Citation CJ

The Citation CJ is where this family begins, and the aircraft is honest about being the entry point. Five seats, a 132 in cabin at 58 in across and 57.9 in high, 54 cu ft of baggage across four bags, 1,500 nm of range and 380 kt. That cabin length it shares with the CJ1; the top speed it also shares with the CJ1, and the two of them are the slowest aircraft in this category. None of that is a complaint. A light jet at this end of the class is bought for the sector it makes possible, not for the numbers it posts.

What the CJ offers over the CJ1 is a recorded hold — 54 cu ft — and 1,500 nm of range against a runway requirement of 3,209 ft. Where the CJ1 leads on the runway and stops there, the CJ is the version of the same airframe with the fuller specification behind it. Production ended long ago and the type now trades on cost of access rather than on capability. For two or three passengers on a short regional sector who want a jet rather than a turboprop, this is the least aircraft that will do the job, and being the least aircraft that will do the job is a legitimate position.

Where the CJ line starts