The Cessna Citation V, also known by its company designation of Model 560, first flew in 1977 as a stretched version of the company’s successful Cessna Citation II family, itself a stretched Citation I.
A grand total of 774 units were delivered during its long production run between 1989 and 2011, including the improved Ultra, Encore, and Encore+ variants introduced starting in 1993.
Citation V / Specs
The Citation V’s cabin is 17.3 ft long, 4.9 ft wide, and 4.8 ft high, featuring a drop aisle and seven windows per side. The standard seating arrangement is comprised of four seats in club configuration plus three chairs and a lavatory featuring a seatbelt and a door.
The seats are some of the wider in the business jet market, recline 60 degrees and have full freedom of rotation. Passengers do not have to pack light when flying on a Citation V, with an internal baggage capacity of 28 cubic feet plus 48 cubic feet externally.
The cabin is also one of the quietest in the market, thanks to the effort put in by Cessna in the design phase. The cabin features a front and rear temperature control and ventilation system, and holds sea level pressure until 23580 feet.
The fuselage stretch of 20 inches brought empty weight to 9925 lbs, with a maximum ramp weight of 16100 lbs and a takeoff weight of 15900 lbs in standard conditions, including a fuel capacity of 5771 lbs.
The aircraft lands at or below 15200 lbs. The maximum nominal payload for the Cessna Citation V is of 2275 lbs with 929 lbs of fuel.
While the Citation V is larger, designers at Cessna avoided the temptation to add more seats based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback from operators about it.
Instead, the aircraft sticks with its eight seats but rewards passengers with comfort via additional space between rows. The horizontal stabilizer and elevators were slightly stretched to keep pitch authority consistent with previous models despite the longer fuselage.
To account for the increase in gross weight, the aircraft received more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5A turbofan engines providing a total of 2900 lbf of thrust each.
The engines have improved on the JT15D-4 design by using a new high-efficiency exhaust nozzle, and brought the bypass ratio down to 2.1:1 from 2.5:1 to help with high altitude performance.
A very useful feature of the JT15D-5A is the hydraulically-actuated thrust reverser fitted by default. In high-speed cruise settings, the Cessna Citation V burns around 1000 pounds of Jet A fuel per hour.
Younger pilots may find this powerplant unfamiliar as it lacks FADEC to lower the crew’s workload, a somewhat unusual feature for an aircraft introduced in the late 1980s.
This was brought on by an interesting design decision by Cessna: in order to improve dispatch reliability, a crucial factor for coporate owners in particular, the Citation V was fitted with hydromechanical fuel controllers instead of electronic ones.
The rationale behind this was that owners would find a slight increase in pilot workload an acceptable tradeoff for higher availability.
The flight deck on the original Citation V comes in the early flavor of glass cockpits. The left seat is outfitted with two screens by default, while the co-pilot has no dedicated displays.
Cessna offered an alternative configuration for a newly-built aircraft that included five screens, two per side, plus a central multifunctional display accessible to both crewmen. As the Citation V is rated for single-pilot operations, many pilot owners opted for the cheaper two-screen configuration when they expected to do all the flying.
Navigation is aided by a Honeywell GNS-X flight management system (FMS), with Collins Proline II radio navigation and a Honeywell SPZ-500 flight director and autopilot system. A good giveaway of the Citation V’s age is the LORAN-C compatibility, despite the network being largely obsolete in modern times.
The Citation V’s flaps have four positions: retracted, 7 degrees for takeoff, 15 degrees for both approach and takeoff, and 35 degrees for landing.
Citation V / Prices
During its production run, Cessna quoted an equipped Citation V for $4321900, including the five-screen cockpit option.
Citation V / Performance and Handling
As expected of a straight-wing Citation, the Model 560 has exceptional short field performance for a business jet in its class, with a balanced field length of 3160 ft.
For a hot-and-high field at 5000 ft, the runway requirements grow to a respectable 4780 ft. The traditional caveat of a straight wing design lies in top speed, which falls shorter of many competitors. Still, with a maximum cruise speed of 427 KTAS, the Citation V is not a slowpoke in any sense of the word.
The Model 560 has a range of 1920 nmi including reserves, achievable at the economic cruise settings of 350 KTAS and 45000 ft, the aircraft’s maximum certified ceiling.
This yields a fuel burn of 740 pounds per hour. The published standard cruise speed is of 400 KTAS, but most operators have found a sweet spot at 415 KTAS and around 400 nautical mile trips.
