Cessna Wins Icing Approval, Sets Costs for Mustang

Cessna said the FAA cleared the Citation Mustang for flight into known icing two months after the new entry-level jet received FAA type certification on September 8. “While approval for flight into icing is not required for certification of the airplane, we wanted to have this in place prior to delivering our first Mustang and in advance of this year’s major icing season,” said Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack Pelton. Meanwhile, yesterday at AOPA Expo in Palm Springs, Calif., Cessna said the estimated direct operating cost of the Mustang will be $2.06 per nm or $643.79 per flight hour while under the three-year warranty and $2.28 per nm or $714.24 per flight hour out of warranty. These estimates are based on an average speed of 313 knots, an average fuel flow of 95 gph/636.5 pph, a labor rate of $80 per hour and a fuel price of $4 per gallon.