Textron Aviation celebrated the 1,000th delivery of a Cessna 560XL-series midsize jet on March 31, while the pre-owned market for earlier models of the family, as with other business jets, remains tight.
In mid-August, there were nine Citation 560XLs, known as Excels, available for sale, ranging in price from $1 million-$2.6 million, said Troy Lawson, an International Aircraft Dealers Association-certified aircraft broker with QS Partners. There were six later-model Citation XLSs available for sale, ranging from $2.85 million-$4.5 million.
Aircraft types that compete for new owners against the Citation Excel/XLS include the Learjet 45XR and 60XR, Hawker 900XP and Embraer Phenom 300, said Lawson.
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The Citation 560XL series has “comparatively low hourly operating economics, excellent dispatch and maintenance reliability, class-leading cabin comfort with seating for up to nine passengers and benign handling and flying characteristics with the proven performance of a 1,000-plus airplane fleet,” said Lawson. “It is a stalwart in the industry as evidenced by its entry into service in 1998 to present.”
QS Partners, an aviation consulting company and NetJets subsidiary based in Boulder, Colorado, provides a range of consulting services including sales and acquisitions for any type of aircraft transaction.
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In April 1998, Cessna Aircraft certified the Citation Excel, powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW-545A engines, each producing 3,786 lb. of takeoff thrust. The manufacturer introduced the Citation XLS in 2004. The XLS replaced the analog instrument panel of the Excel’s Honeywell Primus 1000 avionics suite with digital flight displays and came with upgraded P&WC PW-545B turbofans producing 3,991-lb. takeoff thrust. Two years later—in June 2006—Cessna delivered the 500th Excel/XLS, making it the best-selling business jet since its introduction.
The 2004-model-year Citation Excel 560XL sold new for $10.3 million, according to the summer 2021 issue of the Aircraft Bluebook. The 2008 factory-new price of the Citation XLS was $11.7 million.
Cessna announced FAA certification of the Citation XLS+ in June 2008. The XLS+ comes with a four-display Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite, more powerful PW-545C engines (4,119-lb. takeoff thrust) with full authority digital engine control, an extended nose contour and expanded seat widths. The 2021 factory-new price of the Citation XLS+ is $14.6 million.
At the NBAA convention in 2017, Tamarack Aerospace Group announced that it was adding the 560XL series (Excel, XLS and XLS+) to the portfolio of Cessna Citation jets that can be fitted with its performance-enhancing Active Winglets.
In 2019, avionics manufacturer Garmin obtained supplemental type certificate (STC) approval of a Garmin G5000 flight deck upgrade of Citation Excel/XLS models, costing about $500,000-$550,000. The retrofit, which saves an estimated 200 lb. in weight, features three 14-in. primary flight and multifunction displays, dual touchscreen display/controllers, ADS-B Out functionality, digital automatic flight control system with emergency descent mode and integrated GPS WAAS flight management system.
In March 2021, Garmin announced a G5000 update that facilitates Future Air Navigation System (FANS) 1/A+ controller-pilot data link communications over oceans, enabling Citation Excel/XLSs to fly North Atlantic tracks and southerly Blue Spruce routes over Greenland that require aircraft to be FANS 1/A+ equipped as well as to communicate via the FAA’s domestic Data Comm network.
“Citation 560XL operators have shown a very strong preference for the modern capabilities and technologies (synthetic vision, electronic charts, XM weather, etc.) offered in the Garmin 5000 retrofit STC,” said Lawson. “As a result of its popularity, the return on investment currently exceeds the full installation cost, making it one of the highest ROIs of any aftermarket avionics modification in the industry.”
Also, in February this year, former Cessna Aircraft executives including chairman emeritus Russ Meyer Jr., doing business as CitationPartners, launched the Citation Excel Eagle program. In addition to a nose-to-tail inspection regimen, the refurbishment improves ex-NetJets Excels with the G5000 flight deck and a modified, eight-seat interior installed by MRO Yingling Aviation with new upholstery, seat belts, sidewalls, carpet, soundproofing, veneers and other features.
CitationPartners quoted an introductory price through March of $3.45 million, increasing to $3.59 million on Aug. 1. The company delivered the first refurbished Excel Eagle on June 25 to private charter operator North Central Aviation of Blaine, Minnesota.
“The Citation Excel Eagle has given buyers an option that didn’t exist in a market and segment where availability has been a challenge even before the current run,” said Lawson. “The Eagle, much like the Citation X Elite, will likely appeal to a value-conscious buyer who, because of the high level of refurbishment and modification, would not have otherwise considered the purchase of a former fractional aircraft.”
But Lawson was measured when asked how the relatively new Excel Eagle program will affect the overall pre-owned market for the type. “As a result of constrained supply and a very limited number of deliveries, this program’s future impact in the market is uncertain,” he said.
The Citation Excel has a maximum range of 1,564 miles and carries up to eight passengers and two pilots. Maximum cruise speed is 423 ktas. Departing at MTOW (20,000 lb.), the twinjet needs 3,590 ft. of runway in standard-day ISA conditions. The XLS has a 3,560-ft. takeoff distance, maximum range of 1,961 miles, 431 ktas max cruise speed, and room for up to nine passengers.
Owners should expect direct operating costs of approximately $2,400 per flight hour, based on 250 gal. per hour fuel consumption (at $4 per gallon Jet A), engine and auxiliary power unit (APU) reserves of $650 per hour and an hourly maintenance reserve of about $750 per hour, said Lawson. Basic inspection intervals are calendar-driven at 12, 24 and 48 months, with the 48-month check being the most invasive.
Citation Excel/XLS-series jets have three common cabin configurations, accommodating seven, eight or nine passengers. The seven-passenger layout has a single, side-facing seat opposite the main entry door and six seats (four club); the eight-passenger cabin has a dual side-facing divan opposite the main entry door; and the nine-passenger version has the dual side-facing divan and a belted seat in the aft lavatory. “The more desirable [configuration] today in the marketplace is a dual side-facing seat,” said Lawson.
The Excel/XLS cabin measures 18.7-ft. in length, with stand-up height of 5 ft.-8 in. and width of 5 ft.-6 in. Baggage capacity is 79 cubic ft. “Passengers like the cabin comfort; it comes from an APU providing both heating and air on the ground, an externally serviceable lav, with six full seats, and it has an ample baggage compartment,” said Lawson.
