IAI’s performance goals were 3,000-nm range and 0.80 Mach cruise speed, farther and faster flying than most midsize aircraft. People eyed the commodious Astra IV cabin layout and, instantly, their midsize jets seemed cramped. They loved the bigger cabin even more than the speed and range increases. A new market niche had been created: the super-midsize class. The Astra IV ignited development of the 3,000-nm range Bombardier BD100 Continental, later renamed Challenger 300, the Hawker 4000 (formerly Hawker Horizon) and, perhaps, even the large cabin Falcon 2000. The mass migration had begun from midsize to super-midsize. The BD100 Challenger 300—and later Challenger 350/3500 derivatives—seized most of the market share. The Astra IV became the Galaxy and later the Gulfstream/IAI G200, but those models plainly were outclassed by the more powerful, higher flying, and more capable Challenger 300 series jets. Years later, Gulfstream completely redesigned the G200 with a scaled-down G550 wing, best-in-class Honeywell HTF700-series engines, new flight deck, 8-foot longer cabin, and new T-tail to create the G280. Textron Aviation finally entered the super-midsize race with its CE680A Latitude and CE700
40 engines, improved winglets, a standard APU, and a 200-pound lighter avionics package, this version of the Learjet 45 was more competitive. But it was too late for the company. Fewer than 140 units sold before it was discontinued in 2021. In total, Bombardier delivered half the number of Learjet 45-series aircraft compared to the 560XL. And Learjet no longer builds airplanes. That wasn’t the only 560XL competitor to fall by the wayside. When the first Excel entered service in 1998, the midsize segment was flooded. The IAI Astra SPX, Learjet 60, Hawker 800XP, and Dassault Falcon 50EX were well established, and updated models were under development. The Astra SPX eventually would become the Gulfstream G100, later widened to become the G150. The Hawker 800XP spawned the Hawker 900XP, a more powerful sibling. One by one, demand for each competitor waned, and then died. A sea change was about to happen, and it originated in Tel Aviv. Israel Aircraft Industries began development of the 1126 Astra IV, an evolution of the 1125 Astra with a fuselage nearly the same diameter and floor area as a Gulfstream II— 7.2 feet wide, 6.3 feet high, and 24.5 feet long.
Cessna Citation Excel
Normal range: 1,539 nm Max range: 1,989 nm Max speed: 433 knots Balanced field length: 3,590 ft
Cessna Citation XLS Gen2
Normal range: 1,900 nm Max range: 2,100 nm Max speed: 441 knots Takeo field length: 3,600 ft
Cessna Citation Ascend
*(mfr estimate)
Cessna Citation Ascend
Normal range: 1,900 nm Max range: 2,100 nm Max speed: 441 knots*
Takeo field length: 3,660 ft*
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