Page 48 - Volume 17 Number 4

100 Citations on the Ramp 2012 ciTATion JeT PiLoTs MeeTinG BiGGesT YeTby David Millerphotos by Darin LaCrone Over 300 pilots, guests, andindustry representativestouched down under perfect autumn skies in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, gathering at the beautiful Coeur d’ Alene Resort for the 4th annual Citation Jet Pilots meeting and exposition, held September 12-16, 2012. CJP, as it’s known to its members, has become the “go to” organization for all things Citation, and this year's meeting was no exception. Made up primarily of owner pilots, the CJP convention attracted aircraft from 33 states, along with Canada, Denmark, Norway, and the UK. Presenting Platinum sponsors this year included Cessna Aircraft, Jet Support Services Inc., Jaguar and Jeppesen.EDUCATIONAccording to Ed Turley, CJP Chair- man, this year’s theme, “Safer, Smarter, Sharper”, summarizes the educational goals of the safety enhancement seminars. Included were talks on situational awareness and TERPS criteria from Erik Eliel, single pilot operations and best practices by Ray Stanton, and the use of Jeppesen charts to simplify operations from Mike Abbot. Heading up the keynote address was Scott Ernest, President and CEO of Cessna, whoreflected on the company’s 85 years of manufacturing success. The latest product announcements on the M2, Latitude, and Longitude held the audience’s attention, along with the Citation X’s top speed of .935 Mach. And who could top Burt Rutan, who held court during a luncheon talk about his numerous flying creations?STATIC DISPLAYCessna brought out the big guns on the flight line display as well, includ- ing the M2, fresh from certification flights, the CJ2+, CJ3 and CJ4, along with a Caravan and a Bell 429 manufactured by Textron’s Bell Helicopter division. Factory demon- stration pilots were on hand to answer questions and provide prospects a chance to act as pilot in commandof their “wish list” jet. In addition, Cessna’s interior design specialists cruised the display to solicit input from customers and passengers for future product offerings.WHAT'S YOUR CITATION WORTH?One of the most popular seminars was the annual presentation by Cyrus Sigari, co-founder of Jet Aviva, a leading broker of used Citations. Did you know that Brazil is now the second largest general aviation market in theworld? Owners hung on his every word and celebrated or sulked, depending upon what model they owned and when they bought it.COMPANIONS TRAININGFor the fourth year, over twenty companions attended several hours of ground school and then piloted Mustang’s, CJ1’s, 2’s and 3’s, in what has become a must-do activity for right seat pilots. Many have returned each year to brush up on their emergency procedures with a flight instructor and become more confi- dent should their skills be called upon in an emergency.VENDOR UPDATESTo answer the question, “What’s going on with my airplane?”, representatives from Garmin, Rockwell Collins, Pratt & Whitney, and Williams hosted breakout meetings with the latest in opera- tional procedures and service bulletins. In addition, Lou Seno, Chairman and CEO of JSSI, Inc., and Craig Sincock, President and CEO of Avfuel, announced major programs benefiting Citation owners. In an effort to support a wider range of legacy aircraft, the convention hosted specific briefings on the 500, 510, and 525 models.46 • TWIN & TURBINEAPRIL 2013