Cessna 500/Citation I vs Cessna Citation CJ3

Side-by-side specs, range, and real operating costs for up to 5 aircraft.

Aircraft

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Mission Performance

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Values normalised across compared aircraft. Fuel Economy is inverted (lower burn = higher score). See table below for raw figures.

Mission Performance Details

Metric Cessna 500/Citation I Cessna Cessna Citation CJ3 Cessna
Stall Speed 85 kts 102 kts
Approach Speed 91 kts 105 kts
Cruise Speed 357 kts 416 kts
Range 1,325 nm 2,040 nm
Service Ceiling 41,000 ft 45,000 ft
Rate of Climb 2,719 fpm 4,478 fpm
Fuel Burn 166.1 gph 149.0 gph

Flight Profile

Service ceiling, range, and climb rate.

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Arc represents the climb-cruise-descent profile based on published service ceiling and range. Climb rate annotated on ascent. FL180 (18,000 ft) shown for reference.

Fuel Burn & Range

Range, endurance, and what the fuel costs by the hour.

Cessna 500/Citation I Jet A
166.1 gph
baseline
1,325 nm range 564 gal usable 3h 23m endurance 2.1 nm/gal $997 fuel/hr
Cessna 500/Citation I: 166.1 gallons per hour at cruise, 1,325 nautical mile published range, 3 hour 23 minute endurance, 2.1 nautical miles per gallon.
Cessna Citation CJ3 Jet A
149.0 gph
−17.1 gph
2,040 nm range 703 gal usable 4h 43m endurance 2.8 nm/gal $894 fuel/hr
Cessna Citation CJ3: 149.0 gallons per hour at cruise, 2,040 nautical mile published range, 4 hour 43 minute endurance, 2.8 nautical miles per gallon.
Jet A range each cell = 1 hr of cruise · width scales with speed

Bars show published still-air range. Endurance is usable fuel divided by the published cruise burn. Estimates only. Always verify against the POH.

Runway Performance

Density altitude adjusted estimates

Outside Air Temp
0°F57°F115°F
Field Elevation
SL4,0008,000 ft
Density Altitude

Takeoff over 50 ft obstacle

Landing ground roll

Base distance DA penalty
Scale: 6,000 ft

FAA 10%/1,000 ft DA rule of thumb (FAA-H-8083-25B). Turboprops and jets are less sensitive in practice. Always verify against the POH.

Estimated Operating Costs

Scale:
Cessna 500/Citation IJet A
$1,625 /hr
Cessna 500/Citation I: $1,625 per flight hour — fuel $997, maintenance and reserve $628.
Cessna Citation CJ3Jet A
$1,794 /hr
Cessna Citation CJ3: $1,794 per flight hour — fuel $894, maintenance and reserve $900.
Cessna 500/Citation I Turbofan
$14,962 /yr
Cessna 500/Citation I: $14,962 per year — insurance withheld, hangar $12,462, annual inspection $2,500.
Cessna Citation CJ3 Turbofan
$18,509 /yr
Cessna Citation CJ3: $18,509 per year — insurance withheld, hangar $16,009, annual inspection $2,500.

Estimates only. Costs vary by location, pilot profile, and market conditions. See individual aircraft pages for source notes.

Capability & limits

Each bar stacks your selected occupants against full fuel and the aircraft's useful-load limit (the black line). The open gap between them is spare payload. Add an occupant and the gap closes; once it's gone, fuel has to give.

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each
1
Cessna 500/Citation I
9 / 9 seats 564 / 564 gal fuel 818 lb wet payload 4,597 lb useful 11,850 lb MTOW
Cessna Citation CJ3
10 / 10 seats 703 / 703 gal fuel 820 lb wet payload 5,530 lb useful 13,870 lb MTOW

Occupants at 190 + 30 lb each. Fuel at 6.7 lb/gal jet-A, 6.0 lb/gal avgas.

Dimensions & configuration

Representative planforms, drawn to shared scale.

Cessna 500/Citation I
47.1 × 43.5 ft 14.3 ft tall
2× Turbofan Retractable Pressurized
Cessna Citation CJ3
53.3 × 51.2 ft 15.2 ft tall
2× Turbofan Retractable Pressurized

Payload-Range Map

Full fuel ← → Max payload

Origin: · two fingers to move map

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