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By Fred George p a s seng ers with full fuel. And its Pratt & Whitney Canad a
JT15D-5Ds won no prizes for fuel economy.
Photos by Paul Bowen By comparison, the Encore can carry four-plus passengers with
full fuel and offers slightly more range than the Ultra. New 2.55:1
hortly after departing Wichita Mid-Continent Airport in bypass ratio turbofan engines make
A 35 - i n c h - w ide clamshell door is for cross feed, and they provide backup to
offered as an option. There is a Type III the jet pumps.
e m erg ency exit on the right side of the Cessna retained the familiar color-keyed
f uselage, immediately across from the circuit breakers on the left- and right-side
main entry door. cockpit panels, plus the green ice protec-
The Encore retains the 500-series sys- tion systems switches on the left side of
tems simplicity. The fuel system has left- the instrument panel.
and right-side wet wing tanks that feed the Each wingtip leading edge has a recog-
respective engines. A single-point pressure nition light and a landing light, controlled
refueling receptacle aft of the right wing by thre e - p o s i t ion switches. The mai n
root, standard equipment on all Model landing gear struts also have landing lights.
560 ai rcraft since serial number 310, is Logo lights illuminate the vertical fin.
used to fill the tanks. Alternatively, over- The PW535A engines produce enough
wing refuel ports can be used. bleed air for full wing leading edge anti-
Oper ators can say goodbye to Prist. ice protection, but quick cycling deice
Newly certified fuel heaters eliminate the boots are retained on the horizontal stabi-
need to mix ant i - i c i ng additives with lizer leading edges. Bleed air also is used
t he fuel. Some oper ators, though, may for windshield anti-ice protection and rain
w ant to use a bio c idal additive to in- removal. Electrical heat is used for anti-ice
hibit bacterial growth in the fuel cells, on the air data and angle-of-attack sensors.
e s pecially if the ai rcraft will be flow n The engines also produce bleed air for
infrequently. cabin pressurization and air-conditioning.
Under normal operations, a series of jet The Encore has a new set-and-forget digi-
pumps in the wing fuel tanks, powered by tal pre s sur i z at ion cont ro l ler. The cre w
motive flow pre s sure su pp l ied by the need only set in landing field elevation and
The Encore’s new, trailing-link landing gear finally engine-driven fuel pumps, supplies fuel to the pressurization controller takes care of
c u r es th e Mo d el 5 60’ s n ot ori o us ly fi rm t he eng i nes. DC - p owered fuel boost the rest.
touchdown thump. pumps provide fuel for engine start and Similar to most Model 500 Citations,
the contrast on the Primus II radio management unit CRT displays in the We flew the initial part of the final at VREF+10, slowing to VREF over the run-
instrument panel, but the PFDs and MFD remain quite viewable in bright way. Wing down, top rudder technique requires some hefty torque on the yoke
ambient light. And finally, there is quite a bit of hysteresis (i.e., slop) in the because of the Encore’s aileron/rudder interconnect system, but the aircraft
throttle linkage, making it difficult to set thrust precisely. Cessna is redesign- responded well to control inputs.
ing the linkage. Touching down on the upwind main landing gear with no particular finesse,
At FL 450, the aircraft accelerated to 367 KTAS on a fuel flow of 850 pph the Encore rewarded us with a generously soft arrival. The four-foot narrower
at a weight of 15,400 pounds. Both the cruise speed and fuel flow were lower track made it much easier to control the Encore’s subsequent roll to wings
than book, owing to the warmer than standard outside air temperature. level and touchdown of the downwind landing gear. A combination of moder-
Cruising at 166 KIAS at FL 450, the Encore had very modest low-speed buf- ate thrust reversing and wheel braking brought us to a stop in 3,500 feet.The
fet margins. A slight increase in g loading produced noticeable airframe rum- anti-skid system proved to be quite effective.
ble. Conclusion? While the Encore has enough thrust to climb directly to FL OEI conditions are easy in the Encore. The V speeds are relatively slow; the
450 at MTOW, operators should note that high altitude turbulence may cause thrust reserves are quite ample. Departing from Hutchinson, for example, the
intermittent high angle-of-attack wing buffet and subsequent airspeed loss. aircraft climbed at 2,500 fpm at V2+10. Asymmetric pedal forces are heavy,
Checking the high-speed cruise performance at FL 370, the Encore but controllable. The Encore has more thrust than the Ultra and the same rud-
achieved 428 KTAS on 1,230 pph at a weight of 15,200 pounds in ISA+7°C der system. The result is more rudder pedal force.
conditions. This was three knots faster and 100-pph less fuel flow than the No-flap landings also are easy in the Encore. Just add 15 knots to the nor-
book predicted for the same weight in standard day conditions. We noted that mal VREF and plan to fly a longer final approach. Predictably, the pitch attitude
the Encore has wide high-speed buffet margins at 0.73 Mach, near its 0.755 was more nose-up. With little drag, we used little more than idle thrust levels
IMN redline. At indicated airspeeds of 190 to 200, or greater, there was plen- on final at a 121 KIAS VREF. The Encore’s effective anti-skid braking system,
ty of low-speed buffet margin. coupled with ample use of reverse thrust, brought us to a stop within 4,500
Extending the landing gear causes a modest ballooning. Cessna refined the feet of runway.
