August 13th,
2010: About 75 Layoff
Notices Handed Out By Cessna
Workforce Reduction Comes At The
SE Kansas Plant
Cessna has notified
approximately 75 workers at its
Independence, KS plant that they
will be laid off in 60 days. The
workforce reduction is part of a
previously-announced plan put in
place by Cessna in its Citation
Mustang program.
Mustang sales have been slow,
and Cessna has also had supplier
issues which halted deliveries
of the jet in June, the company
said. The Wichita Eagle reports
that about 200 Cessna employees
took 5-7 week furloughs because
of the parts shortage.
The Independence plant also
builds 172, 182, and 206
singles. Those programs, for
now, appear to be unaffected by
the layoffs.
FMI:
www.cessna.com
June 21st, 2009:
Cessna Citation Mustang
Continues To Expand Fleet,
Avionics Capabilities
241 Citation Mustangs Delivered
In Just Over Two Years
Cessna announced Monday that it
has delivered 241 Citation
Mustangs since the aircraft
entered service in April 2007.
The entry-level business jet has
found worldwide appeal with
deliveries revealing a 60/40
domestic/international mix and a
variety of field operations,
including owner-operators,
corporate flight departments as
well as fleet sales to flight
schools, charter companies and
air-taxi operators.
Cessna also announced that in
2010 it will begin offering on
the Citation Mustang a factory
and retrofit TCAS II traffic
alert and collision avoidance
system and radio altimeter
system. The systems will be
incorporated into the Mustang's
Garmin G1000 system that
includes Synthetic Vision
Technology, two 10-inch primary
flight displays, one 15-inch
multi-function display and the
integrated GFC700 dual-channel,
digital autopilot.
"With two-plus years of Mustang
deliveries behind us, we're
getting rave reviews from the
field - the aircraft is fun to
fly, performs well and offers an
excellent value proposition
backed by Cessna's world-class
service and support network,"
said Roger Whyte, senior vice
president, Sales and Marketing.
"As expected, the majority of
Mustang customers are business
owners but we're also pleased to
see strong operations in fleet
use and the training
environment."
Citation Mustang G1000
Panel
Earlier this year, Cessna
announced an order for five
Citation Mustangs from Singapore
Flying College in Australia to
support its advanced training
program. There have also been a
number of orders and deliveries
for fleet operations, including
European air-taxi operators
Blink and London Executive
Aviation.
Citation Mustang
Blink's fleet of seven Citation
Mustangs operates at about 600
hours per month from three
European bases. The Mustang
allows the air-taxi service to
offer the speed, convenience and
efficiency of a private jet at a
price that is competitive with
commercial business class air
fares. Blink regularly flies
multiple sectors, with more than
one customer group in a day and
reports the Mustang is reliable
and provides an excellent
customer experience. Blink plans
to add more Mustangs and more
locations in 2010.
The Citation Mustang is now
certified in 60 countries
including the United States. The
worldwide fleet of 241 Mustangs
has accumulated more than 55,000
flight hours, and the high-time
aircraft has logged more than
1,500 hours. The six-place
aircraft has a top speed of 340
knots (630 kilometers per hour),
a range of 1,150 nautical miles
(2,130 kilometers) with NBAA IFR
Reserves and a service ceiling
of 41,000 feet (12,497 meters),
enabling more efficient
operations above most weather
and commercial traffic.
9/18/09:
Cessna Citation Mustang Achieves
Russian Certification
60th Country To Certify The
Aircraft
Cessna has received Russian type
certification for the Citation
Mustang from Russia’s MAK
(Interstate Aviation Committee,
Aviation Register).
The Citation Mustang is now
certified in 60 countries
including the United States.
Cessna has delivered more than
200 Mustangs from the company’s
Independence, Kansas, facility
since April 2007.
“The Citation Mustang expands
the sensible solutions any
potential Russian purchaser will
find with our line of Citation
business jets, and the aircraft
is proving to be as reliable and
robust as other Citations,” said
Cessna Vice President,
International Sales, Trevor
Esling. “The Mustang’s entry
into service has been
extraordinary around the globe
and interest from the market
continues to grow, including a
fleet order announced in 2008
from a Russian operator.”
