The Cessna Citation Mustang is a single-pilot very light jet produced between 2006 and 2017, with a run of 479 aircraft. Cessna, in particular, is not as enthusiastic about the ‘very light jet’ moniker out of principle – while offerings from Embraer, Cirrus, and Honda are clean sheet designs built specifically to attack this market, the Citation Mustang is simply another iteration of a tried and tested family with half a century of market presence.
2007 / Cessna Citation Mustang / Model Specs
Its maximum take-off weight is 8645 lbs, with an empty weight of 5600 lbs, giving it a useful load of 3130 lbs. The jet is powered by a pair of rear-mounted Pratt & Whitney Canada PW615F turbofan engines, providing 1460 lbf each. The Mustang may be flown by a crew of one or two aircraft, seating between four and five passengers hinging on how many pilots are on the flight deck.
The Citation Mustang’s structural and aerodynamic configuration draws inspiration from previous light Citation line members. The aircraft’s construction is a low-wing cantilever design using mostly aluminum alloy, with a swept wing supported by three spars and a high T-tail. Its tricycle landing gear has characteristically short legs common to both the Citation family and its smaller Learjet rivals. The cabin is accessible via one main door on the forward left section of the Mustang, with an emergency exit installed in the middle of the fuselage. The aircraft is fitted with electrically-actuated speed brakes and three-position flaps.
The cabin design feels luxurious, traditionally featuring four leather seats in a club arrangement with a foldable table between them. This table can be used after take-off and must be stowed before landing. Soundproofing is excellent, offering a nice and quiet ride that exceeds most competitors. Cessna’s cabin design team did a stupendous job with the window placement, giving great visibility outside without effort from the passengers. The view from the flight deck is also regarded as great. A toilet is fitted as a standard option, though its facilities are rather limited compared to most competitors – some owners regard it as an ’emergency’ option. Baggage facilities are good for its category, with a comfortable 57 cu ft available in the aft hold plus a compartment in the nose that runs across the fuselage’s width.
The Cessna Mustang’s avionics are based on Garmin’s bestseller G1000 suite, which drastically reduces pilot workload and allows for single-crew operations with much more ease than in previous Citation jets due to its high levels of automation. The flight deck is outfitted with one multifunctional display (MFD) and two primary flight displays (PFD), one on each side. Data entry is done using a keypad installed beneath the throttles, skipping the endless knob-turning users of other suites have had to suffer through. Next to this are the elevator and aileron trim controls. Atop of the panel are the GFC700 autopilot controls, mounted next to back-up steam gauges for the airspeed, altitude, and HSI.
The landing gear and brakes are operated by an electrically-powered dedicated hydraulics pack. In case of failure, the gear can be released and deployed by gravity, with a compressed nitrogen bottle locking it in position and providing emergency brake pressure. Electrical buses are parallel and fully isolated from each other, with a backup battery providing power to avionics and essential systems for a minimum of 30 minutes in case of full power loss.
Pilots are required to have a type rating to fly the Mustang. Thanks to its overall simplicity and honest performance, the Cessna Citation Mustang was dubbed “the world’s most popular entry-level light jet.”
Cessna Citation Mustang / Model Prices
Back in 2006, when it was first certified, the Cessna Citation Mustang sold for $3.35 million. This did not change much throughout its short production run. This made it slightly cheaper than most competitors in its range, though today, prices for the class fall in the same bracket.
Performance and Handling
The Cessna Citation Mustang can reach up to 420 knots, though its usual cruise speeds are 340 knots. At maximum take-off weight, this jet can fly up to 1167 nmi with 100 nmi alternate reserves and has an initial thrust-to-weight ratio of 0.337. The aircraft’s service ceiling is 41000 ft, with a best rate of climb of 3010 ft/min.
The take-off roll in standard atmosphere conditions for a fully-loaded Mustang is 3110 ft, with a landing run of 2380 ft at the maximum permissible landing weight. Vr and V1 are the same at 91 knots, while Vy is set at 170 knots. For easier reference, these values are displayed to the pilot on the MFD during take-off. The maximum allowable speed with flaps down is 135 knots.
When flying with the damper system engaged, the Citation Mustang is an exceptionally smooth ride for passengers and pilots. Like most business jets and airliners, the autopilot system allows the pilot to set a target altitude at which the Mustang will level out without additional input. Throttles have preset detents for different situations, including cruise, which remove fine-tuning the engines out of the equation for most flight profiles.
