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Cessna Citation Sovereign

2004 – 2013

Key Facts

  • The Cessna Citation Sovereign is a medium jet manufactured by Cessna between 2004 and 2013.
  • The Cessna Citation Sovereign is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306C engines, resulting in an hourly fuel burn of 247 Gallons per Hour.
  • Capable of cruising at up to 460 knots, the Cessna Citation Sovereign can fly non-stop for up to 2920 nautical miles.
  • The aircraft can carry up to 12 passengers.
  • The Cessna Citation Sovereign has an estimated hourly charter price of $4500, with a new list price of $18 million at the time of manufacture.

Overview & History

The Cessna Citation Sovereign was designed to provide overall excellent performance while allowing exceptional comfort for passengers.

It was first introduced as a high-performance jet to plug the gap between the Excel/XLS and Citation X, but its claim to fame is that it can take-off and land at short distances thanks to a moderately swept high-aspect-ratio wing.

As of August 2018, 58% of the Citation Sovereign aircraft were purchased pre-owned by their current owners, the other 42% new. 3.7% are for sale with half of those (54%) under an exclusive broker agreement. When for sale, the average time on the market is 344 days.

The Cessna Citation Sovereign was first unveiled in 1998 at the NBAA Annual Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada and the first flight took place in February 2002.

FAA certification was awarded in June 2004 and customer deliveries began later that same year.

Production of the Citation Sovereign ended in 2013 as the Sovereign+ began deliveries.

A total of 350 Citation Sovereign business jets were built, 1 is retired, 1 is at the manufacturer.

Cessna Citation Sovereign Performance

The Citation Sovereign utilizes two Pratt and Whitney PW306C turbofan engines. Each engine is rated for 5,600 pounds of thrust on take-off.

The Citation Sovereign needs only 3,640 feet of runway to take off and needs only 2,203 feet of runway to land on a standard day.

This business jet is capable of flying at its high-speed cruise velocity of 445 knots at an altitude of 39,000 feet.

If you would like to make the most of the Citation Sovereign’s economic properties, the aircraft can maintain its long-range cruise speed of 375 knots at an altitude of 45,000 feet.

With a range of over 3,000 nautical miles, the Citation Sovereign is capable of coast-to-coast operations to meet your business needs.

Cessna Citation Sovereign Interior

The Citation Sovereign is usually configured to hold eight to twelve passengers, offering comfortable 180-degree swivel seats.

The cabin of this private business jet measures 25.3 feet long, reaches 5.7 feet in height and stretches 5.5 feet wide.

The Citation Sovereign features an impressive 135 cubic feet of baggage space capable of accommodating about 1,000 pounds of luggage.

Additional storage is included in the cabin in the form of a closet.

Sixteen windows surround the passenger cabin, contributing to a light atmosphere for a relaxing flight.

Cessna designed the Citation Sovereign with passenger comfort in mind, allowing the cabin to be cooled by the APU before the engine start.

This private business jet utilizes a variable gearing mechanism, which constantly changes the angle of the flaps to achieve their best angle for flight, effectively reducing pitch change.

A fully-equipped Sovereign can feature a refreshment center, private lavatory, and center-line closet for carry-on items.

Cockpit

The Citation Sovereign comes standard with highly advanced digital avionics. Many of the start up functions are automatic.

In the event of a stall, pilots have testified that the Citation Sovereign could recover without pilot intervention due to the level of sophistication of the stall control technology integrated into the avionics and flight systems.

When selecting an avionics suite for the Citation Sovereign, the Cessna Corporation chose the Garmin 5000 for its sophistication and performance.

Four digital touchscreen controllers and triple multi-pane widescreen displays are utilized in the package.

Situational awareness is further enhanced through Garmin’s Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT), which depicts a three-dimensional rendering of terrain, traffic, obstacles, and the runway environment, displaying these images on the primary flight displays.

Included in this highly advanced avionics package are Dual Flight Director, Dual integrated FMS that support RNP, LPV, TOLD, and performance data, dual channel fail passive Autopilot System with full integration to FMS and autothrottles, electronic documents such as manuals, and checklists.

Charts link directly to the FMS and are displayed on the multi-function displays, advanced audio capabilities, solid-state weather radar with ground clutter suppression and turbulence detection capabilities, active and passive traffic surveillance functionality through the utilization of TCAS II and ACAS II technologies, and Garmin ADS-B target correlation and tracking.

With this avionics suite, the Citation Sovereign is compliant with FANS 1/A, CPDLC, and ADS-B requirements.

Cessna Citation Sovereign Charter Cost

The cost to charter this jet starts at around $4,500 an hour.

Hourly charter rates do not include all taxes, fuel, and other fees. Charter costs will vary based on year of make/model, schedule, routing, passenger & baggage totals, and other factors.

Purchase Price

The acquisition cost for this jet typically ranges from $9 million.

The price of a jet depends on the production year; it can also go above the given range if the production is new.

It will cost buyers around $1.5 million per year which includes fuel, crew members, and maintenance, etc.

The price of a pre-owned aircraft can be within $6 million.

 

 

Performance

Comfort

Weights

Range: 2,920 nm Number of Passengers: 12 Baggage Capacity: 135 Cubic Feet
Cruise Speed: 460 knots Cabin Pressure: 9.3 PSI Max Take-Off Weight: 30,300 lbs
Ceiling: 47,000 feet Cabin Altitude: 7,200 feet Max Landing Weight: 27,100 lbs
Take-Off Distance: 3,750 feet Production Start: 2004
Landing Distance: 2,320 feet Production End: 2013

 

Dimensions

Power

Exterior Length: 63.5 feet Engine Manufacturer: Pratt & Whitney Canada
Exterior Height: 20.3 feet Engine Model: PW306C
Wingspan: 63.3 feet Fuel Burn: 247 Gallons per Hour
Interior Length: 25.3 feet
Interior Width: 5.5 feet
Interior Height: 5.7 feet
Interior/Exterior Ratio: 40%