The best climbing performance for the Citation V is 3684 fpm. A climb to FL350 takes 17 minutes and is completed in 69 nautical miles while burning 535 pounds, while getting up to FL430 takes a total of 37 minutes over 170 nautical miles and with 877 pounds of fuel burned.
The Citation V is a very pilot-friendly aircraft and boasts a good safety record to match. Its aerodynamic configuration has led to a jet with docile handling and very few vices across the envelope, with predictable stall recovery and responsive controls at slow speeds.
The crew’s 340-degree field of view facilitated by the large cockpit windows make visual approaches a comfortable affair. The aircraft’s single-engine performance is remarkable, with a climb rate of 1332 fpm and a ceiling of 25900 ft with an engine out.
While the decision to forego a FADEC is puzzling to some, pilots who get acquainted with the aircraft soon find that Cessna did their homework to ensure the engines are comfortable to work with.
Engine power on the ground is regulated by a weight-on-wheels sensor to make ground handling safer. There is an eight-second delay between weight-on-wheels and the system’s activation on landing to ensure that engine RPM does not fall below levels required for a timely go around.
Ground handling is pleasant, with a smooth and precise nosewheel that has two steering modes. The default one allows it 20 degrees of movement to either side, while if full deflection plus differential brakes are applied, the nosewheel casters for a turn pivoting around the main landing gear leg.
The applications of this second more are limited, but can come very useful when maneuvering in a tight spot. Directional control during the takeoff and landing runs is also very responsive.
Citation V / Maintenance Schedule
The Cessna Model 560 family has light checkups scheduled every 150 hours, with basic maintenance at either 300 hours or 24 months, whichever is met first, and deep inspection at either 1200 hours or 36 months.
Engine hot section inspections must be conducted at 2500 hours, with overhauls at every 5000 hours plus additional standard checks at the 10000 and 12000-hour mark, and when 10000 and 15000 landings are recorded.
Citation V / Modifications and Upgrades
The Cessna Citation V has four major variants, not counting military conversions undertaken in the United States. The baseline Citation V is fitted with JT15D-5A engines, and its only major modification available is whether the buyer wants two or five displays on the flight deck.
There are tradeoffs to be considered: the five-screen option brings more crew comfort when flying with two pilots and increases resale value, but it also comes with additional maintenance costs.
Cessna Citation Ultra
Starting in 1993, Cessna introduced the Citation Ultra version of the Model 560. This variant standardized EFIS instruments on both sides of the cockpit using the Honeywell Primus 1000 suite, and brought along an improved pair of engines, the JT15D-5D with 3045 lbf of thrust each.
This modification brought the Model 560’s maximum takeoff weight to 16300 lbs, greatly improving the useful payload. A total of 279 Citation Ultra units were delivered.
Cessna Citation Encore
In 2000, the second major Model 560 variant was introduced, branded the Cessna Citation Encore. This version built upon the improvements of the Citation Ultra and expanded them by again increasing the thrust available. The Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535A was built with the Citation Encore in mind, and each engine provides 3400 lbf of thrust.
This additional power brought the maximum takeoff weight to 16630 lbs, but also came with significant improvements in fuel efficiency, which allowed Cessna to reduce the fuel capacity to 806 gallons from the original 861.
Coherent with the increased overall weight of the aircraft, the landing gear assembly saw improvements for better reliability and durability. Between 2000 and 2006, 168 Citation Encore units were built.
Cessna Citation Encore+
The final chapter of the Model 560 came in December 2006 in the shape of the Cessna Citation Encore+. This version of the classic business jet replaced the PW535A with PW535B engines, which finally brought a FADEC system to the Model 560 family. This change brought performance on par with the newer Cessna Citation CJ3+, and just slightly below the Citation CJ4.
The avionics also received a facelift to stay up to modern standards, encompassing a complete refit to the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 suite, featuring three large displays: one multifunctional display (MFD) on the middle, plus one primary flight display (PFD) for each crew member.
The Citation Encore+ was produced between 2006 and 2011 with 65 aircraft delivered, after which the production line was fully shifted to the newer Citation Excel family, itself a Citation V derivative.
Citation V / Where to Find Replacement Parts
Like all Cessna aircraft, the Citation V benefits from the company’s extensive supply and service network around the world, now under the Textron Aviation banner. The large production run and extensive parts commonality between Model 560 variants make it easy to find the right components in a timely and fiscally sound manner.
