The Cessna Citation Mustang is a very light jet that was built by Cessna.
Launched at the 2002 NBAA convention, the Model 510 first flew on April 23, 2005. It received its FAA type certification on September 8, 2006, and was first delivered on November 22. Production ended in 2017 after 479 aircraft were built.
The 8,645 lb (3,921 kg) maximum take-off weight jet is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW615F 1,460 lbf (6.5 kN) turbofans, can reach 340 kn (630 km/h), and has a range of 1,167 nmi (2,161 km).
Development
Launched at the 2002 NBAA convention, the $2.4 million Mustang first flew on April 23, 2005.[3] The airplane received full type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration on September 8, 2006. Cessna received FAA certification to fly into "known icing conditions" on November 9, 2006.[4] Cessna delivered the first production LJ on November 22, 2006, the same day the FAA awarded Cessna with the necessary certification.[5] Dave and Dawn Goode of GOODE Ski Technologies received the first retail delivered Cessna Mustang on April 23, 2007.[6]
In 2010, Cessna launched an enhanced edition of the aircraft called the High Sierra, which features higher-quality cabin furnishings and enhanced avionics, including synthetic vision.[7]
In 2015, its unit cost was US$3.35 million.[8]
Cessna ended production of the design in May 2017 due to lack of customer demand for the aircraft as a result of competition from the company's own Cessna Citation M2. The company had been selling an average of 40 Mustangs per year until the M2 was introduced in 2013, and then Mustang sales dropped to just 24 aircraft over the next three years. The M2 is a faster and larger aircraft, but it can operate from similar-length runways and requires the more-common C/E-525 type rating, which potentially reduces training and crewing costs over the Mustang.[9][10] A total of 479 examples of the Citation Mustang were produced.[2]
In 2018, used 2009-2016 Mustangs were priced at $1.85-2.5 million.[11]
In 2019, a test aircraft using a modified Mustang fuselage but powered by a single turboprop engine, aircraft registrationN350CE, was photographed by a Wichita engineer. A Cessna vice president interviewed by AvWeb confirmed the existence of the aircraft and said that Cessna had been considering producing a new model to fill the gap between the Mustang and the Cessna 350 Corvalis, but characterized the test aircraft as a "technology demonstrator" rather than a proof of concept vehicle or a prototype, and would not confirm plans for production.[12]
Design
On ramp with spoilers extendedCabin interior
The Mustang is a low-wing, cantilevermonoplane with a tapered wing, T-tail, and retractable tricycle gear. One main door is located in the forward left section of the aircraft, with an additional emergency exit on the center right section of the fuselage.
In its standard configuration, the Mustang has four passenger seats in the aft cabin, a toilet, and seating for two in the cockpit.
The airframe is primarily of aluminum alloy construction and has a three-spar wing.
Power is provided by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW615Fturbofans mounted in pods on the aft fuselage.
The aircraft was built at the Cessna production facility in Independence, Kansas.
Like many other light jets, the Mustang is approved for single-pilot operation.[13]
Half of the fleet is in the U.S. and Canada, mostly operated by firms or individuals owning a single aircraft and typically flown by their owners, with some owners defraying a portion of the fixed operating costs by sharing use with air charters. Outside of North America, most are exclusively flown by third-party crews. Most of the other half of the fleet is registered in Europe: 23 aircraft in the British Isles, 20 aircraft in Austria, 20 in France, 11 in Germany, six in the Czech Republic, five in Switzerland and four in Italy. In Latin America, Brazil has 31 aircraft, there are 10 in Mexico, three in Argentina, two in Venezuela and one each in Chile, Guatemala, Panama and Paraguay. In the Middle East four are in Turkey, as in Egypt and two are in Israel. Six are in Africa, nine in Australia and five in New Zealand.There are 4 Certified Full Flight Simulators available in the world for this aircraft type:Rome Monterotondo, Italy; Scottsdale, Arizona, USA; Wichita, Kansas, USA; and Farnborough, UK.[1]
On Thursday, 14 December 2017, a Mustang registered as OE-FWD, operated by Skytaxi Luftfahrt from Egelsbach Airport, crashed while on approach to Friedrichshafen Airport, Germany, 15 km from the runway. The crash killed the flight's one passenger and the two crew members, including its captain, who was company CEO and chief pilot Adi Anderst. This was the type's first fatal accident and its first major accident in a decade.[15]
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
a Redesignated during development • b Not built • c Produced only by Reims • d Transferred to Beechcraft during development • e Early models had no "I" suffix; some sources call these aircraft the Citation 500
