Cessna Citation II

The Cessna Citation II was the first of the Model 550 series of Citation jets, which are light corporate jet built by Cessna . A direct development of the Citation I , the Citation II led to the later development of the Citation II/SP, the S550 Citation S/II, and the Citation Bravo. The Citation II was also used by the United States Navy under the designation T-47A for radar system training, while the OT-47B was procured by the United States Department of Defense for drug interdiction reconnaissance.

Design and development

Citation II

The Citation II, Model 550, was a direct development from the Citation I. The earlier aircraft's success in the market led Cessna to believe there was demand for a larger aircraft that utilized the same design philosophy. The result was the Citation II, which had a maximum seating capacity of 10. In addition to more seats, the plane had more powerful JT15D4 engines, faster speeds and longer range. First flight was on January 31, 1977, and the aircraft was certified for two-pilot operation in March, 1978. A total of 603 aircraft were built before the Citation II was replaced by the Bravo in the production line.

Citation II/SP

Like the Citation I/SP, the Model 551 Citation II/SP was launched as Cessna's means of competing in the turboprop market, which predominantly are operated single-pilot, so the aircraft was re-certified for single-pilot operations.

T-47

The Model 552 T-47A was the designation given by the U.S. Navy to the Citation II. Fifteen aircraft were purchased by the Navy to train Naval Flight Officer s, primarily its Navy F-14 Tomcat Radar Intercept Officer s, Navy and Marine Corps A-6 Intruder Bombardier/Navigators, Navy and Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler Electronic Warfare Officers, Marine Corps F/A-18D Hornet Weapon Systems Officers and Navy S-3 Viking Copilot/Tactical Coordinators. The T-47A was modified by incorporating JT15D5 engines, shortened wings, multiple radar consoles and the AN/APQ-159 radar system from the F-14.

The T-47As were operated by Training Air Wing SIX, which was based at Naval Air Station Pensacola , Florida. All but one of the T-47As were destroyed in a hangar fire, and the Navy replaced them with upgraded T-39s Another version of the Model 552 was the OT-47B "Tracker", five of which were purchased by the Department of Defense for use in drug interdiction reconnaissance operations, based at Maxwell Air Force Base . The OT-47B utilized the F-16's APG-66(V) fire control radar system and the WF-360TL imaging system.

Citation S/II

In October, 1983, Cessna announced that they would be improving the aircraft, and the upgraded Model S550 Citation S/II first flew February 14, 1984. The aircraft utilized an improved version of the engine, JT15D4B, while the rest of the improvements were aerodynamic in nature. The wing was replaced with one using a supercritical airfoil, which had been developed for the Citation III . The S/II was certified, like the II/SP, with a single-pilot exemption. Once certification was in hand, the S/II replaced the II in the product line in late 1984. However, due to market demands, the II was returned to production in 1987. The S/II was discontinued after the 1988 production year. The II continued in production until 1994, and was replaced by the Bravo in 1997.

Citation Bravo

By 1994, the Citation II and S/II had been in production for 10 years, and it was time to integrate new technology. Cessna thus announced the development of the Citation Bravo. While it was built on the basic S/II airframe, the new aircraft was powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW530A engines. The main landing gear was replaced by the smoother-riding trailing link configuration adopted by other members of the Citation line, and the standard avionics suite was updated to the Honeywell Primus 1000 glass cockpit. The new aircraft first flew on April 25, 1995, but certification did not come for over a year, finally being granted in August 1996. Production of the Bravo ceased in late 2006 after 337 had been produced.

Variants

*Citation II (Model 550) a larger stretched development of the Model 500 first produced in 1978. Initially replaced by the S/II in production, but was brought back and produced side-by-side with the S/II until the Bravo was introduced.

*T-47A (Model 552) is the military designation of the Citation II. The United States Navy purchased 15 T-47A aircraft as radar system trainers.

*OT-47B "Tracker" - The DoD purchased five OT-47B models for drug interdiction reconnaissance.

*Citation II/SP (Model 551) single-pilot operations

*Citation S/II (Model S550) incorporated a number of improvements, especially an improved wing. Replaced the II in production.

*Citation Bravo (Model 550) updated II and S/II with new PW530A engines, landing gear and Primus 1000 avionics. The last Citation Bravo rolled off the production line in late 2006, ending a nearly 10 year production run of 337 aircraft.

Operators

Civilian Operators

CAN

* Transport Canada

Military operators

ARG

* Argentine Army

COL

ECU

ESP

* Spanish Air Force

MYA

* Myanmar Air Force

NGA

* Nigerian Air Force

SWE

* Swedish Air Force

TUR

* Turkish Air Force

USA

* United States Navy

VEN

* Venezuelan Air Force

RSA

KSA

* Royal Saudi Air Force