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Cessna’s Citation M2 business jet under assembly

Jan. 10, 2013, Wichita, Kan. - Cessna Aircraft has started assembly of its Citation M2 light business jet at its plant in Independence.


Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/01/10/2630693/cessnas-citation-m2-light-business.html#storylink=cpy


January 10, 2013  By The Wichita Eagle

The first two M2 aircraft have started down the assembly line at the
plant, which also assembles Cessna’s single-engine line of aircraft and
the Citation Mustang business jet.

 

The forward and aft cabin
assemblies and wings are built on Cessna’s assembly line in Wichita,
then delivered to the plant for final assembly. The planes will be
painted, interiors installed, tested and delivered to customers from the
site.

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The first M2 is expected to roll off the assembly line in April.

 

The
first delivery of the $4.395 million airplane is slated for third
quarter of this year. It will be used as a demonstration airplane at
Cessna.

 

“Everything is clicking right on schedule, which is really
nice as you start up a new program like that,” said Brian Rohloff,
business team leader for the M2 program and the Citation Mustang.
“Working as a team has been really good.”

 

Independence was chosen
for the work for several reasons, he said. For one, the plant already
performs final assembly on the smaller Citation Mustang business jet.
The M2 is a natural next step up for Mustang owners.

 

“The M2 was
born out of the Mustang customer base,” Rohloff said, designed for those
who want a bigger and faster airplane with more range.

 

The company also looked at production capacity and costs.

 

The
biggest challenge was getting the site ready to take on the work,
Rohloff said. It had to work on integrating the jet into the facility.

 

It
reconfigured the Mustang assembly to make space by leaning out the
manufacturing process of the Mustang and combining assembly positions.
The company also began a “team building” process so the same group of
employees will be able to follow the airplane as it moves through
several positions in the assembly process, said Dick Friesen, Cessna
value stream manager for the Mustang and M2 in Independence.

 

M2 and Mustang final assembly will move down the same line. And employees will be able to work on both models.

 

The M2 has been well received, Rohloff said.

 

“The response … has been extremely good,” he said. “We are sold out this year and most of next year.”

 

Design for the M2 was developed with customers’ input, he said.

 

The
M2 will seat six passengers and two crew members. It will have a
maximum cruise rate of 400 knots with a 1,300 nautical mile range. It
will feature the Garmin G3000 avionics suite.


Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/01/10/2630693/cessnas-citation-m2-light-business.html#storylink=cpy

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