Cessna Citation V/Ultra/Encore: how 380 jets are really flown
The busiest 5% made more than 19 flights a month and the quietest 5% fewer than 3: over six times as many, on the same type.
At the harder end, one Citation V in twenty sees a freeze and a thaw on 34% or more of its nights. At the easier end, most see almost none.
The hardest-worked 5% log 19 flights a month or more; the easiest-used, 3 or less. The middle aircraft sits at 5.
The harder end, one aircraft in twenty, is at 3,888 ft or more; the easier end at 526 ft or less.
Fatigue
What each landing and pressurization cycle costs the structure: landings per hour and short hops.
The middle Citation V flies 1.3 hours for every landing. One in twenty lands every 0.8 hours or sooner, the most cycles for its time.
Middle half 1.1–1.5 : 1Harder end: 5% at 0.8 : 1 or lessEasier end: 5% at 1.8 : 1 or more
Middle half 37–59%Harder end: 5% at 83% or moreEasier end: 5% at 20% or less
Middle half 231–422 nmLowest 5%: 152 nm or lessHighest 5%: 671 nm or more
Context, not graded: the tint marks the harder and easier end of the fleet.
Spread of trip lengths
All 380 Citation VsThe data behind it
Every measure for the 380 North American Citation Vs, 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026.| Measure | Fleet median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|
| Hours per landing Each aircraft’s average flight hours per landing | 1.3 : 1 | 1.1–1.5 : 1 |
| Short hops Share of legs under 300 nm | 49% | 37–59% |
| Leg length Median leg | 315 nm | 231–422 nm |
Corrosion
What the air around it does overnight: salt, damp and freeze–thaw.
The middle Citation V spends 0% of its nights within 2 km of the coast. One in twenty spends 11% or more of them there.
Middle half 0–1%Harder end: 5% at 11% or moreEasier end: 5% at -0%
Middle half 4.3–8.5 hHarder end: 5% at 11.7 h or moreEasier end: 5% at 1.9 h or less
Middle half 2–18%Harder end: 5% at 34% or moreEasier end: 5% at -0%
Context, not graded: the tint marks the harder and easier end of the fleet.
Salt air across the fleet
206 Citation VsThe data behind it
Every measure for the 206 of the 380 North American Citation Vs with enough nights at known fields, 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026 (8 on their record since 1 Jan 2025: too few in the 12 months).| Measure | Fleet median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|
| Salt air Nights within 2 km of the coast | 0% | 0–1% |
| Near the coast Nights within 10 km of the coast | 2% | 0–6% |
| Damp air Hours a day at 80% humidity or more, above freezing | 6.3 h | 4.3–8.5 h |
| Freeze–thaw Nights that froze and thawed within the day | 7% | 2–18% |
| Moisture in the air Average absolute humidity overnight | 9.2 g/m³ | 6.9–11.2 g/m³ |
Engines and brakes
What departures ask of engines, brakes and tires: heat and height, and runway length.
The middle Citation V leaves from a short runway on 0% of its departures. One in twenty does on 6% or more.
Middle half 0–2%Harder end: 5% at 6% or moreEasier end: 5% at -0%
Middle half <1–11%Harder end: 5% at 38% or moreEasier end: 5% at -0%
Middle half 1,358–2,294 ftHarder end: 5% at 3,888 ft or moreEasier end: 5% at 526 ft or less
Context, not graded: the tint marks the harder and easier end of the fleet.
Runway margin at departure
27,210 departuresThe data behind it
Every measure for the 380 North American Citation Vs, 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026 (2 on their record since 1 Jan 2025: too few departures in the 12 months).| Measure | Fleet median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|
| Short runways Departures where the longest runway was under 1.25× the takeoff distance | 0% | 0–2% |
| Hot, high takeoffs Departures at 5,000 ft density altitude or more | 4% | <1–11% |
| Density altitude Typical density altitude at takeoff | 1,805 ft | 1,358–2,294 ft |
Utilization
How steadily the fleet is used: flights, flying days and estimated hours.
The middle Citation V made 5 flights a month. The busiest 5% made 19 or more, the quietest 3 or fewer.
Middle half 3.6–8.7Harder end: 5% at 19.3 or moreEasier end: 5% at 2.6 or less
Middle half 2.8–5.5Harder end: 5% at 10.9 or moreEasier end: 5% at 2.0 or less
Middle half 54–126 hHarder end: 5% at ≈274 h or moreEasier end: 5% at ≈37 h or less
Context, not graded: the tint marks the harder and easier end of the fleet.
Month by month
12 monthsMedian flights per aircraft that flew that month · darker bar is the busiest month, May 2026
The data behind it
Every measure for the 380 North American Citation Vs, every active aircraft (no 40% tracking floor here: on this type it would change which aircraft are compared, not just drop undercounted ones), 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026.| Measure | Fleet median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|
| Flights a month In the months it flew | 5.2 | 3.6–8.7 |
| Days flown a month Days with at least one flight | 3.7 | 2.8–5.5 |
| Estimated hours a year From time in the air | ≈84 h | 54–126 h |
Buying, selling or financing a Citation V?
