Search Results for: Citation X

When the economy slips, it sometimes pays off to address customers’ needs to downsize. That could be part of the thinking behind JetDirect Aviation (formerly TAG) moving more aggressively into the turboprop and light-jet charter segment. Last year, JetDirect acquired California-based Sunset Aviation, which focuses on the lighter side of corporate charter. Sunset operates a […]

I have always thought it was extremely unfortunate when a professional pilot or crew carefully plans a flight, expertly follows the flight plan, and then suddenly makes a snap decision that undoes all their careful planning and execution. An accident at the Ellen Church Field Airport (CJJ) in Cresco, Iowa, in July 2006 illustrates how […]

Last year when Bend, Oregon, company Columbia Aircraft exhausted its last gasp efforts at getting enough cash to stay in business and declared bankruptcy, there was immediate speculation that Cessna would buy the company’s assets at auction. As it turned out, Cessna had been looking at that possibility for some time already. And by the […]

Actor and pilot Harrison Ford agreed during the NBAA show to serve as honorary chairman of the next Cessna Citation Special Olympics Airlift. The goal is to enlist more than 300 Citation owners with hopes of transporting 2,000 Special Olympics athletes to the national games in Lincoln, Nebraska. Incoming day will be July 17 and […]

Frasca International in Urbana, Illinois, has received an FAA contract to develop and build a flight training device (FTD) for the Cessna Citation Mustang light jet. Frasca is a world leader in FTDs, and the Level 5 unit for the Mustang is to be delivered to the FAA’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. […]

A lot of pilots saw some impressive video of a German Airbus airline crew trying to land in a horrendous crosswind. Other than the wind, the weather was good. The crab angle on final was substantial and the turbulence enthusiastic. It turned into quite a tussle over the runway as the pilot tried to land. […]

Two wings. Check. Horsepower up front (or maybe in the back). Check. Liquid money in the tanks. Check. Somewhere to go? Hell, yeah! Hang on a minute. As absurdly simple as it sounds, it is a fact that different aircraft serve different roles. Sometimes, the plane, pilot and mission dont match up any more. We know how it goes. You go through primary flight training in a tame little trainer, perhaps a short-legged Cessna 152 or 172, or maybe a Piper Warrior. Youve become accustomed to the frequent fuel stops and finite loading capabilities, and know every avgas-fueled diner within 100 miles. But maybe youve started a family, gained a baby or just want to get out of your own backyard without stopping for fuel quite as often. Maybe something faster, more comfortable, something that will get you over the terrain and out of that miserable chop. And if you need to cover half the country in a day, youll definitely need a faster ride. Or not. If youve passed the point in your flying or professional career where you no longer need that go-fast airplane, youre a good candidate for a lower fuel burn and lower cockpit workload. Too, if your medical renewal isnt much of a gimme any more, perhaps the Sport Pilot and LSA world can open new doors to you as others close.

Theres no going back-we are in an era of high-tech avionics and cockpit automation. Even some LSAs are sporting “glass” cockpits and simple autopilots; cross-country airplanes sport panels and equipment unheard of even in high-end turbines scant years ago, and the turbines themselves are becoming more accessible to owner-pilots. Even the most capable of these airplanes, however, has its automation limitations. Proper operation and constant monitoring of automated systems remains the responsibility of well-trained and emergency-current pilots. On April 19, 2008, a Cessna Citation Mustang suffered substantial damage when its pilot ground-looped the light jet to prevent a runway overshoot at Carlsbad, Calif. According to the NTSBs preliminary report, this was an intentional act to prevent going off a cliff past the end of the runway after the pilot landed “fast” and beyond the mid-point of Carlsbads 4600-foot available landing surface. The pilots quick action may be credited with sparing injury (or worse) to the four people on board.

In January of last year, the nose baggage door of a Cessna CE-525 CitationJet opened during takeoff from Van Nuys Airport. Moments later, the jet crashed into an empty lot in a residential neighborhood just north of the airport, killing both pilots. As you might expect at a busy airport, many people who knew something […]

Eclipse mixed two slices of good news in with a heaping portion of bad news earlier this month. The company announced it was increasing the price of its Eclipse 500 twinjet by $550,000 to $2.15 million-a jump of 35 percent-effective immediately, and based on June 2008 economics. The good news came in the form of […]