Cessna Citation CJ4

Overview & History

The Cessna Citation CJ4 (Model 525C) is a stretched and enhanced version of the popular Cessna Citation CJ3 and can trace its routes back to the original CitationJet.

Originally announced in October 2006 at the NBAA conference, with the first flight taking place in May 2008, and the first production jet flying one year later.

FAA certified in March 2010, the first delivery occurred one month later. Since that first delivery in 2010, more than 300 Cessna CJ4s have been delivered to customers.

The CJ4 sits between the smaller CJ3+ and the larger capacity XLS+.

The CJ3+ can fly nearly as far as its bigger brother but has capacity for fewer passengers with full tanks and is slower in the cruise. The CJ4 sits alongside the PC-24 and Phenom 300E as some of the largest jet aircraft around that are certified for single-pilot operation.

With the Cessna CitationJet/M2/CJ (Model 525) series of aircraft tracing its routes back to 1989, the CJ4 is the pinnacle of everything that Cessna has learnt over the past three decades in terms of comfort, technology and reliability.

With increased speed, range and cabin size over its predecessor, the CJ4 is popular among both corporate flight departments and owner-operators.

Cessna Citation CJ4 Performance

The Cessna Citation CJ4 is powered by two rear mounted Williams International FJ44-4A engines, with each one producing 3,621 lbs of thrust (7,242 lb total).

This gives the CJ4 a maximum cruise speed of 451 knots at a maximum cruising altitude of 45,000 feet.

In its most economical configuration and weights, the CJ4 has a maximum range of 2,165 nautical miles (2,491 miles/4,010 kms).

With a take-off distance of 3,410 feet and a landing distance of just 2,940 feet, the CJ4 is capable of flying from smaller airports to smaller airports.

The key benefits of flying between smaller airports is that they are closer to your final destination and the admin element of flying will be far quicker than larger airports.

These factors will be crucial in reducing your overall travel time. The Cessna Citation CJ4 has a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 17,110 lbs, a figure consistent with its competition.

Cessna Citation CJ4 Interior

The Cessna Citation CJ4 has a maximum capacity of 10 passengers, provided the optional couch is selected.

Keep in mind that if you are chartering a CJ4 it is unlikely that the operator will allow for 10 passengers to fly on the aircraft.

This is because one passenger will be required to be sitting upfront in the cockpit and most reputable operators will always insist on two pilots flying.

The two cabin layout options result in the cabin housing either 8 passenger seats or 9 passenger seats in the optional couch configuration.

Both configurations consist of a single forward-facing row of seats situated behind a double-club seating area.

The difference between the configurations is the seat opposite the main door. With the optional couch this single seat is converted to a two-seat couch.

At the very rear of the aircraft there is a belted lavatory. The cabin measures 1.47 meters wide, 1.45 meters tall (ceiling to bottom of recessed aisle), with a total interior length of 5.28 meters.

These dimensions are slightly smaller than the CJ4s main competitors, the Embraer Phenom 300E and Pilatus PC-24 (which features a completely flat floor).

The extra length of the CJ4 over the smaller CJ3+ is most noticeable in the flight deck and the refreshment center area.

The refreshment center features a divided ice drawer, coffee container, disposable cup dispenser, trash container, bottled water, can storage and snack storage.

All seats within the cabin swivel and track forward/aft and inboard/outboard, with the two center forward facing seats also floor-tracking.

In-between the double-club seats are two bi-fold tables, along with slimline bi-fold tables for the rear seating area.

In order to increase the space within the club seat area the rear-most seats can be moved further back.

The CJ4 features the Collins Venue cabin-management/entertainment system with a Blu ray media center and single channel SiriusXM radio.

The CJ4 also features a monitor on the forward bulkhead, two side-ledge monitors and environmental system controls.

All lights in the cabin are LED and each seat has cabin-management and entertainment system controls.

Gogo’s air-to-ground system or Cobham Inmarsat SwiftBroadband satcom are available options for airborne connectivity.

Cockpit

The flight deck features the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics and the MultiScan Hazard Detection System.

The fully integrated Pro Line 21 avionics have been taken to new levels of user-friendliness and intuitive understanding.

The package features four huge 8 x 10-inch AMLCD color displays teamed with dual Control Display Units (CDUs) forward of the throttle quadrant.

And while pilot workload has been reduced, the cockpit is highly conducive to the work that is required.

Standard CJ4 capability includes enhanced weather tracking via the Rockwell Collins RTA-4112 MultiScan™ Weather Radar system.

Pilots can use this solid-state radar system to detect weather systems and navigate around them to minimize turbulence.

Short, mid and long-range weather detection is included with multiple radar scans at preselected tilt angles.

At any altitude or range, the system displays an optimized weather picture for the pilot.

Standard features on the CJ4 include:

• Dual Primary Flight Displays
• Dual Multifunction Displays
• Single Flight Management System with GPS Navigation
• Integrated Crew Alerting System
• Integrated Electronic Checklists
• Dual Attitude Heading Reference Systems
• XM Broadcast Graphical Weather
• MultiScan Weather Radar
• Mark VIII Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System
• TCAS II

Optional features include:

• Dual Flight Management System
• High-Frequency Radio with SELCAL
• Flight Data Recorder
• ACARS Data Link

Cessna Citation CJ4 Charter Cost

The estimated hourly cost to charter a Cessna CJ4 is $2,800 per flight hour, making the CJ4 slightly cheaper to charter per hour than the Phenom 300E ($3,150) and the Pilatus PC-24 ($4,150).

Purchase Price

Prices for a new Cessna Citation CJ4 starts from $9.7 million before options.

If you are looking to purchase a pre-owned CJ4 you can expect to pay $5 million – $6 million for a decent example that is a few years old.

Fortunately, thanks to the popularity of the aircraft, there are many examples on the market.