Cessna Citation X

The Cessna Citation X^[a] is an American business jet produced by Cessna and part of the Citation family. Announced at the October 1990 NBAA convention, the Model 750 made its maiden flight on December 21, 1993, received its type certification on June 3, 1996, and was first delivered in July 1996.

The updated Cessna Citation X was offered from 2012 with a 14 in (360 mm) cabin stretch and upgraded systems. Keeping the Citation III fuselage cross-section, it has a new 37° swept wing with an area of 527 ft² (49 m²) for a fast Mach 0.935 MMo and a 36,600 lb (16.6 t) MTOW for a 3,460 mi (6,408 km) range, a T-tail and two 7,034 lbf (31.29 kN) AE3007 turbofans. After 338 deliveries, production ended in 2018

By 2018, speed—the Cessna Citation X family’s raison d’etre—had become de rigueur on a new generation of larger and more comfortable bizjets being delivered or in the pipeline from Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer, and Gulfstream. And while none of those equaled the much-vaunted Mach 0.935 of the X+, the large-cabin jets came close, with top speeds of Mach 0.90 to 0.925, while super-midsized models priced similarly to the X+ topped out at Mach 0.83 to 0.86.

So the Cessna Citation X, posting economic numbers that were increasingly hard to defend, never found a sustainable audience. Ten of the 29 buyers were upgrading from old Citation Xs. Like the supersonic airliner Concorde and the Mach 3 plus SR-71 U.S. spy airplane, the X+ fell victim to the actuary’s knife. The X and X+ were one-trick ponies, built for speed. And the trick got old.

Not surprisingly, resale values have plummeted since Textron pulled the plug. A 2018 model year Citation X+ that sold new for $23.3 million already has depreciated to $17 million (retail), a 27 percent drop, according to the aircraft valuation service Vref. A 2015 model year X+ is trading for a mere $12 million, down 49 percent from its new list price. By any definition, this is a fire sale. But does it make sense to wade into the flames and take advantage of these prices?

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