On Wednesday, Cessna team members rolled out the first Citation Sovereign assembled on the production line, serial number 0003.

During the brief ceremony, team members were commended for their hard work and dedication. The Sovereign's erstwhile Product Director, recently-upgraded VP of Quality Brad Thress, told the group, "You have done an outstanding job in producing a quality product, on time, and under budget. This is an exciting day for Cessna and Sovereign customers."

Cessna's Vice President of Quality, who has watched and shepherded this program since its inception, continued, "With over 100 orders taken, the Sovereign is well on its way to becoming another distinguished member of the Citation family."

The Sovereign's 17-station production assembly line is fully operational. Cessna will deliver its first Citation Sovereign early next year, once certification is completed. That milestone should be reached in the fourth quarter.

Certification testing, for tis part, continues to run smoothly and is on schedule. The three Citation Sovereigns in the certification flight test program have accumulated over 1600 hours.

FMI: www.cessna.com