Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

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Cessna Citation 525, CitationJet, CJ1, CJ2, CJ3, CJ4, and M2 Series

Matt Thurber

Textron Aviation on Monday unveiled its latest jet to get a major upgrade: the Cessna Citation CJ4 Gen3, which will feature Garmin’s new G3000 Prime touchscreen avionics suite and other refinements. 
Textron Aviation arrived at NBAA-BACE with the launch customer in hand, naming Ryan Samples as the first in line for the newest CJ4. Samples, who is a pilot and identified himself as a founder and CEO of a "technology company based in Oakland," reminisced about the journey from learning to ride a bike to driving a car and progressing into aviation and the exponential freedom each new leap brought. The CJ4 Gen3 for him is "a culmination of that freedom."
The CJ4 Gen3 prototype completed its inaugural flight in early October, embarking on a campaign that is anticipated to culminate in service entry in 2026. 
Chris Hearne, Textron’s senior vice president of engineering and programs, noted that the aircraft performed as expected, paving the way for rigorous testing ahead of certification and customer delivery. 
As the testing phase progresses, the team will focus on evaluating the aircraft’s systems and overall performance. 
The CJ4 was the first Citation to get a Gen2 upgrade and the Gen3 move signals that Textron Aviation is moving faster with improvements that customers have been requesting.
“[We’re] constantly getting asked ‘what’s next,’” said Textron Aviation president and CEO Ron Draper. “This is heavily based on customer feedback. We've been working with our customer advisory boards over the last couple of years on these products and to make this announcement. I think this shakes up the entire light jet industry and is an enormous enhancement to our existing great product lineup.”
The M2 and CJ3 are also getting a Gen3 treatment, and the major feature will be adding Garmin’s Autoland technology. Certification of the M2 and CJ3 Gen3 models is expected in 2026. Owners of M2 Gen2 and CJ3 Gen2 models, which brought autothrottles to these airplanes, will be able to upgrade to Autoland through a service bulletin.

“This product-driven, customer-driven product strategy is resonating with the marketplace,” said Jimmy Beeson, Textron Aviation's senior manager of technical marketing. “It’s exciting when they come to you and say, ‘What's next?’ and we continue to deliver with changes like this.”
Garmin G3000 Prime isn’t the sole upgrade for the CJ4 Gen3. In addition, it will be equipped with new winglets fitted with an informal accent light on the upper edge “to add in excellent ramp appeal,” he said.
Interior acoustics are also improved with new materials helping reduce noise in the cockpit and cabin. Furthering the penetration of lithium-ion main-ship batteries in business aircraft, the CJ4 will have a True Blue Power Li-ion battery that improves starting power and lowers weight. 
Further, both the flight deck and cabin will have lighting improvements. Lighting is added to side pockets at each seat and improved floodlighting illuminates the seats along with updated reading lights with directional control and variable scope.
“We continue to focus on sustainability,” said Christi Tannahill, senior v-p of customer experience. “And the CJ4 Gen3 is no different [with] a fully sustainable interior. We work closely with our customers to provide materials, carpets, even the veneers, everything that's available for them if they choose to bring on the entire sustainability path.
“What makes this easy for us is all of our materials are sustainable and biodegradable. We use the remnants, everything that we can. It also shows that our sustainability can mean luxury. You can have the stone floors, the beautiful sinks. We do some neat [work] over at IMF, our manufacturing facility that does all of our furniture. They'll take remnants of wood and make amazing designs.”
“What's unique about the Gen3,” Tannahill added, “is these were the same customers that came to us in 2021. We talked about the interior and we added everything that they were looking for. Our customers have always told us, ‘You bring us in,&nbsp; and you do what you say that you're going to do,’ and they're very excited about the product because it's what they've created. At Textron we continue to look at the avionics, the technology, anything that would make the airplane better.
“And so just because we touch an airplane doesn't mean that we're done. We're going to continue to invest. And this was a unique experience of&nbsp;how we did that.”

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In this article

Cessna Citation 525/CJ Series

Garmin

Textron Aviation

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