Even those within the company call the Mustang the Mustang,
not a VLJ, says Cessna Aircraft's chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton,
underscoring the campaign to differentiate the aircraft from the raft of small,
light and mostly twin-engine jets that are emerging on the scene.
"We took the airplane to Oshkosh and gave the world a chance
to see the Mustang, the Eclipse and the Adams products all together on the
ramp, and the reaction was what we were hoping for—the Mustang is certainly
different from the other two. It is an evolution of the Citation family, which
is why we called it the Citation Mustang. I think it's now starting to be
accepted that that is exactly what it is—a smaller Citation," Pelton tells Show
News.
That realization will help Cessna position it as a step-up entry
to the Citation family, a move reinforced by the fact that the whole of
Cessna's single-engine propeller line now comes standard with versions of the
same Garmin G1000 avionics as the Mustang, making pilot transition easier.
Pelton believes the Mustang's success will depend partly on
Cessna's ability to leverage into the jet its large existing base of
single-engine operators. "We continue to look at what more we can be doing with
our single-engine markets, how can we position products that move people up
into the Mustang."
A major factor, he believes, is the barriers the insurance
companies are going to place on new jet pilots.
"We have signed an agreement with FlightSafety International
to be our training provider, along with providing mentoring for pilots. We are
working very closely with a large group of insurance underwriters to try to
understand what types of demands they will insist upon so we can accurately
address them to help open up the market," he says.
Pelton does not see a single-engine jet in Cessna's future.
"I think probably the larger market demand is for single-engine turboprops," he
explained, adding he is a little concerned the single jet will have some
serious performance shortfalls compared with the turboprop in operating out of
smaller airports.
The Mustang, in contrast, will carry FAR Part 25 transport
category airport performance certification, even though it may or may not be
required for aircraft type certification for very light jets. "That's one
reason the Citation family has such an excellent safety record," he says.
