University of North Dakota Orders Cessna Citation Mustang

Atlanta.– The University of North Dakota today announced it has ordered a Citation Mustang from Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, becoming the first flight school to order a Citation Mustang.

The school will use this entry level Citation jet for executive travel as well as flight training for undergraduate and contract students.

The university’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences (UND Aerospace) has offered aviation degrees for 40 years and is an international leader in collegiate and contract aviation education. On average, enrollment of flight students tops 1,000 and total flight training hours surpasses 100,000 each year.

“We’re excited to add a Mustang to our fleet of more than 120 aircraft,” said Bruce A. Smith, dean of UND Aerospace and president of the UND Aerospace Foundation. “We expect the Mustang to be a great recruiting tool for the school and an amazing opportunity for students as they transition from pistons and turboprops to flying jets.”

“UND is the first flight training school to order the new Citation Mustang,” said Mick Hoveskeland, Cessna’s vice president, Administration. “Students will benefit from the exposure to state-of-the-art engines and the latest in large-format glass-cockpit flight displays and integrated systems.”

The Mustang became the first of a new category of entry-level jets to achieve full certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (September 2006) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (May 2007). Twenty-seven have been delivered after assembly at Cessna’s facility in Independence, Kan., where a total of 44 Mustangs are scheduled to be delivered by year’s end. By 2009, production is expected to reach 150 per year.