MAK previously certified five
current production models: the
Citation X, Sovereign, CJ3, CJ2+
and CJ1+.
The six-place Citation Mustang
has a top speed of 340 knots, a
range of 1,150 nautical miles
with NBAA IFR Reserves and a
service ceiling of 41,000 feet,
enabling operations above most
weather and commercial traffic.
The aircraft features a Garmin
G1000 system that includes
Synthetic Vision Technology, two
10-inch primary flight displays,
one 15-inch multi-function
display and the integrated
GFC700 dual-channel, digital
autopilot.
2/10/09:
Report: Textron Ponders Sale Of
Cessna, Bell
Financial Shakeup Comes As
Company Must Raise $1 Billion
Faced with a global economic
crisis that shows no signs of
ebbing, this week Textron
released two executives formerly
responsible for the company's
finances... and its CEO hinted
at the possible sale of one of
Textron's aerospace
subsidiaries.
Textron announced Monday that
Chief Financial Officer Ted
French and Buell Jay Carter,
Chief Operating Officer of
Textron Financial, were shown
the door. Forbes reports Textron
SVP Richard Yates will serve as
acting CFO in French's place,
while Textron Financial -- which
has seen massive losses tied to
the current recession -- will
report directly to Textron
President Scott C. Donnelly.
"Under Scott's and Warren's
leadership, I am confident we
will successfully execute the
strategy we've put in place for
Textron Financial at a more
rapid pace," Chairman Lewis B.
Campbell said.
It's not difficult to see why
Textron Financial is ailing. In
addition to providing loans on
such high-dollar items as Cessna
business jets, the financial
department also has funds tied
up in golf courses and vacation
resorts. Those aren't the kinds
of assets to have in today's
economy... and Textron Financial
is offloading those properties
as fast as it can.
Textron previously announced in
December it would focus on its
manufacturing operations -- in
addition to Cessna, Textron also
owns Bell Helicopter, and
entities such as E-Z-GO golf
carts -- leaving the financial
aspects to other entities. While
that may be a sound plan in the
long run, in the short term
investors are reportedly
frustrated by plummeting sales,
due to the lack of available
credit for potential buyers.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
reports that uneasiness may lead
Textron to attempt to sell off
one of its two aerospace
companies. Speaking at a
Barclays Capital conference with
investors Tuesday, Textron CEO
Lewis Campbell said the company
must increase liquidity by at
least $1 billion in the first
half of 2009.
Selling off Bell or Cessna would
be one way towards attaining
that goal... and while it's hard
to say for certain which company
might be put on the sale block,
it appears Bell would be the
more enticing entity for
potential buyers.
While both companies have seen
commercial sales plunge over the
past several months, and have
laid off workers, Bell still has
a number of military orders to
fulfill, that are less
susceptible to economic trends.
Cessna's Mustang
Earns Canadian, Japanese
Approvals
Light Jet Now Certified For
Operation In 51 Countries
Overshadowed by the news of
significant layoffs at Cessna,
was last month's announcement
the Kansas-based planemaker
earned Canadian and Japanese
certifications for its Citation
Mustang light jet.
Cessna announced the receipt of
Transport Canada and Japanese
Civil Aviation Bureau
certifications November 18.
Receipt of those approvals paves
the way for deliveries to begin
to customers in both countries.
The current fleet of Citation
Mustangs totals 130 aircraft.
The fleet has accumulated more
than 19,000 flight hours, with
the high-time aircraft logging
more than 500 hours.
The six-place Mustang is now
certified in 51 countries.
As ANN reported,
Cessna announced November 12 it
would lay off some 665
positions, blaming the move on
the global economic crisis. The
company handed out pink slips
this week... though not as many
as the planemaker had stated
previously, thanks to about 150
workers who opted to take
voluntary severance packages.
