100th Cessna Citation X Clears Assembly Line
The 100th Cessna Citation X has come off the assembly line, just three
years after the aircraft received FAA certification.
When the aircraft got its 1996 approval, Cessna chairman and CEO Russ
Meyer lauded it as "a precedent-setting airplane," due to its
"sophisticated aerodynamicsand advanced airfoil." Cessna's intent
was to build the world's fastest business jet, which, with a maximum cruise
speed of 0.92 Mach, it still is.
The Citation X is also the largest and fastest of the Citation line.
Cessna delivered its first Citation X to golfer and long-time Cessna
customer Arnold Palmer in 1996. It was Palmer's sixth Citation and, to
date, he has accumulated 700 hours on the aircraft. By comparison, the
highest time Citation X had amassed was 3,516 hours at the end of August.
Cessna began producing the Citation in 1972 and is preparing to deliver
the 3,000th aircraft in the Citation line here in Atlanta. The 100th Citation
X is to be delivered during this fourth quarter.
NBAA 1999, Atlanta, Ga.
