Cessna 550 Citation Twin Engine Jet Aircraft
Cessna 550 Citation is a twin-engine business class jet airplanes. It forms part of the Citation series of aircrafts brought out by Cessna which were initially characterized by twin turbo-powered engines and straight wings. The jets of Cessna Citation series have long been the mainstay of corporate air travel in the United States.
The Cessna 550 Citation was another name of the Citation II series developed by Cessna in order to improve upon its Citation I aircrafts. The latter had proved to be successful in the market of business jets with its turbo-fan engines and ability to take off from smaller airfields.
Production of Cessna 550 Citation aircrafts continued from 1978 to 1994 and during this period around 603 aircrafts were manufactured. The production of Citation II S/P aircrafts was thought to replace the Citation 550 as the former had the capability to be flown by a single pilot. However the Citation II continued to be manufactured side by side the Citation II S/P and was finally replaced by the Citation Bravo.
An upgraded version of the Cessna 550 Citation II was the Model 551 which came to be known as the Citation II S/P. the latter was developed to compete in the Turbo-prop segment as most of the aircrafts in this segment were flown by single pilots. Yet another improved variant was the Model S550 Citation S/II which employed a more powerful engine of the JT15D4B class. Other than that it also had an upgraded design which gave it superior aerodynamics.
