California Company Set To Flip a CJ2

Threshold Aviation Group of Chino, Calif., has acquired from the UK a Citation CJ2 with structural damage to its wings, the latest of the company’s intended “flips,” as COO Tom Bressan calls its practice of buying “distressed assets, aircraft that are not attractive to buyers as they sit,” and refurbishing and reselling them.

Threshold has “flipped” more than 50 aircraft this way over the past 15 years, according to the company, the latest a Europe-based Citation CJ3 refurbished and resold last year. In that aircraft, “blue juice leaked out of the toilet onto the bottom of the airplane and migrated through the wings, and according to Cessna there was extensive corrosion in the fuselage from the tail to the cockpit and parts of the wings,” Bressan said. The owner received a quote of $3 million for a factory fix. After buying and ferrying the aircraft to Chino, Threshold maintenance technicians removed the interior and de-mated the wings, using tooling company maintenance technicians designed and built specifically for the project. (Asked to comment, a Cessna spokesperson said the company “would typically not discuss specific customer details.”) After inspecting and cleaning the aircraft (“There was not any corrosion,” Bressan said) and reattaching the wings, Threshold refreshed the interior and painted the exterior. The aircraft is now sold and “back in airworthy condition with no issues,” according to Bressan.