(Me and the Mustang I flew to Independence, on Cessna tarmac at Wichita)
The Citation Mustang production is located at Cessna's facility in Independence, Kansas and we flew their demonstrator Mustang from Wichita to Independence. The weather has been real nasty in that neck of the woods and as this goes into posting, the weather has worsened and large parts of the US midwest is literally underwater. Heavy rains has caused extensive flooding. When I was in Wichita last week, there was enough indication that the weather was going to get worse. The good thing is that we flew over to Independence when it was still marginal.
(On the way to Independence,taxiing out of the Cessna tarmac)
Our Mustang is painted Sterling silver and Blue on the outside and Sterling interior. It's new Garmin 1000 all glass cockpit suite is a cinch to use. The large panels PFD and MFD makes it easy to use and bring up everything from weather radar to Terrain alert and Traffic Alert system. Moving maps make it easy for navigation. There are several nice features that include airport situational maps that can be used to navigate around an airport easily. A little airplane pictogram on the airport map moves along taxiways and indicates actual airplane position on the airport.
(Our Mustang is serial number 70-at the paint shop they pencilled it on the masking)
(At the paint shop-our Mustang)
The Citation Mustang is a short take off and landing airplane. It's twin Pratt and Whitney jet engines allow good cruising speeds of 340 Knots and the airplane can make a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet. I made friends with a good guy who delivers Mustangs World-wide and also acts as a FlightSafety instructor. Andre' and his lovely wife Sarah are good people to be friends with and it was fun talking about aviation experiences. The day I returned from the Independence trip, Andre' was kind enough to take me to the FlightSafety Simulator for the Mustang and demonstrate the same. My experience with the simulator was a fun one, Andre' simulated single engine failures for me during take off and I had to bring it back in for a single engine landing. The Sim is actually a lot more sensitive that the real airplane. This is supposedly an FAA requirement to ensure that pilots can handle and skiddish situation in the airplane. The Mustang sim at FlightSafety is a new technology full motion three axis facility that operates on screw jacks rather than the hydraulic ones used before in other simulators. This is smoother and more real in feeling when the sim is operated.
(Our new cockpit and unfinished interior)
I'm headed back to Independence sometime towards the delivery date. The delivery of a new airplane comes with it's paperwork and ceremony. Photo sessions and handing over, acceptance flights and other fun stuff becomes a part of the process. Needless to say, yours truly is as excited as a 10 year old with a new airplane toy. I plan on adding more airplane to the fleet this year and the next. Back in Singapore, it's back to business and this week will see me going to Jakarta and Bangkok. There's loads of stuff to do in preparation for the arrival of our new airplane and it's tough to find time to blog. However, I will blog about the delivery of the airplane as it happens and subsequently during the ferry flight. Cheers.
14 comments:
Fabulous! The 10 year old kid in me got excited just reading the post... I can imagine your inner 10yeard old's excitement being in the thick of all the action! Way to go, sir!
Fabulous Capt Anup. Thanks for more exciting blogs to come in your delivery of Cessna Mustang. U back in Singapore already?
Thanks Nikhil, will call you on the next trip out.
Thanks Colin, I'm in JKT and BKK till Monday 31st. Will be back in SIN Monday afternoon.
Back here, we plan purchases of scooters and cars... out there, you actually buy Yachts and airplanes! Quite marvelous! Way to go!
I am looking forward to your blogs on teh pcik up and the long delivery flight. I have a mustang on order for late 2010 delivery.
Thanks Dinu, you are always sending out good wishes to me, it helps a lot. Your simplicity and honesty is a source of inspiration to me and helps me keep grounded.
Gene, thanks for your comment. Where is your Mustang headed to? I hope my articles help.
Cheers.
Anup,
It looks like your Mustang will be a canidate for getting a great upgrade soon after you get it. See below.
Chuck
Garmin Introduces Synthetic-vision System
Garmin announced yesterday that it has received FAA supplemental type certification for a synthetic-vision system it is incorporating into the G1000 cockpit. Called SVT (synthetic vision technology), the upgrade uses GPS-derived aircraft position and internal topographical databases to create 3-D images on the G1000’s large XGA displays. Garmin said SVT presents terrain and obstacles that pose a threat to the aircraft in TAWS alert coloring and that TCAS-like traffic targets on the display change in size relative to range. SVT also incorporates highway-in-the-sky (HITS) guidance cues that depict “flying rectangles” showing the intended course. The system uses GPS and ILS signals to draw the HITS boxes, which pilots can toggle on or off using a menu softkey. Cessna and Diamond Aircraft were the first aircraft makers to publicly commit to the technology. Cessna said SVT will be added first to the Citation Mustang as an option later this year and as an option for all other G1000 models within a year. Diamond is offering SVT to buyers of the DA40 piston single at a price of less than $10,000. Garmin said SVT is also expected to be available to buyers of the G1000 King Air C90 cockpit retrofit next year.
Thanks Chuck, yes it is a fantastic piece of technology and an exciting upgrade, available later this year for retrofit.
Capt.Murthy,
Did you actually fly the Mustang? How did you like it? I've heard that it is approved for single pilot operation and was wondering if operators who include this airplane (and other VLJs) in their fleets might take advantage of that; cheaper to pay one pilot than two.
Also, are you registering it in Singapore before flying it out? Thanks!
It's a great little airplane to fly. Single pilot operations in the US (Part 91 and 135) allowed. Here in SE Asia, all commercial ops must be with two pilots. Only private flights may be done with single pilot. So, there's not much of an advantage. Were brining it on N registration and then switch after arrival.
My Mustang will be based in Seattle, WA.
Gene, great. I love Seattle, including the rain! I'm off to Wichita on Sunday and delivery is on 23rd. I'll keep you advised. I'll try and blog on the ferry to Singapore, that's a long flight.
Fantastic, you must be really excited!
Good luck on the trip and keep us posted.
gene
Very interesting blog. I would like to contact you. Could you please send me a mail to arunas at gmail.com
thanks
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