After sweeping the boards at NBAA in 1998 with the unveiling of no fewer than four new models, Cessna has returned this year to report on steady progress and increasing business. The Wichita company now has a backlog of over 1,000 orders, worth some $4.25 billion. It will have three newly-certified models next year and expects to deliver 250 Citation jets in the same period.
Cessna is now building one Citation Bravo every four days and approaching the stage where it can complete one Citation Excel every three days, chairman and CEO Russ Meyer said here Tuesday. "We expect that rate to continue for a long time," he said.

Senior Cessna marketing VP Roger White gave a brief overview of some key Cessna business jet programs:

* The CJ1, described as "a worthy successor to the phenomenal CitationJet." Cessna will start CJ1 deliveries in the next few months, all with the Collins Pro Line 21 digital avionics fit. Certification of Pro Line 21 package for the CJ1 is expected this coming Friday, October 15.

* In response to customer calls for more range, speed and seats in their CitationJets, Cessna has introduced the CJ2. Development is moving ahead of schedule--the prototype made its maiden flight this past April 27 -- three days early -- and the test program has now accumulated 350 hours. FAA certification tests began in August and a CJ2 is on show in the static display at PDK . Work on the first production aircraft began in June and deliveries will begin soon after certification is obtained in the second quarter of 2000. CJ2 orders now stand at over 120.

* The Citation V, the Ultra, and the Encore, according to White, have been the most successful business jets of the 1990s, outselling their nearest competitor by three or four to one. The prototype of the developed Citation Encore -- with new trailing link undercarriage, a heated wing leading-edge and PW535A engines -- has now flown over 700 hours. Several changes have been made to the design, including a longer wing, relocated forward fuel tank bulkhead in the wing, and added undercarriage fairings. These changes have introduced a "modest delay" in certification which is now scheduled for the second quarter of 2000.

* The all-new Sovereign, announced last year, will be the first completely new mid-size jet to be introduced since the Citation III, says Cessna. Wind-tunnel testing is almost complete and Cessna is investing heavily on test systems to prove all the other elements of the design long before flight test. The Honeywell Primus Epic ICAS avionics system has been selected for the new jet. Design refinements such as the addition of Epic, a new cabin entry door and other JAA-mandated changes have pushed back the Sovereign program, but Cessna still expects to have the aircraft certified in mid-2003 and in service before the end of the year. More than 100 Sovereigns are now on order.
Cessna will deliver its 3,000th Citation jet in November 1999. The next milestone will be the hand-over of the 100th Citation X in December. The 50th Citation Excel will be handed over "in a few weeks," the 500th Citation 560 delivery is imminent, as is that of the 100th Bravo. Earlier this year Cessna delivered the 350th CitationJet.

Against speculation that Cessna might be about to reveal yet more new aircraft projects, Russ Meyer gave just a tiny clue as to where the company was looking next--and what the timescale was. A clear gap in the product line exists between Cessna's $500,000 single-engined aircraft and a $3 million Citation. Meyer chose his words carefully when he acknowledged that "Cessna is continuing to look at a new product range between our large singles and our jets and maybe we'll have one of those 'bells and whistles' shows at NBAA next year."