Cessna Aircraft Company, which has been producing luxury business jets for quite a while now, has launched the Citation M2, a new light business jet that fills the gap between the Citation Mustang and the Citation CJ family. Despite the capital M, it is not based on the Mustang platform, it is a CJ derivative. The new design has been in development for three years and it’s slated to fly during the first half of 2012.
The Citation M2 will be the 11th member of the Cessna Citation biz jet family.
Citation M2 is designed as a modified version of CJ+ with new interiors and also new engines and avionics. The aircraft will have a height of 4.19m, length of 12.98m and width of 14.3m. The wingspan will be 14.2m. The airframe is made up of aluminum alloys by both mechanical fasteners and adhesive bonding to join the components. It will have a T-tail and will also have a straight wing provided with LED lighting.
Fitted with the Garmin G3000 avionics suite, the $4.195 million Citation M2 can carry 6 passengers and 2 members of the crew over a distance of 1,300 nautical miles (2,408 kilometers) at a maximum cruise speed of 400 knots true airspeed (741 kilometers per hour). The aircraft can operate at airports with runways as short as 3,250 feet (991 meters) and will climb to 41,000 feet (12,497 meters) in 24 minutes.
The Citation M2 will be powered by a pair of FADEC-controlled Williams International FJ44-1AP-21 turbofan engines, each producing 1,965 pounds of thrust. This new version of Williams’ FJ44 engine incorporates improvements gleaned from more than six million hours of operation of the 4,000 FJ44 engines in service. Importantly, the engine also provides significantly higher performance in hot and high conditions and an increase in the time between overhaul (TBO) from 3,500 to 4,000 hours.
Inside the suite include amenities like multi-functional touch screen entertainment and control systems, wi-fi internet access, Smartphone charging ports; advance TAWS (terrain awareness warning system, and weather radar which are extremely useful for the pilot and passenger during rough conditions. Also amenities like washrooms with solid doors, and leather upholstery come as a standard part of packing, all done in strict modern and sophisticated style of the high earning executive. The customers also have the option of selecting the fabrics and décor style themselves for a more personalized business jet.
First flight of the new Cessna Citation M2 will be in the first half of 2012, with Federal Aviation Administration certification expected in the first half of 2013, followed by deliveries beginning in the second half of 2013.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlxfrCdr5wk[/youtube]
