The Cessna Citation Model 560XL, is a turbofan-powered, medium-sized business jet. With the success of Cessna's Citation VII, the manufacturer saw an opportunity to develop an aircraft with the Citation X's qualities but for a more traditional consumer. Instead of being an exact copy of the Citation frames, the XLS combined elements of both design and technology. To produce this model, Cessna took the Citation X's wide, stand-up cabin fuselage and made it shorter to about 21 feet (6.4 m) and combined it with an unswept wing utilizing a supercritical airfoil and the tail from the Citation V.
For powering the aircraft, Cessna chose PW500 turbofan. The Excel has the most spacious cabin in its class and can seat up to 10 passengers but typically in a 6 to 8 passenger configuration.
The Excel was announced at the annual NBAA convention in October, 1994, and the prototype aircraft flew for the first time on February 29th, 1996. It was certified by the FAA in April of 1998 with over 200 pre-orders for the aircraft. It now has a total of 308 orders with an exceptional safety record.