flap/pitch trim interconnect system, though.The pitch change associated with Pattern work revealed another quirk in the Encore’s avionics package .T h e
extending the wing flaps is almost non-existent. Yaw damping is excellent. flight director cannot be permanently deselected. If the aircraft deviates from
The Encore’s stall behavior is much improved over the Ultra. The clean stall a pre-set altitude, the flight director automatically pops back into view. It must
is preceded by ample airframe buffet and the stall-warning stick shaker. At full be manually deselected each time this occurs until the altitude deviation
stall, the nose gently falls with no sign of wing roll-off. exceeds 300 feet from the pre-set altitude.
Dirty stalls are almost as pleasant. The pitch force increase preceding the Arriving at Wichita at a landing weight of 13,800 pounds, our computed
stall is lighter and there is a slight tendency for wing roll-off at the full stall. VREF was 104 KIAS. For landing on Runway 01R, the wind was 350 at 28
However, the roll is easily corrected with aileron. gusting to 40 knots. The wind dropped off sharply, just prior to touchdown,
Descending into Hutchinson for pattern work, the reported wind was 20 creating a 10-knot loss in indicated airspeed. A sharp tug on the yoke,
knots gusting to 30 knots, 30 degrees off runway heading, with patches of ice though, arrested the rate of descent. Touchdown in stick shaker was quite
on 7,001-foot-long Runway 31. This would be an excellent test of the soft, much softer than we deserved.
Encore’s handling manners and trailing-link landing gear. Total flight time was one hour, 57 minutes and total fuel burn was 2,240
At a landing weight of 14,700 pounds, the computed VREF was 106 KIAS. pounds.
around the airport. The cockpit is a model CJs and the Excel. The Encore is eligible
of erg on omic design. In spite of its for the FAA’s single-pilot waiver, thereby
s prightly take o ff and lan d i ng perf o rm- enabling one pilot to fly the aircraft when
ance, turboprop pilots should find it easy essential. From a pilot’s perspective, the Cessna Citation Encore
to transition into the Encore. It’s much Encore simply feels as comfortable as they Specifications
easier to handle during OEI conditions come.
than a turboprop, in our opinion. It also The Encore is aptly named. This air- B/CA Equipped Price . . . . . . . $7,159,000
o ff ers bet t er OEI climb perf o rm an c e craft, as much as any business jet in histo- Characteristics
t h an some tur b o props can with both ry, owes its success to re pe at bus i ne s s . Wing Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.6
engines. Most buyers trade in older Citations for
Power Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.45
The Encore’s trailing-link landing gear E n c o res. For them, the Encore off er s
Noise (EPNdB) . . . . . . . . . 70.0/89.8/90.5
makes for soft touchdowns and smooth m o re perf o rm ance, but the theme is as
taxi rides. The Honeywell Primus 1000 familiar as a new arrangement of a favorite Seating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2+7/11
avionics suite is highly intuitive and easy ballad. Dimensions (ft/m)
to use. The Encore shares a common type Perhaps all these factors help explain External
rating with the Ultra and Citation V, and why the light jet market is saying Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48.9/14.9
with all 500-series Citations except for the “Encore!” about the third Model 560. B/CA Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.2/4.6
Span . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54.1/16.5
Honeywell Primus 1000 Avionics Internal
The Encore inherits the Ultra’s very capable Honeywell Primus 1000 avionics package, which embraces Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.3/5.3
the familiar hub-and-spoke architecture. The three eight-by-seven-inch CRT displays — left- and right- Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7/1.4
side PFDs and a central MFD — are the most visible elements of the system. The MFD is flanked by Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.9/1.5
twin Honeywell Primus II radio management units. Thrust
The Encore’s annunciator panel has been moved to the glareshield, thereby making the instrument
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 PWC/PW535A
panel less crowded. The move also makes space available on the instrument panel for annunciator
Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,400 lb ea.
lights associated with optional avionics equipment.
