The Cessna 500 Citation I is a small
business jet produced by
Cessna, the basis of the
Citation family.
The Fanjet 500 prototype was announced in October 1968, first flew on September 15, 1969, and was certified as the 500 Citation on September 9, 1971. It was upgraded in 1976 as the Citation I, and the 501 Citation I/SP single-pilot variant was introduced in 1977. Production ended in 1985 with 689 of all variants produced.
The
straight wing jet is powered by
JT15D turbofans.
The aircraft was developed into the
Citation II.
Development
In the early 1960s, the three major American
general aviation aircraft manufacturers—
Beechcraft, Cessna and
Piper–faced a competitive challenge in the form of two newly-developed light
business jets, the
Learjet 23 and the
Aero Commander 1121 Jet Commander, which were much less expensive to buy and operate than previous business jets such as the
North American Sabreliner and
Hawker Siddeley HS.125.[4] Previous efforts by Beechcraft and Cessna to market small jets had not met with success: the
Cessna 407, a proposed civil version of the
T-37 Tweet jet trainer, had not proceeded past the mockup stage due to insufficient customer interest,[5] while an effort by Beechcraft to market the
Morane-Saulnier MS.760 Paris in North America had ended with only two aircraft sold.[6] However, the runaway success of the Learjet caused the two companies—which only manufactured
piston engined aircraft at the time—to reconsider
turbine engined aircraft, and Beechcraft launched two simultaneous efforts: the development of the
turboprop-powered
King Air 90 and an agreement to market the HS.125 in North America.[7]
Cessna quickly found that its premium twin piston-engine aircraft were uncompetitive with the King Air, which was substantially faster, yet could be flown by pilots with similar skills and licensing qualifications. However, the company also saw a broad gap between the King Air and existing light jets such as the Learjet, which were far faster but also relatively unforgiving to fly, requiring highly skilled pilots and long runways. Cessna reasoned that a market existed for a light jet that was faster than the King Air but similarly easy to fly, relatively inexpensive to buy and maintain, and able to access small airports with shorter runways. This type of aircraft would appeal to traditional Cessna buyers: amateur owner-pilots who intend to fly the aircraft themselves.[citation needed][8]
In October 1968 Cessna announced an eight place business jet capable of operating from airfields accessible to light twins.
The Fanjet 500 prototype first flew on September 15, 1969.
By then its unit cost was $695,000,[1] $5.77M today.
The renamed 500 Citation had a relatively long development program with a longer forward fuselage, repositioned engine nacelles, a larger tail and more dihedral to the horizontal tail.
It was FAA certified on September 9, 1971.[9]
In early 1976, its wing span grew from 43.9 to 47.1 ft (13.4 to 14.4 m).[10]
It also gained
thrust reversers and higher gross weights.
The enhanced 500 Citation I was introduced later in 1976 with higher weights,
JT15D-1A engines and an increased span wing.
The 501 Citation I/SP, certificated for single
pilot operations, was delivered in early 1977.
Production ended in 1985, it was developed into the
Citation II/Bravo and the
Citation V/Ultra/Encore.
Over 690 Citations, Citation Is and I/SPs were built between 1971 and 1985.[9]
By 2018, used 1970s model 500s were valued at $300,000, Citation ISPs at $695,000 to $1.25 million with the Eagle II package.[11]
Design
The aircraft was powered by two
Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-1 turbofan engines after Cessna's experience with the
T-37 Tweet twinjet trainer.
Its use of turbofans rather than
turbojets and straight wings rather than
swept wings made it cruise slowly compared to other business jets and
Learjet salesmen mocked it as the "Nearjet" vulnerable to "bird strikes from the rear"; Cessna renamed it the "
Citation" after the thoroughbred but it was nicknamed as "Slowtation".[12]
On March 30, 2008, a Citation I/SP, registration VP-BGE,
crashed near Biggin Hill Airport, killing former racing drivers
David Leslie and
Richard Lloyd, the two pilots, and another passenger, and causing a fire that destroyed two houses struck by the aircraft. The accident was attributed to the flight crew's improper emergency procedures in reaction to a perceived engine fault.[19]
On October 13, 2016, a Citation 500, registration C-GTNG, crashed shortly after takeoff from
Kelowna International Airport, killing former
Premier of AlbertaJim Prentice, the pilot, and two other passengers. The
Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) was unable to conclusively determine the cause of the crash, but the flight profile was consistent with a
spiral dive caused by
spatial disorientation, and the pilot's lack of experience flying at night and in
instrument meteorological conditions were thought to have contributed. The TSB also noted that although the aircraft had been outfitted for single-pilot operations in accordance with
Transport Canada (TC) regulations, the operator lacked the required TC approval for single-pilot flights, and the TSB criticized TC for lax operator oversight.[20]
On May 29, 2021, a Citation 501, registration N66BK,
crashed into Percy Priest Lake shortly after takeoff from
Smyrna Airport, killing American author
Gwen Shamblin Lara and her husband, American actor
Joe Lara, along with five other leaders of the Remnant Fellowship Church. The NTSB investigation determined the cause of the accident was pilot error related to somatogravic illusion (a type of spatial disorientation), due to heavy cloud cover.[21]
Specifications (Cessna Citation I)
Data from Jane's Civil and Military Aircraft Upgrades 1994-95 [22]
^Michell, Simon, ed. (1994). Jane's Civil and Military Upgrades 1994-95. Coulsdon, Surrey UK: Jane's Information Group. pp. 300–301.
ISBN0-7106-1208-7.