See where your Citation V sits in the fleet.
Enter a tail number to place it against these 380 aircraft. TailCheck grades it on Fatigue, Corrosion, Engines and brakes, and Utilization, with every percentile shown.
Where Citation Vs are based and fly
Fort Worth Meacham is home to more Citation Vs than any other field, 18 of the 298 with a home base.
San Francisco–Van Nuys is the busiest route: 189 flights by 6 different aircraft.
Where Citation Vs are based
| Field | Share | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Worth Meacham | 18 | |
| Toronto Pearson | 9 | |
| Van Nuys | 8 | |
| Tri-Cities | 7 | |
| Aurora State | 7 | |
| Lubbock Preston Smith | 6 |
Busiest Citation V routes
| Between | Flights |
|---|---|
| San Francisco ⇄ Van Nuys | 189 flights |
| Norman Y. Mineta San Jose ⇄ Van Nuys | 162 |
| Oakland ⇄ Van Nuys | 149 |
| King ⇄ Tri-Cities | 148 |
| Toronto Pearson ⇄ Teterboro | 142 |
| Fort Worth Meacham ⇄ Lubbock Preston Smith | 87 |
Longest Citation V flights
| Between | Distance · time |
|---|---|
| Portland-Hillsboro → Moore | 2,058 nm · 6 h 04 min |
| McCarran → Lawrence G. Hanscom | 2,051 nm · 5 h 35 min |
| Van Nuys → Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood | 2,037 nm · 4 h 15 min |
| Anchorage → Grand Junction | 2,016 nm · 5 h 36 min |
| Richmond → Van Nuys | 1,997 nm · 6 h 06 min |
Busiest Citation Vs this year
The busiest Citation V made 38 flights a month, seven times the middle aircraft.
Even the tenth on this list made 25.
Ranked by flights a month · updated monthly
| # | Tail | Base | Flights a month | Estimated hours a year | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C-GKZC | Toronto Pearson | 38 | 1,303 h | Check this tail → |
| 2 | N54DD | Van Nuys | 35 | 467 h | Check this tail → |
| 3 | N563M | Chippewa Valley | 33 | 268 h | Check this tail → |
| 4 | N561SR | Van Nuys | 33 | 435 h | Check this tail → |
| 5 | N810BE | Van Nuys | 32 | 425 h | Check this tail → |
| 6 | N968SR | Van Nuys | 30 | 418 h | Check this tail → |
| 7 | N917TL | Fort Worth Meacham | 28 | 207 h | Check this tail → |
| 8 | N508KD | Pensacola | 28 | 348 h | Check this tail → |
| 9 | N510JN | — | 26 | 353 h | Check this tail → |
| 10 | N204BG | Jerome | 25 | 395 h | Check this tail → |
Citation V vs other aircraft of its size
Medians for each North American fleet, same window and method.
| Type | Tracked | Flights a month | Hours a year | Median leg | Hours per landing | Short hops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cessna Citation V/Ultra/Encore | 380 | 5.2 | 84 h | 315 nm | 1.3 : 1 | 49% |
| Cessna Citation XLS | 391 | 8.3 | 131 h | 348 nm | 1.3 : 1 | 44% |
| Hawker 800XP/850XP/900XP/750 | 396 | 9.8 | 157 h | 401 nm | 1.4 : 1 | 40% |
| Bombardier Learjet 60 | 173 | 9.8 | 179 h | 444 nm | 1.4 : 1 | 36% |
| Pilatus PC-24 | 151 | 9.5 | 159 h | 361 nm | 1.4 : 1 | 42% |
Do older Citation Vs fly differently?
Age matters: by year built, the median Citation V in each band flew between 69 and 95 estimated hours a year.
Show the tableHide the table
| Serial block | Built | Tracked | Hours a year | Median leg | Short hops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 560-0002–560-0158 | 1989–91 | 60 | 87 h | 294 nm | 51% |
| 560-0113–560-0283 | 1992–94 | 51 | 69 h | 292 nm | 51% |
| 560-0264–560-0449 | 1995–97 | 71 | 95 h | 350 nm | 46% |
| 560-0457–560-0546 | 1998–00 | 37 | 80 h | 315 nm | 49% |
| 560-0550–560-0813 | 2001–13 | 106 | 83 h | 330 nm | 45% |
US-registered aircraft only: the FAA registry gives serial number and year of manufacture for 331 of the 380 aircraft behind the hours figures. Built = year of manufacture. Avionics upgrades are fitted by modification and the registry doesn’t show them, so check an aircraft’s records.
Citation V/Ultra/Encore: the variants on paper
One page covers all four variants: the tracking data doesn’t tell them apart.
