Cessna’s Amazing CJs

Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at 03:44 PM ET

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The airplane was originally called the Fanjet, for the Pratt & Whitney JT15D-1A turbofan engines that powered them. Cessna

Key Takeaways:

Cessna has consistently dominated the entry-level light jet market, first with the groundbreaking single-pilot Citation in 1971 and then even more successfully with the CitationJet (CJ) line, producing over 1,450 CJs and their derivatives.
The original CitationJet, introduced in 1989, was a clean-sheet design that took significant risks with new technologies, including revolutionary Williams International FJ44 engines and a natural laminar flow (NLF) wing, to create a lighter, faster, and more fuel-efficient aircraft.
These innovations, coupled with a pilot-friendly design, made the CJ an ideal single-pilot transition aircraft and enabled the creation of a highly successful family of derivatives (CJ1, CJ2, CJ3, CJ4) that continue to evolve and lead the market.

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To paraphrase a famous American philosopher, predictions can be hard to make, especially when they’re about the future. But seeing the future of the entry-level business jet market 20 years ago, Cessna, with the creation of its seminal CitationJet, must have been watching the future in some late ’80s version of high definition. The airplane it created not only sold very well for a long time — Cessna has built 359 original CitationJets during the airplane’s run — but that entry-level jet also spawned several close derivatives. The company has produced 1,450 CJs in all. These airplanes have helped Cessna dominate the market for light, small-cabin jets up to the boundary of midsize.

In some cases Cessna’s competitors have tried, with limited success, to create an alternative vision of the light jet paradigm that Cessna seems to have both invented and perfected.