Cessna: Mustang Now 'World’s First Fully Certified,
New-Generation Entry Level Business Jet'
The FAA granted a
full TC to Cessna’s Citation Mustang, late Friday, after
recent rumors indicated that the TC was "imminent."
Indeed, it was.
“This is an immense achievement, marking another point in
history where Cessna has led the aviation industry into new
territory,” said Cessna Chairman, President and Chief
Executive Officer Jack Pelton.
“The Citation Mustang will bring the benefits of jet
ownership to more people than ever before, and I cannot say enough
about the team that made this happen,” Pelton continued.
“I’d like to extend my deepest congratulations and
appreciation to the talented Cessna employees, our world-class
suppliers, and the dedicated FAA certification team who took on
this mission as passionately and personally as any program
I’ve seen. The Citation Mustang has met or exceeded every
performance objective established when we announced the program in
2002. We accomplished what we said we were going to accomplish, and
we beat the schedule doing it. I think everyone will agree the
final product our team created – in its polished fit, finish
and performance – sets the highest standard for what this new
generation of aircraft will be.
“Cessna’s commitment to safety is evident in the
Mustang, as it is in our entire fleet of aircraft,” Pelton
said.

“We met or exceeded all the requirements for the
Mustang’s weight class, and went on to test the aircraft in
many categories to commercial airliner standards. The Citation
Mustang was successfully tested to five airframe lifetimes, well
past the required two lifetimes of testing, and was designed for an
unlimited airframe lifetime. During flight testing, we successfully
achieved more than 2,200 certification test conditions, meeting or
exceeding all our program performance goals, including range and
speed. There is no question the Mustang represents a first-class
Cessna Citation business jet in every way.”
FAA type certification for the Mustang includes single-pilot
operation, day/night operations, visual and instrument flight rules
(VFR/IFR), and operations in reduced vertical separation minimum
(RVSM) airspace.
“While not required for full TC, we’ll be cleared
for flight into known icing conditions in the next couple of weeks,
well before our deliveries to customers start early next
year,” Pelton said.
“The majority of that testing is complete, and the final
test conditions will be flown over the next few weeks as natural
icing conditions materialize with cooler Autumn weather.”
The fully functional Garmin G1000 equipped Citation Mustang
includes an integrated, dual-channel fail passive digital
autopilot, and is the first aircraft with an integrated flight deck
that is certified to take advantage of WAAS navigation features
including WAAS LPV approaches that provide both lateral and
vertical guidance. The Garmin G1000 avionics suite also includes a
new feature called SafeTaxi which gives a graphical representation
of the aircraft on the ground in the airport environment.

The Citation Mustang is assembled at Cessna’s facility in
Independence, Kan., also home to the company’s line of
single-engine piston aircraft (Models 172, 182 and 206).
Cessna’s facilities in Wichita, Kan., and Columbus, Ga.,
produce components for the Mustang.
Cessna currently has 250 orders for the Mustang, selling out
production well into 2009. With TC now in hand, Cessna plans to
enhance its sales and marketing efforts by increasing its domestic
and international sales force, conducting intensive demonstration
tours with multiple aircraft on a worldwide basis, and stepping up
its marketing campaign in response to the very high level of
interest in the Citation Mustang expressed by customers
globally.
The six-place Citation Mustang has a top speed of 340 ktas
(nearly 400 miles per hour), a range of 1,150 nautical miles (1323
statute miles – NBAA IFR Reserves) and a service ceiling of
41,000 feet – well suited for getting above weather and
commercial traffic for more efficient operations.
The Cessna Citation Mustang features a wide passenger door,
large, eye-level windows for plenty of natural light in the cabin,
and externally accessed luggage space in the front and rear of the
cabin – plenty of space for suitcases and golf clubs or snow
skis.
The Cessna Citation Mustang is powered by two Pratt &
Whitney Canada PW615F engines with dual FADECs, giving it a miserly
approach to fuel consumption.

The Cessna Citation Mustang features a fully functional Garmin
G1000 avionics suite with information presented on two 10-inch PFDs
and one 15-inch MFD. The Citation Mustang is certified for GPS WAAS
LNAV and VNAV operations and features XM satellite weather overlaid
on a digital moving map display for unprecedented situational
awareness.
Sales of the Cessna Citation Mustang have climbed to 250 units,
with a majority coming from international customers. Cessna has a
network of more than two dozen authorized service centers around
the globe to augment the company’s own 10 service centers in
Paris and around the U.S.