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September 16, 2009
Cessna Citation celebrates 40th anniversary of maiden flight
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Pilots Milt Sills and J.L. LeSueur prepare to fly the first Citation prototype. |
It was the concept that launched Cessna Aircraft Company into the jet age – a quieter, simpler, safer and less expensive business jet – and 40 years ago in September that idea took flight.
On Sept. 15, 1969, pilot-in-command Milt Sills and co-pilot J.L. LeSueur flew the first prototype of the Cessna Citation from Wichita’s Municipal Airport (now Mid-Continent Airport), adjacent to what was at the time Cessna’s Military and Twin Division and where the prototype had been assembled.
This was the first of the Citation series, which would go on to captivate the market and that today continues to distinguish Cessna. More than 6,000 Citation variations have been delivered, making the Citation the largest fleet of business jets in the world.
“To understand the true significance of this flight just consider the impact over the past four decades that the Citation line has had on the company’s growth and the tremendous opportunities business owners and pilots have realized by operating Citations,” said Will Dirks, Cessna’s vice president, Flight Operations.
Cessna unveiled a mock-up of its turbofan-powered business jet in October 1968, calling it the Fanjet 500. The idea was to bring to market an airplane that would fill the gap in the business aviation market between top-of-the-line $580,000 twin-engine turboprops that flew 300 miles per hour at 25,000 feet and low-end $800,000 corporate business jets that flew 500 miles per hour at 35,000 feet.
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The Citation prototype on its first flight. |
Days before the prototype’s first flight, Cessna settled on a more distinctive name for the jet – Citation – to evoke the extraordinary combination of abilities that propelled the thoroughbred racehorse by the same name to win the elusive Triple Crown in 1948.
By the time the prototype was ready to fly in the fall of 1969, extensive wind tunnel tests had brought design changes to the debut mock-up. The one hour and 45 minute flight was a significant milestone in bringing the company’s first business jet to market. Flight testing continued until certification in September 1971, followed by deliveries starting in January 1972. The original Citation cost roughly $695,000 and traveled about 400 miles per hour.
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