The Cessna Citation CJ4 is a popular owner-flown midsize bizjet — single-pilot certified, two Williams FJ44 engines, 10-seat cabin. Landing handling is closer to a heavy King Air than a transport-category airliner. The Garmin G3000 panel and side-stick FBW (in the newer Gen2 variant) make it pleasant to fly.
Landing technique
- Approach at Vref + 5 kt, slowing to Vref over the threshold.
- Flare at 20 ft AGL. The CJ4 settles predictably when thrust is reduced.
- Spoilers deploy with weight-on-wheels; verify deployment on touchdown.
- Thrust reverse is available; useful on shorter runways but not mandatory.
- Auto-brake (where equipped) levels low or medium for most landings.
Common mistakes
- Over-flaring the CJ4 — its wing is efficient enough that excess pitch causes float.
- Failing to verify spoiler deployment — rollout doubles in length without them.
- Slow on speed in the flare — the CJ4's clean wing doesn't tolerate as much speed margin as a heavier jet.
Aircraft data
- Manufacturer
- Cessna
- Model
- Citation
- Variant
- CJ4
- FAA approach category
- C
- MTOW
- 7761 kg (17110 lbs)
- Vref reference
- 125 kt
- MSFS source
- Default Std
- FLARE matches
- Cessna Citation CJ4 · Citation CJ4 · CitationCJ4
Related reading
- → How FLARE grades a landing — the composite formula behind every score
- → What "stabilized approach" actually means — the 1000-ft gate, four criteria, technique
- → Mid-Size Business Jet scoring thresholds — per-category curves applied to this airframe
- → Full scoring methodology reference — complete breakdown in the help docs