Citation V / Common Problems
Early Citation V models have a conflict of the landing gear handle’s shape and the radar mounting bezel. The round handle can hit the mount, and at times this prevents the former from sending the up contact required to command landing gear retraction.
Some major cockpit switches like the avionics master and inverter do not have a protective cover despite being placed among the sea of switches, which can make accidental actuation an issue, particularly for inexperienced crews.
The EFIS on the dashboard runs hotter and is more expensive to maintain than both electromechanical displays and modern LCD displays.
A cooling system involving thermometers and fans was installed to mitigate the heat issue, but this adds in complexity and increases the amount of moving parts that can break down and reduce dispatch reliability.
Ground operation with the pilot’s “EFIS FAN” light on is restricted to 10 minutes or until the “EADI HOT” or “EHSI HOT” lights come on, whichever happens first. If any of the latter two come on, or the “EFIS FAN” light does not turn off, dispatch is prohibited.
The same goes if any of the “HOT” lights has come on during the previous flight: the CItation V can only sortie again after the cause of those is identified and corrected.
Citation V / Insurance Options
According to BWI FLY, there are 8 carriers quoting Cessna Citation V insurance in the United States. These values are estimates given for a qualified crew with a commercial license, current IFR and MEL ratings, and 250 hours in the model, plus 2000 MEL hours and a total of 4000 hours.
A policy with around $1 million in both liability coverage and hull coverage will set owners back between $8100 and $11600 yearly.
Citation V / Resale Value
According to Vref, a 1989 Cessna Citation V commands around $900000, while a 1994 model with the accompanying upgrades usually goes for $1.3 million. Aircraft fitted with the default two-screen configuration instead of the optional five have been observed to take a $100000 hit to their resale value.
Citation V / Owner Reviews
Regular Cessna Citation V passengers cannot stop praising the cabin’s comfort, and those familiar with it understand very well why it is such a major selling point. The lengthened cabin is a noticeable change from the Citation II’s, and its effect combined with the large windows makes the Citation V feel very bright and spacious.
The improved lumbar support on the new seats is a much-loved addition, particularly for those who fly longer routes regularly. Cessna delivers on the noise control promises, which allow for a normal-voice conversation at FL430 with the engines on maximum cruise settings.
Mechanics and pilots alike enjoy the Citation V for its clever design of inspection and operation flows, which are described as very natural and easy to access.
To illustrate, all preflight items on the Model 560 are either clearly visible or easily accessible from a standing position. The same goes for many ramp troubleshooting items, which removes unpleasantries, such as dipping your pants into oil while kneeling.
Citation V / Similar Aircraft
The Cessna Citation V’s main competitors are the Learjet 45 line and its cousins on the CJ side of the family tree, particularly the CJ3 and CJ4 variants. The Citation V is said to best the competition as far as passenger comfort goes but lacks payload compared to both.
The Learjet 45 eclipses the Citation V as far as speed and range go, but its runway requirements and fuel consumption are also much higher.
The Cessna CJ3 has better fuel efficiency and shorter runway requirements but trades in comfort due to the short cabin, while the CJ4 brings better range and payload, but it’s far greater prices make it difficult for it to compete.
FAQs
Question: Is a Citation V Single Pilot?
Answer: Yes, the Cessna Citation V is rated for single-pilot operations.
Question: How Much is a Cessna Citation V?
Answer: A used Cessna Citation V costs between $900000 and $1300000 depending on the year and avionics suite.
Question: How Fast is a Citation V?
Answer: The Cessna Citation V’s maximum cruise speed is of 427 KTAS.
Question: Does the Citation V have a Toilet?
Answer: Yes, the Citation V does have a closed toilet with a seatbelt.
Question: How Much does a Citation V Weigh?
Answer: The Citation V’s maximum takeoff weight is 15900 lbs.
Further Reads:
- Cessna Citation CJ4 Guide and Specs
- Cessna Citation Mustang Guide and Specs
- Cessna 162 Guide and Specs
References:
https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2016/february/pilot/t_ql
https://www.rocketroute.com/aircraft/cessna-citation-encore-c560
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/47059816/b-ca-analysis-cessna-citation-v
https://jetadvisors.com/cessna-citation-v/
https://bwifly.com/cessna-citation-v-insurance-cost/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Citation_V
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