On paper they differ in weights. Certified figures come from the type certificate data sheet. We don’t have a manufacturer source for the Cessna Citation V/Ultra/Encore yet, so its manufacturer rows show a dash.
| Measure | Citation V | Citation Ultra | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum takeoff weight (certified) | 15,900 lb | 16,300 lb | UK CAA TCDS UK.TC.A.00087 Issue 2, p.40 |
| Maximum ramp weight (certified) | 16,100 lb | 16,500 lb | UK CAA TCDS UK.TC.A.00087 Issue 2, p.40 |
| Fuel capacity, US gallons (certified) | 861 US gal | 861 US gal | UK CAA TCDS UK.TC.A.00087 Issue 2, p.38 — total of the tanks listed on the certificate: two wing tanks, usable 430.5 US gal each (V, Ultra; p.38) and 403 US gal each (Encore, Encore+; p.39) |
| Passengers | Up to 11 certified | Up to 11 certified | UK CAA TCDS UK.TC.A.00087 Issue 2, p.41 |
| Range (manufacturer) | — | — | No manufacturer source yet |
| Takeoff distance (manufacturer) | — | — | No manufacturer source yet |
| High-speed cruise (manufacturer) | — | — | No manufacturer source yet |
| Length (manufacturer) | — | — | No manufacturer source yet |
| Wingspan (manufacturer) | — | — | No manufacturer source yet |
| Height (manufacturer) | — | — | No manufacturer source yet |
Chartering a Citation V
116 of the 380 North American Citation Vs we track are on our charter list (31%).
Charter aircraft flew a median 119 estimated hours a year on 9 flights a month; the rest flew 70 hours on 5.
Where charter Citation Vs are based
| Field | Share | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|
| Van Nuys | 6 | |
| Toronto Pearson | 5 | |
| Fort Worth Meacham | 4 | |
| Tampa | 4 | |
| Gainesville | 3 | |
| Greenville-Spartanburg | 3 |
Charter status is our own list, built from FAA records and public listings of charter aircraft; aircraft flown by a fractional program (NetJets, Flexjet and the like) are counted as fractional, not charter. No charter rates: prices depend on the operator and the trip. Check a specific aircraft’s record with its tail number before you book.
Citation V questions
How many hours a year does a Citation V/Ultra/Encore fly?
The median North American Citation V/Ultra/Encore flies about 84 estimated hours a year; the middle half sits between 54 and 126. About 1 in 20 flies more than 274.
How often does a Citation V/Ultra/Encore fly?
5 flights a month on 4 flying days at the median. About 1 in 20 makes more than 19 flights a month.
How long is a typical Citation V/Ultra/Encore flight?
The median leg is 315 nm. About 1 in 20 aircraft average more than 671 nm a leg.
How often do Citation V/Ultra/Encore aircraft use short runways?
At the median, 0% of departures are from fields whose longest runway is under 1.25 times the type’s takeoff distance. About 1 in 20 keep it to -0% or less.
Is a high-hours Citation V/Ultra/Encore a bad buy?
Not by itself. High hours on long legs are gentler on the structure than the same hours on short hops. Look at hours per landing and short-hop share alongside hours.
Where are most Citation V/Ultra/Encore aircraft based?
In North America, Fort Worth Meacham is home to the most, followed by Toronto Pearson and Van Nuys. A base is the field an aircraft touches on most of its flying days, month after month.
Cite this data
The Aircraft Ledger. “Cessna Citation V/Ultra/Encore fleet statistics.” Data to 31 July 2026. theaircraftledger.com/aircraft/cessna/citation-v-ultra-encore
Embed a chart
<iframe src="https://theaircraftledger.com/embed/fleet/cessna-citation-v-ultra-encore/fatigue" title="Fatigue" width="100%" height="1180" style="border:0;max-width:960px" loading="lazy"></iframe>Method: Cessna Citation V/Ultra/Encore aircraft with most departures in North America and at least 20 tracked flights in the latest twelve full months. Flight measures, bases, routes and rankings use ADS-B tracking 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026; corrosion and engines-and-brakes exposure use the same twelve months, or an aircraft’s record since 1 Jan 2025 when it had too few nights or departures in them. Estimated hours from time in the air. Tracking misses some flights, so counts and hours are minimums. ADS-B coverage grew over the window, so we don’t compare one year with the last. Tracking can’t tell one variant from another; the variant split, the busiest table’s variants and the age table use the FAA registry, so they cover US-registered aircraft only. We assume the longest runway at each field, so short-runway figures are conservative. Short-runway figures use the manufacturer’s published takeoff distance where our sources hold one for every variant (the longest, where tracking can’t tell variants apart), and a reference figure otherwise. Corrosion measures cover the aircraft we can place on enough nights, some over the longer window when the twelve months had too few. Charter status is our own list, built from FAA records and public listings of charter aircraft; aircraft flown by a fractional program (NetJets, Flexjet and the like) are counted as fractional, not charter. About our data