soar above the average.
The right side of the chart indicates
that the Excel doesn’t have the range,
speed or payload carrying capability of a
medium jet, but that’s in keeping with its
design.
All those comparisons assume purchase
price is not a consideration. Add in the
Price Index line and it’s a far different
story. With a B/CA-equipped price
14 percent below the composite, the Excel simply excels compared to the
composite average. Its lead over the composite group ranges from as little as three
percent to as much as 32 percent in some
categories.
The Price Index may help explain the
Excel’s sales success. When compared
with other midsize aircraft, it doesn’t offer
the same range, payload or cruise speed.
But with a $3-million-plus lower price
than a typical midsize aircraft, operators
seem willing to discount the long-mission
performance differences in favor of the
large cabin, short-field performance and
quick times to climb.
Cost and value, cabin comfort and airport performance, simple systems and
reliability, all are important factors for
operators. As a result, the Excel is off to a
strong start in the market. B/CA
FROM MARCH 1999 BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL AVIATION.
© 1999, THE McGRAW-HILL COMPANIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.