Pilots are usually in awe of how pleasant the aircraft is to hand-fly. Keith Wilson of Pilot magazine states the Mustang “handles like a Cessna single,” and this opinion is shared by most pilots who have experienced its controls. The jet flies hands-off with trim, and its harmonious controls strike the right balance between being light and smooth. Pilots with experience in heavier Cessna aircraft like the 182 or the Caravan series will feel right at home.
Stall performance is gentle and predictable, with a nose-high, idle power, full-aft stick stall developing as a gentle nose drop with no vices or recovery procedures required other than releasing stick pressure and leveling off. This performance is valid for both clean and dirty stalls, with the airspeed difference being 85 knots and 72 knots being good baselines with two pilots aboard, rather low for a jet. The leading edge’s vortex generators give the pilot a gentle but noticeable buffeting before those speeds are reached, a polite warning to release stick pressure and bring the throttles forwards. Controllability remains good all the way until stall speeds. A unique feature of the Cessna Citation Mustang is that its landing gear has no speed limit, which allows them to be used as additional aerodynamic brakes.
Model Maintenance Schedule
The main maintenance item on the Mustang is the propulsion system. The PW165-F engines have a rather generous time between overhauls (TBO) of 3500 hours, also requiring a hot-section inspection at every 1750 hours. Beyond that, annual scheduled maintenance for the Mustang is priced around $17000. The maintenance schedule also requires Doc 11 and Doc 32 inspections every 72 months, which cost between $15000 and $20000 in total.
Modifications and Upgrades
Due to its short production run spanning 11 years before it was replaced by the Cessna Citation M2 in the assembly lines, the Citation Mustang remained largely unchanged through the years. Cessna has only made a single major change to the aircraft with its High Sierra edition, which brought along improved cabin furnishing and enabled synthetic vision for the G1000 avionics, making an already pilot-friendly jet even more intuitive. This upgrade is a factory one for Mustangs built between 2010 and 2017, but it may also be retrofitted to older units.
Where to Find Replacement Parts
Like most Cessna aircraft, the Mustang enjoys the company’s widespread global service network. For components reliant on other companies, this business jet has an easy life with parts procurement as both Pratt & Whitney Canada and Garmin are established brands with a solid customer service reputation and a good logistics network.
Model Common Problems
Despite being a clean-sheet design, the Cessna Citation Mustang is still rooted in half a century of building business jets, which has aided it in having a rather untroubled service life since its 2006 introduction. To date, there have only been two airworthiness directives (AD) published by the FAA for the Mustang fleet, related to the aircraft’s brakes and the engine’s fuel and oil heat exchangers.
Insurance Options
According to BWI Fly, an annual policy with liability coverage will vary between $1450 and $1800 yearly for an experienced pilot with 3000 hours, of which at least 50 in the Citation Mustang. For both liability and hull coverage, costs go up to the $30800-$52600 range with the same crew qualifications.
Model Resale Value
As a new aircraft with a largely trouble-free history, most of the Cessna Citation Mustang fleet is in the hands of its original owners. There are between 8 and 10 Citations in the market at any given time, with prices ranging between $1.3 and 2.7 million based on the aircraft’s year, condition, and engine maintenance programs. Not having one can knock down the price for as much as $500000, a rather significant loss.
Owner Reviews
Cessna has shown great attention to deal with the design of the Citation Mustang avionics. A nice example of this is the built-in safety stop during start-up: with the battery online, the pilot can only trigger the engine start sequence once the front bay baggage door is locked. This is because the door is placed right by the engine and having it come open in flight brings an extreme risk of ingestion.
While ground power unit (GPU) usage is recommended whenever possible, the engines can also be started using onboard power alone. This makes trips to smaller fields possible without additional arrangements. Another feature enjoyed by owners is the fuel consumption on the ground: the navigation suite is operational without engine power, allowing the crew to draw up a flight plan and file it without wastefully burning on the ramp.
Because of its single-pilot certificate, pleasant handle and ease of operation, the Cessna Citation Mustang is rightfully hailed as the ideal introductory business jet for private owners. Its relatively modest range makes it perfect for the distances usually flown in the United States and Europe, where most destinations are within a 1000 nmi radius. Above this, as is the case with most business jets, the fuel required starts affecting useful load and balancing. It is also an owner favorite due to its incredible visibility from both the flight deck and the passenger cabin.
