Variant
Citation V Ultra
Citation V Ultra is the representative branch of the Cessna Citation 500 / 550 / 560 family, capturing a representative late branch of the original Citation lineage.
Range 1,960 nm · Entry 1989
CessnaBusiness jetIn service
Cessna Citation 500 / 550 / 560 family
The Citation I-V / Encore story, from first flight to lasting reputation
The original Citation line that made straight-wing, owner-flown-friendly business jet travel a mass category.
Cessna Citation 500 / 550 / 560 family is a in service business jet by Cessna, first flown in 1969 and introduced in 1972. This canonical Airchive page keeps the family history, specs, variants, operators, and related archive discussion at a single permanent URL.
First flight
1969
Service entry
1972
Seating band
6 to 9
Cessna Citation 500 / 550 / 560 family is a in service business jet by Cessna, first flown in 1969 and introduced in 1972, with typical seating for 6 to 9 and range up to 1,960 nautical miles.
Coverage stays technical rather than lifestyle-driven, focusing on mission capability, cabin layout, operator use, and why the market kept or replaced the type.
Range band
1,960 nm
Notable operators
Corporate operators · Air charter · Training fleets
Source stack
- Official manufacturer product pages and brochures
- FAA or EASA type certificate material
- operator mission and cabin references
Variants
Representative variants
Specifications
Current public facts
- Manufacturer
- Cessna
- Program history
- Class
- Business jet
- Airchive taxonomy
- First flight
- 1969-09-15
- Program history
- Service entry
- 1972
- Operator records
- Current status
- In service
- Fleet reality
- Typical seating
- 6 to 9
- Operator and cabin references
- Range band
- Up to 1,960 nm
- Program literature
- Cruise speed
- 430 kt
- Planning data
Archive moments
Human context
Early Citations remain some of the most familiar business jets in aviation because they were numerous, approachable, and visible far beyond pure Fortune 500 flight departments.
Business-aviation pages stay focused on engineering, cabin layout, and mission logic instead of celebrity shorthand or lifestyle fog.
Timeline
Program milestones
- 1969
First flight
The Citation I-V / Encore begins flight testing and establishes the public shape of the family.
- 1972
Service entry
The family enters passenger or executive service and begins building its operating footprint.
- Today
Current role
The family remains active in service and still shapes fleet, mission, or archive discussions.
Related news
Editorial context
No editorial dispatches are attached to this family yet. The aircraft record is live, and newsroom or archive coverage can be layered onto it later without changing the URL.
Forum threads
Community memory
Live forumCitation I-V / Encore
Citation I-V / Encore lounge: operators, cabins, routes, and memories
Use this as the standing thread for Cessna Citation 500 / 550 / 560 family operator history, route logic, cabin details, and first-hand memory.
Live forumCitation I-V / Encore
Citation I-V / Encore current fleet watch
Ongoing sightings, deployment shifts, new operators, route changes, and cabin updates for the Cessna Citation 500 / 550 / 560 family.