Flat Rating OAT°C . . . . . . . . . . . . ISA+12°C
Twin IC-600 integrated avionics computers form the hubs of the system. Honeywell uses its ASCB
Inspection Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,000
local area network, ARINC 429, a proprietary radio systems bus and analog interfaces to form the
spoke links to the central computers. Weights (lb/kg)
The standard package includes dual DADCs, dual analog vertical and directional gyros, dual DME Max Ramp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,830/7,634
radios, single ADF, 10 kW Primus 660 weather radar, basic single waypoint vertical navigation, Max Takeoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,630/7,543
Honeywell AA-300 radio altimeter, pilot’s side angle-of-attack indicator, Loral/Fairchild CVR, Artex ELT Max Landing . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,400/6,985
and a single Honeywell GNS-Xl navigation management system. Zero Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,600/5,715c
Popular options, with incremental weight and price change, include Universal UNS-1Csp FMS (4.7 BOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,525/4,774
pounds and $10,075), Honeywell TCAS I (79.2 pounds and $87,350) or TCAS II (83.4 pounds and Max Payload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,075/941
$152,425), Honeywell E GPWS (20.5 pounds and $82,275), Fairchild FDR (40.2 pounds and Useful Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,305/2,860
$32,250) and Teledyne Controls MagnaStar C-200 digital radio-telephone (30.6 pounds and Executive Payload . . . . . . . . . . . 1,400/635
$53,900). Max Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,431/2,463
Other options include Rockwell Collins Pro Line II radios (-14.3 pounds and no charge),Honeywell Payload w/Max Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . 874/396
KHF-950 transceiver (32.2 pounds and $28,925), Honeywell AFIS (23.5 pounds and $49,475), Fuel w/Max Payload . . . . . . . . 4,230/1,919
Universal Unilink (12.4 pounds and $31,275) and JAA specification Honeywell FDR (51.7 pounds and Fuel w/Executive Payload . . . . 4,905/2,225
$128,025). Limits
MMO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.755
FL/VMO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FL 289/292
PSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.9
Climb
Time to FL 370. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 min.
FAR Part 25
OEI rate (fpm/mpm) . . . . . . . 1,440/439
FAR Part 25
OEI gradient (ft/nm). . . . . . . . . . . . . 873
Ceilings (ft/m)
Certificated . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,000/13,716
All-Engine Service . . . . . . . 45,000/13,716
Engine-Out Service. . . . . . . . 32,500/9,906
Sea Level Cabin . . . . . . . . . . 23,586/7,189
➤Emergency lighting.
➤Emergency lighting power.
➤Speed brakes.
➤ Thrust reversers.
➤Landing/taxi/recognition lights.
➤Secondary flight display.
➤Engine anti-ice — Same as Ultra except controlled by dif-
ferent personal computer board (PCB).
➤Air conditioning — Same as Ultra except controlled by
different PCB.
➤Wiring — Same as other Citations in type and routing
practices.
The following is a summary of all the modifications and
their impact on the maintainability of the aircraft.
Electrical Systems
The Encore incorporates three major modifications that affect maintenance.
The Encore’s trim system is similar to the Ultra’s but slight-
Out of all the changes that Cessna made to improve the ly modified with a latching circuit to prevent the wheel from
Encore, the most important one was to provide maintainers snapping back when the pilot releases the trim button at
with a voice in the design process. high speeds.
“We never had someone from the maintenance field who The tail leading-edge deice circuitry has been modified to
gets feedback from the technicians go back to the design cycle the stabilizer boots every three minutes. Lights on the
program group and say, ‘Look guys, this isn’t working and annunciator panel illuminate when one side is pressurized, or
you can’t do this on this airplane,’” said Bill Plucker, the system fails to pressurize correctly. The angle-of-attack
Cessna’s customer service super visor, a new position creat- indicator was taken directly from the Bravo and Excel and
ed to help ensure the aircraft’s maintainability. “As a field incorporates a heater monitor directly into a controller. The
ser vice technician with an A&P license and an engineering advantage to maintaining this angle-of-attack device is that
background, I translate the wants and needs between the it can be completely removed and repaired from the exterior
two parties.” of the aircraft. “Technicians wanted exterior access so they
During an effort to incorporate engineering changes into did not have to remove interior components,” said Plucker.
the Ultra, Cessna decided to seek a new certification called One change that maintainers might not like is the com-
a Block Point Change (BPC) on serial numbers after 560-568. pletely modified J-Box assembly in the aft section. “The JAA
The newly certified aircraft, now called the Encore, incorpo- said we had to have a separate emergency busing system
rates three major modifications that affect maintenance. and you will find this on all of the new Citations,” said
First, the PW535A engines provide improved specific fuel Plucker. “We also moved all of the circuit breakers and the
consumption and increased maintenance periods, which both PCB boards into the J-Box assembly. This makes it more dif-
contribute to greatly reduced direct operating costs (DOCs). ficult to remove the J-box cover because of its size.” In order
Second is the trailing-link landing gear. And third, the new
outboard wing leading edge anti-icing system enhances dura-
bility and reduces DOCs over the old deice system.
Other design changes did not significantly alter any inspec-
tion intervals, although the Encore did inherit maintenance
tasks from equipment that was installed on other air frames
such as the Bravo and Excel.
Encore systems that are identical to the Ultra systems
include:
➤Cabin environmental system.
➤ Engine monitoring.
➤ Exterior lights.
➤ Flap system.
➤Generator control units.
➤Starter/generator units.
➤ Interior lights.
➤Pitot and static heaters. The Encore’s revised co-breaker panel complies with JAR standards.