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Cessna 700 Citation Longitude

The Citation line has grown significantly since the start in the late 1960s. Then it was a small twin jet, but the latest model is so large that it can compete with Gulfstreams and Falcons. We are talking about the Citation Longitude, or Cessna model 700. It has a very similar appea­rance as its competitors, with the T-tail and engines attached to the side of the rear fuselage, so recognition can be tricky.

The Citation Longitude has the four curved cockpit windows of the Citation Latitude. The cabin windows have the typical Citation cut off oval shape, but more rounded than on the first generations of Citation. The aircraft sits close to the ground due to the short gear and thick wing-body fairing. The engine nacelles have no external fairings for the thrust reversers. The T-tail has a dorsal fin with a small air intake at the front. Typical are strakes under the horizontal stabilisers. The wings has curved winglets. Underneath are fairings for the trailing edge flaps of which the inner two have a nearly triangular shape.

The inner two trailing edge flap fairings of the Citation Longitude have a nearly triangular shape.

The T-tail of the Citation Longitude has a blunt tail cone and a small air intake in the dorsal fin. Also note the two strakes underneath the horizontal stabilisers, a key feature.

Confusion possible with

Bombardier Challenger 300/350

cl 350

The Challenger 350 comes close in appea­rance to the Longitude. Typical for the Challenger are the shape of the cockpit windows, in particular the bottom edge, non-curved winglets and different nose gear doors. 

Gulfstream G280

g280

These are the best ways to distinguish the G280 from the Cessna 700: the G280 has more cabin windows which have a perfect oval shape. Also it lacks fairings under the horizontal stabilisers and has a shorter dorsal fin. But there are more differences in the details.

Embraer EMB545/EMB550

emb550

Another close call may be with the Embraer Legacy 450/500 and Praetor 500/600. For recognition again look closely at the cockpit windows, dorsal fin and underneath the horizontal stabilisers. 

Raytheon 4000 Hawker 4000

raytheon 4000

Like the similar aircraft above the Hawker 4000 has different cockpit windows. Additio­nally, look for the absence of winglets and presence of fairings for thrust reversers to allow recognition from the Citation Longi­tude.

BAe125-1000A/B

bae125 1000b

The Hawker 1000 variant of the British Aerospace 125 might be another source for a mix-up. The Hawker 1000 has six cockpit windows though, no winglets, thrust reverser fairings and a cruciform tail instead of a T-tail.