Textron confirms it will end Citation X+ production

Textron Aviation’s Cessna Aircraft division has confirmed that it is terminating production of the Citation X+, ending a 22-year long run.

A company spokesperson told CJI that Cessna was ending production so that there would be no overlap in the super mid-size sector once it begins delivering the first of its Citation Longitudes later in the year.

“The Citation X platform has a storied heritage within the Citation brand and has become a beloved aircraft by operators and passengers alike as the fastest civilian aircraft in the world. With the upcoming entry into service of the Citation Longitude, we are taking the opportunity to minimize overlap within this customer segment and discontinuing production of the Citation X+,” the company said.

Cessna announced the original Citation X during the 1990 National Business Aviation Association’s (NBAA) Convention & Exhibition in New Orleans. Although the X shares the same fuselage diameter of the Citation 650 family, much of the aircraft was designed entirely from scratch.

The Citation X would be the fastest and furthest flying Citation that Cessna had designed.

To do this, Cessna tuned towards Rolls-Royce for the first time for the engines. In return, Rolls-Royce supplied a variant of the AE3007 turbofan that was more commonly found on Embraer ERJ-145 regional-jet family. Each of the two engines mounted on the Citation Xs can produce 6442 lb of thrust.

Cessna also worked on making the Citation X as aerodynamically efficient as possible. Its wings have the highest sweep of any business jet, with the vertical and horizontal stabilisers also being highly swept.

This, along with a supercritical airfoil, helped make the Citation X the fastest flying business jet available, a crown it still carries to this day.

The first of the original Citation Xs was delivered to golfer Arnold Palmer on April 22, 1996. Palmer, a keen pilot himself, had operated several Citation jet aircraft prior to taking delivery of his Citation X.

Palmer kept his Citation X until Cessna announced an upgraded version called the Citation X+ in 2002.

The Citation X+ features upgraded engines and cockpit, as well as winglets that reduce the fuel consumption on longer trips by 1.4%.

Cessna delivered 313 of the original Citation Xs and has so far delivered 29 Citation X+ aircraft. Only eight of the aircraft were delivered between 2016 and 2017.