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of partner I wanted. Since taking delivery of the CJ3+ in 2017, Garmin has also added new functionality through releases made in coordination with Cessna. They also introduced a CPDLC (Controller Pilot Data Link Communications) offering for the USA that is referred to as FAA DATA COMM, and I’ve made extensive use of it through my travels. Once again, the partner I had bet on came through as hoped and expected.
As for how the CJ3+ has performed against expectations, it is hard to imagine how it could have been better. In these last five years, including the more than one year of almost lost aviation because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve flown the airplane beyond where most general aviation pilots tend to go. Prospective buyers often choose the shortlist of aircraft based on numerous performance characteristics that always include range. The range used can be based on several factors, but the range sought is normally derived from the so- called “typical mission.” I have found, though, that each airplane I’ve bought expanded the definition of my typical mission. Trips I would not have really considered with one aircraft become wholly practical with another.
Additionally, many people don’t recognize that range equals flexibility. For instance, a trip that I did with some regularity was Savannah (KSAV) to Ottawa (CYOW), a trip length of 840 nm. In my Citation Mustang, it was a trip that I could do most of the time and land with just enough reserves.
Marc Dulude
If the weather was poor for an area around the arrival airport, the trip became much more questionable. In my Citation M2, the trip was more practical, but I often saw large frontal systems that would make the choice of a true alternate challenging. In the CJ3+, all those concerns are gone. A friend of mine followed along my path going from Mustang to M2 to CJ3+, and shortly after he acquired his CJ3+, he called to ask me advice on selecting an alternate when a widespread area had
low ceilings and visibility. I highlighted for him some places he could pick that were VMC despite being 250 nm away from his destination airport. The increased range provided much more flexibility and safer operation.
In another case, I needed to get from Iowa to Newfoundland from one day to the next. The trip was 1,650 nm with a small tailwind lasted four hours. I landed with more than 1,600 pounds of fuel – that’s more than two hours of cruise fuel! A friend of mine transports his extended family in his CJ3+ between various family destinations, routinely carrying a total of eight people and, on occasion, filling all 10 seats on board. Again, the fuel carrying capability that provides the range also creates the flexibility to make these trips.
Being able to go these long distances also depends on an efficient airframe. The CJ3+ routinely exceeds its book values like all modern Citations. According to the f light planning and performance manual, the plane’s maximum cruise speed at FL450 and ISA conditions is supposed to be 385 KTAS if departing at maximum takeoff weight. Its maximum cruise speed is at
28 • TWIN & TURBINE / April 2022