It's worth noting none of those
involuntary layoffs reportedly
came from the Independence, KS
production line that builds the
Mustang, due to strong sales of
the light jet.
The Axe Falls At
Cessna: 665 Employees To Be Laid
Off
500 Layoffs In Wichita, The Rest
In Bend
Cessna Aircraft Company had some
unwelcome news for employees
Wednesday, two weeks before the
start of the holiday season.
Approximately 665 workers will
soon be handed their walking
papers at the planemaker's
facilities in Wichita, KS and
Bend, OR.
The Wichita Eagle reports about
500 workers in Wichita will
receive their 60-day notices in
the next few weeks, along with
another 165 workers in Bend...
about 1/3 of that facility's
workforce.
The layoffs will go into effect
in early 2009. Wichita
television station KSN-3 reports
Cessna has offered all employees
the option of voluntary
furloughs with severance
packages, to helpfully ease the
sting of involuntary layoffs.
"We have now finalized the
production schedule for 2009 and
supporting annual operating
plans," the company said in a
e-mail. "These actions are
regrettable, but necessary to
ensure our long-term stability
and success."
The planemaker also added two
more days to the upcoming
holiday shut down... days that
will be unpaid
As ANN reported,
Cessna warned last week of the
impending layoffs, which company
President and CEO Jack Pelton
blamed on the current economic
downturn.
"In response to our current
economic environment, we are
adjusting our aircraft delivery
plans for 2009," wrote Pelton in
a November 4 memo to workers.
"We will have a slight increase
in total deliveries for 2009 as
compared to 2008; however, this
will be lower than what was
originally planned. The plan
will include an increase in the
number of Mustang deliveries and
a decrease in some of the other
Citation models. We are also
planning on fewer piston
aircraft deliveries in 2009."
KSN adds that jobs at Cessna's
plant in Independence, KS appear
to be safe for the moment,
thanks to strong sales of the
Citation Mustang light jet...
but we doubt anyone at Cessna is
resting easy.
Cessna's Citation
Mustang Achieves Full-Rate
Production
Independence Plant Capable Of
Producing 150 Planes Per Year
Cessna announced at NBAA 2008
this week the planemaker will
achieve its planned full-rate
production level on the Citation
Mustang sometime this month.
Once full-rate production is
achieved, Cessna will average
three Mustangs rolling off the
production line each week at its
Independence, KS manufacturing
facility. At full rate,
employees on the Mustang line
are scheduled to deliver 150
entry-level business jets per
year starting in 2009.
"Not only have we met our goal
on production, our Independence
workforce is doing it with
Cessna's usual high quality,"
said Ron Alberti, Cessna senior
vice president, Integrated
Supply Chain. "We've really
pioneered integration of the
Textron Production System, based
on well-known Lean principles,
resulting in high quality and
efficient production. It's
fairly common now for us to
deliver a squawk-free airplane."
The Citation Mustang, along with
the entire line of Citation
business jets, is on display
this week at the National
Business Aviation Association
Meeting and Convention. The
current fleet of Citation
Mustangs totals roughly 115
aircraft that have accumulated
more than 19,000 flight hours,
and the high-time aircraft has
logged more than 500 hours.
The six-place Citation Mustang
has a top speed of 340 knots, a
range of 1,150 nautical miles
with NBAA IFR Reserves and a
service ceiling of 41,000 feet.
The aircraft features a Garmin
G1000 system that includes two
10-inch primary flight displays,
one 15-inch multi-function
display and the integrated
GFC700 dual-channel, fail
passive, digital autopilot.
Cessna Delivers
First Flight School Citation
Mustang
UND Celebrates
40th Year By Looking To Past...
And Future
On Wednesday, Cessna Aircraft Company delivered the first
Citation Mustang light jet to be
used by a flight school, to the
University of North Dakota
(UND). The school will use the
entry level jet for executive
travel as well as flight
training for undergraduate and
contract students.
This year marks the 125th
anniversary of UND and the 40th
anniversary of the university's
John D. Odegard School of
Aerospace Sciences (UND
Aerospace) - an international
leader in collegiate and
contract aviation education that
averages more than 1,000 flight
students at any given time. The
flight school has more than 120
aircraft available to its
students.
