The width of cabin floor appears greater than its actual measurements because of lighted chair bases and floor level sidewall accent lights.
Sills was inspired. Cessna didn’t need a clean-sheet airplane to compete with the Learjet 45. To create the Excel, he could combine and modify proven, off-the-shelf parts from existing Citations to build the new aircraft. He started with the front and midsections of the Citation X fuselage to create a cabin 4 inches wider and 9 inches higher than the Learjet 45. The interior was the same 18.5-foot length as the Citation III, providing room for six chairs in the main seating area. A two-seat, side-facing divan was fitted to the front of the cabin to accommodate up to eight passengers. Cessna upped the game by making the FMS and an air-to- ground radiotelephone standard equipment. They were optional on the Learjet 45. The Citation X’s 9.3 pressurization system would hold cabin altitude at 6,800 feet up to FL 450, the Excel’s maximum cruise altitude. Market research indicated customers wanted an external aft baggage compartment with more capacity than offered by light jets. Sills specified an 80-cubic-foot compartment, which is 60 percent larger than the Learjet 45’s. The new Citation would offer a choice of vapor cycle air-conditioning or Honeywell’s new lightweight RE100 APU, powering an air-cycle pack, for cabin cooling without having to start an engine. The optional APU also provided cabin heating before engine start.
campaign for the Learjet 45, hoping for customer deliveries in early 1996. Initially, he targeted a lean 18,300-pound max takeoff weight, equal to that of the antiquated and much smaller Learjet 35A, allowing the aircraft to be powered by ultra-efficient 3,500 lb-thrust Honeywell TFE731-20 turbofans. It would enjoy better fuel economy than 30 series Learjets because of newer engine technology and the latest computer-refined aerodynamics, including a supercritical wing. It would cruise efficiently at 440 knots and fly as far as 2,000 miles. Barents called the Learjet 45 a “super light” jet, touting the operating economics of a light jet and the cabin comfort of a midsize aircraft. In reality, the Model 45’s cabin cross section was marginally bigger than a Beechjet. At Cessna, Meyer, Sills, and Michel paused to analyze the Learjet 45’s strong suits and design compromises then plunged into a comprehensive, three-year market study to learn what narrowbody Citation operators wanted in an aircraft upgrade. Customers said that 440-knot cruise speed and 2,000-nm range weren’t their top priorities. Potential customers told Cessna that typical trips didn’t exceed 800 nm, thus the Model 45’s Mach 0.77 cruise speed would only save them eight to 10 minutes on typical trips. They wanted true midsize—not “super light”—cabin comfort and best-in- class short field performance that would enable them to use the same general aviation airports as narrow-body Citations.
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