Breathing New Life into Older Citation Jets

Textron Aviation’s Citations are the most popular business jets in the world, having been in production since 1972 with more than 8,000 aircraft produced so far. Many of these aircraft have plenty of valuable life left in them, mainly because business jets fly relatively little compared with airliners. Some owners aren’t motivated to buy a new airplane but would like to bring their jet up to modern standards.

A company called CitationPartners is doing just that, offering to breathe new life into existing Citation Excels in a program called Citation Excel Eagle. It involves an extensive refurbishment and upgrade and includes new Garmin G5000 avionics, fresh paint, and a completely new custom interior. BJT sister publication Aviation International News visited Yingling Aviation in Wichita, Kansas, to see the results firsthand.