One dislike about the Mustang is its rather impractical checklist. Considering the simplicity of the systems and the high degree of automation, the documentation provided by Cessna is excessively thorough to the point where it defeats the purpose of a checklist – being a quick and easy document that is more practical and accessible than the full flight manual. The Garmin G1000’s crew advisory system (CAS) provides the pilot with all the relevant information, reminders, and alerts on the MFD, which defeats the purpose of an extensive document.
Similar Aircraft
Chief competitors to the Cessna Citation Mustang are the Embraer, Cirrus, and Honda light business jets. The airframe that matches the Mustang the most in price and performance is the Embraer Phenom 100, which was designed specifically as an attempt to dislodge the Citation in the market. The Phenom is marginally more expensive than the Mustang, but also brings proportional advantages in cruise speed, range, and the number of passengers, particularly in its lightened and reengined Phenom 100EV variant. The Cirrus Vision SF50 and the HondaJet bring something different to the table, with more modest performance but a smaller logistics footprint to compensate for that.
Also worth noting in the same niche as the Cessna Citation Mustang are its predecessors in the light business jet category. Previous entries in the Citation family and certain Learjet products such as the Model 35 are great fits for high-performance, low-cost jets. Downsides to these alternatives are those inherent to aircraft out of production for many years, such as progressively worsening spare parts availability and airframe wear.
Clubs You can Join
Slightly unusual for a business jet, the Cessna Citation Mustang actually does have a rather active multinational-type club. The Citation Mustang Interest Group, or CMIG for short, was founded in 2018 to represent the 29 Mustangs flying in German-speaking countries. Since its inception, the association has expanded from 12 to 30 members and expanded its scope to provide experience exchange and promote a long and prosperous future for Mustangs around the world. The association is partnered with Textron, AIRplus Maintenance, CAMP Systems, Aviapartner executive, Jeppesen, Sky Services, Jetex, and Lone Mountain Aircraft, making it a great contact point for current, prospective, and previous Citation Mustang owners.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Does the Cessna Citation Mustang have a toilet?
Answer: Yes. The aircraft is fitted with a toilet, though the facilities are rather primitive and often referred to as fit for ’emergency’ use by pilots.
Question: How much does a Citation Mustang cost?
Answer: Between $1.3 and $2.7 million, depending on the aircraft’s age, state, and maintenance situation.
Question: Is the Cessna Mustang single-pilot?
Answer: Yes. Like many very light jets, the Citation Mustang can be flown by a single pilot thanks to its streamlined avionics based on the Garmin G1000 suite.
Question: Is the Citation Mustang safe?
Answer: Yes. The aircraft was developed for and certified under Part 23, the same safety standards that apply to larger passenger aircraft. This requires the Citation Mustang to have redundancies for essential systems, which make it a very safe aircraft to fly aboard and own.
Question: How many seats does a Citation Mustang have?
Answer: The Cessna Citation Mustang has seats for one pilot and five passengers.
Question: Does the Cessna Citation Mustang have a toilet?
Answer: Yes. The aircraft is fitted with a toilet, though the facilities are rather primitive and often referred to as fit for ’emergency’ use by pilots.
Question: How much does a Citation Mustang cost?
Answer: Between $1.3 and $2.7 million, depending on the aircraft’s age, state, and maintenance situation.
Question: Is the Cessna Mustang single-pilot?
Answer: Yes. Like many very light jets, the Citation Mustang can be flown by a single pilot thanks to its streamlined avionics based on the Garmin G1000 suite.
Question: Is the Citation Mustang safe?
Answer: Yes. The aircraft was developed for and certified under Part 23, the same safety standards that apply to larger passenger aircraft. This requires the Citation Mustang to have redundancies for essential systems, which make it a very safe aircraft to fly aboard and own.
Question: How many seats does a Citation Mustang have?
Answer: The Cessna Citation Mustang has seats for one pilot and five passengers.
Research Citations
https://www.pilotweb.aero/aircraft/flight-tests/flight-test-cessna-citation-mustang-6277002
https://www.flyingmag.com/pilot-reports/jets/putting-cessna-mustang-work/
https://www.airplaneprebuy.com/067
https://www.cmig.online/en/partner.html
https://bwifly.com/cessna-ce-510-mustang-insurance-cost/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Citation_Mustang
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