Cessna Aircraft Company delivered the first European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)-certified Citation Mustang to the Danish entrepreneur Jørgen Andersen. The aircraft will be privately owned and operated by Andersen and his company JAI. The aircraft was the second Citation Mustang delivered to a European customer following the recently announced delivery to Jane Howell of a U.S. registered aircraft. Andersen has been a Cessna Citation customer for a number of years and has previously owned a Citation 501. He has been flying jets for the last 10 years.
"I am delighted to have taken delivery of this new Citation Mustang," Andersen said. "It is a wonderfully designed aircraft and is ideal for my frequent trips around Europe and the United States, as I live in California for half the year."
The Citation Mustang, recently named "Product of the Year" by The Aviation Consumer, became the first of a new category of entry-level jets to achieve both full Federal Aviation Administration type certification (September 8, 2006) and EASA certification (May 21, 2007). It has now achieved certification in 40 countries. The six-place Citation Mustang has a top speed of 340 ktas, a range of 1,150 nautical miles and a service ceiling of 41,000 feet. Cessna has booked more than 400 orders for the aircraft and has delivered 40 Mustangs from the Independence, Kan., facility since deliveries began earlier this year. Deliveries in the aircraft’s first year of production have spanned the globe; nearly three of every four Mustangs ordered this year are destined for international customers.
“We now have 40 Mustangs in the field and our customers report that the aircraft has exceeded expectations,” said Cessna Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing Roger Whyte.
Additionally, the aircraft has finished high altitude airport and steep approach certifications. A second Mustang simulator was certified in October and is in operation at the FlightSafety Learning Center in Wichita.
The Mustang is assembled at Cessna’s facility in Independence, Kan., where 44 Mustangs are expected to be delivered by year’s end. By 2009, production is expected to reach 150 per year.