According to Cessna’s v-p of service facilities Jim Morgan, “We are dedicated to expanding our worldwide Citation product network and doubling the capacity of our Cessna-owned service facilities during the next five years.” To keep up with the service requirements for the more than 3,700-strong (and growing) fleet of Citations, Cessna is expanding its Citation Service Centers here in Orlando and back at its home in Wichita. Further expansion plans could possibly be announced by year-end as well, though not during this week’s NBAA Convention.

Here in Orlando, construction has begun on the new service center, to be located on the west side of Orlando International Airport (MCO). When completed next summer, the 185,498-sq-ft complex will replace the existing 47,275-sq-ft service center located on the same airport that serves Citation customers in the southeastern U.S. and Central and South America.

With nearly 123,000 sq ft of hangar space, the new MCO facility will be able to house all Citation models and offer a full range of inspections, repair, overhaul and additional services. Other amenities will include an expanded ramp with underground fueling facilities, a classroom for advanced employee training, a temperature- and humidity-controlled paint room, specialized inventory control areas and environmental systems and wash bays.

At its headquarters in Wichita, the company has completed major site work for its massive 447,259-sq-ft Citation Service Center. The new complex will house five maintenance bays (with further expansion possible), component repair and overhaul shops, a customer business center and office space for Cessna’s customer support center. When the new $60 million facility is completed in late 2004, the current Wichita service center will be used as a completion facility for the Citation Sovereign.

Cessna will need to hire an additional 500 to 600 service employees to staff its new Wichita center, which will operate 24/7/365. To help fulfill that lofty goal, the company is starting a “Citation Service University,” with the first class of 60 students who already possess an A&P license to begin there this fall.