First Cessna Mustang for Western Australia
Aeromil Pacific has delivered Western Australia’s first Cessna Citation Mustang to a Perth based customer, bringing the regional Mustang population to five, with another five now ordered for Maroochydore-based Singapore Flying College, further orders, and strong interest from prospective owners.
The newest Mustang, VH-EJT, goes to a private owner but will be operated on charter by Perth-based Maxem Aviation, a specialist in turboprop and jet charter, corporate and airline flight operations.
The Mustang was ferried by Aeromil Pacific’s Director of Flight Operations Captain Phill Laffer from Wichita through Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, then finally to landfall at Port Hedland and on to Perth.
The delivery continues the strong market performance of the Mustang in the region for Aeromil Pacific, the exclusive authorised sales representative for Cessna’s Mustang and the range of Citation corporate jets.
Mustang’s relatively low purchase and direct operating costs now bring jet charter travel within the reach of more modest corporate travel budgets. Aeromil Pacific Managing Director Steve Padgett said, “The Citation Mustang is not only an exciting aircraft from a pilot’s perspective but also from an owner’s point of view. It is designed, engineered and priced to make jet aircraft ownership very real for a new generation of aviators. It flies more than two miles higher than competing turbo props and at 340 knots, is considerably faster, making it the ideal aircraft for operations in the West.”
The Mustang delivered in Perth is the first in the region equipped with new Garmin G1000 glass flight deck synthetic vision technology (SVT). It also features cabin class seating and a range of 1,150 nautical miles (2,130km), meaning it can reach almost anywhere in WA nonstop from Perth. The Mustang is certified for single pilot operation and can fly at 41,000 ft (12,497 meters), above most weather and can be flown from a runway as short as 948 metres (3,110 ft).
Phil Laffer said, “The aircraft performed beyond expectations, and the SVT technology provides exceptional situational awareness in IMC [Instrument metrological conditions.] The systems are easy to operate, the handling characteristics are superb, the low fuel burns and takeoff and landing performance are unbelievable”.
