CLB

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. It was announced in September 1976. Its first flight was on January 31, 1977, and the aircraft was certified for two-pilot operation in March, 1978.

In addition to more seats, the Citation II had more powerful JT15D-4 engines (2,500 lbf (11 kN) thrust per engine), increase of fuel capacity to approximately 5000 lbs, faster speeds and longer range. The fuselage was made 3 ft and 9 in longer than that of the Citation I, and seating capacity was increased to ten. Wingspan and fuel capacity were also increased, and the engines were upgraded to Pratt and Whitney Canada JT15D4.

In early years of production, the Citation II had a unit price of $695,000, but today it is priced at $4.85M. A total of 603 aircraft were built before production ended in 1994. The United States Customs & Border Protection has purchased ten Citation II, and the United States Navy purchased fifteen for training purposes. Several other military operators include Argentina, Myanmar, Colombia, Ecuador, Nigeria, Spain, and Saudi Arabia.