Total flight training hours at
UND Aerospace exceed 100,000
annually and are estimated to
approach 140,000 hours this
year.
UND Aerospace celebrated the
anniversary and Mustang delivery
with a social event in Wichita,
KS. Alongside the Mustang, a
newly refurbished Cessna 150 --
one of the first two aircraft in
UND Aerospace's fleet -- was on
display at the event. Both
aircraft were decorated with the
school's 40th anniversary logo.
"Having the Citation Mustang and
Cessna 150 side-by-side shows
the incredible progress that has
been made in flight training in
the past 40 years," said Bruce
A. Smith, dean of UND Aerospace
and president of the UND
Aerospace Foundation. "We are
excited to be able to offer
training in an aircraft that
incorporates all the latest
technology available to pilots
today. We expect the Mustang to
be a great recruiting tool for
the school and an amazing
opportunity for students as they
transition from pistons and
turboprops to flying jets."
"We're pleased to see UND
Aerospace as the first flight
training school to have access
to the new Citation Mustang,"
said Mick Hoveskeland, Cessna's
vice president, Administration
and a UND alumnus. "Whether they
are moving to the airlines,
charter flying or corporate
flight departments, students
will get a kick start to their
careers by flying the
large-format glass-cockpit
flight displays and integrated
systems."
The Mustang became the first of
a new category of entry-level
jets to achieve full
certification from the Federal
Aviation Administration
(September 2006) and the
European Aviation Safety Agency
(May 2007). Forty-five Mustangs
were delivered in 2007 from
Cessna's assembly facility in
Independence, KS, where a total
of 100 Mustangs are scheduled to
be delivered this year.
By 2009, production is expected
to reach 150 Mustangs per year,
according to Cessna.
Cessna
Delivers First EASA-Certified
Citation Mustang
Aims To
Deliver 44 VLJs This Year
Cessna Aircraft Company tells
ANN it recently delivered the
first European Aviation Safety
Agency (EASA) certified Citation
Mustang to Danish entrepreneur
Jørgen Andersen. The aircraft
will be privately owned and
operated by Andersen and his
company, JAI.
This is the second Citation
Mustang delivered to a European
customer following the recently
announced delivery to Jane
Howell of a US-registered
aircraft.
Andersen 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."
Trevor Esling, vice
president, International Sales
for Cessna Aircraft, added,
"This is another significant
milestone for the Mustang which
is proving tremendously popular
in Europe. It is particularly
gratifying that it has been
delivered to such a long
standing and loyal Cessna
customer as Jørgen Andersen and
we wish him many happy years of
flying his new aircraft."
As ANN reported, the Citation
Mustang became the first of a
new category of entry-level jets
to achieve both full US Federal
Aviation Administration type
certification (September
8, 2006) and EASA
certification (May
21, 2007).
The six-place Mustang has a
top speed of 340 ktas, a range
of 1,150 nautical miles and a
service ceiling of 41,000 feet.
Cessna reports more than 400
orders booked for the aircraft,
and has delivered 36 Mustangs
from the Independence, KS
facility since deliveries began
earlier this year.
Cessna says it is on track to
deliver 44 aircraft in 2007, and
plans to ramp up production to
150 Mustangs per year by 2009.
|
Cessna on Monday delivered its first "retail" and third production Citation Mustang business jet to Dave and Dawn Goode of GOODE Ski Technologies. Earlier, the company delivered two other copies of the Mustang, which are being used by Cessna as marketing demonstration aircraft. A former U.S. Ski Team member, Dave Goode founded GOODE Ski Technologies in 1975. After 15 years of manufacturing and marketing ski accessories, Goode developed and produced the snow ski industry's first carbon fiber ski. Goode also patented the first carbon fiber water ski. Today, GOODE is the world leader in carbon composite ski poles, snow skis and water skis. “We are proud to be the owners of the first retail Mustang and excited about putting it into service,” Goode said.