CitationPartners Transform Legacy Jet into Excel Eagle

A trio of former Cessna Aircraft Company executives has joined forces to launch a program to rehabilitate and upgrade legacy Cessna Citation Excel jets, first certified in April 1998 and precursors to the Citation XLS that debuted in 2004. The group, CitationPartners LLC, based in Wichita, Kansas, has christened the refurbished mid-sized jets “Citation Excel Eagles.”

Former Cessna chairman Russ Meyer, former Cessna CEO Gary Hay, and former Citation CJ3 and Mustang program manager Russ Meyer III will oversee the transformation, which includes an update to the Garmin G5000 integrated flight deck up front, and a new interior and exterior. A long list of parts and upgraded systems will be installed by the Citation Service Center at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower Airport (KICT). Longtime Cessna partner and parts-and-service expert Yingling Aviation will install the G5000 and complete additional work on the Excel Eagles to finish out the total package.

Every Excel Eagle will undergo the same Dash-12 production flight test regime as previous Cessna Citations, according to CitationPartners. Because of the proposed rigor of the program, the Eagle Excels will qualify for the Cessna ProParts program from Textron Aviation at a lower hourly rate than other Citation Excels. A similar support program for the Pratt & Whitney PW500 engines covers scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, hot-section inspections, overhaul, and life-limited parts without an enrollment fee.

The group plans to deliver up to one Excel Eagle each month starting in May 2021. The introductory price is $3.45 million, which will increase on August 1 to $3.59 million. Orders must be received by March 31 to qualify for the incentivized price. If a customer places an order with at least five months’ lead time, they will be able to spec the interior and exterior.