Long gone are the days when Cessna Citation owners heard lines like, “Bird strikes from the rear.” Today, with over 8,000 deliveries, Cessna’s “NearJet” (as it was once called) has become the world’s bestselling business jet, and for good reason. Many of those Citations have found their way to one of Stevens’ three facilities for inspections, maintenance, or upgrades, and their owners continue to return for the expertise and valued relationships.

“Over the years, many of our customers moved up from King Airs to Citations and continued to come to us for service,” explains Gary Brown, Stevens’ Avionics Manager at the company’s Nashville/Smyrna, Tennessee location  “They already trusted us to do great work, so we started increasing our array of Citation services to meet their needs. It has been a natural, and very successful, progression.”

Today, Stevens’ list of service offerings includes pretty much any type of heavy to light inspection, repair, refurbishment, or cockpit/cabin upgrade that a 500 or 600 series Citation owner could ever need.

A thoroughbred with stripes

Private and business jet owners aren’t the only operators who appreciate the reliability, efficiency, and operational value that Citations deliver. The U.S. Army and U.S. Customs and Border Protection operate UC-35s (Citation Ultras and Bravos), and they trust Stevens to keep those aircraft in service-ready condition. 

“We’ve been a U.S. government repair depot working on Citations for nearly 20 years,” says Jim Williams, senior vice president of government operations at Stevens’ Greenville, S.C location. “Our technicians provide everything from paint and interior, avionics, to major airframe modifications and repairs—and we do it on time, on budget, and on target”.

“Our services also extend to advanced avionics and communications systems upgrades like secure GPS and Mode 5 IFF [Identification Friend or Foe] transponders,” he adds. “As you might imagine, the technical and security requirements our government customers place on us are significant. Our Greenville location is AS9110 and GFR8210.C certified, which benefits both the military/government and civilian operations.”

Everyone at Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems is proud that the same level of quality assuredness extends to every facility, process, and team member.

“All our technicians are factory-trained at FlightSafety across all of the airframes we work,” explains Travis Fleshman, General Manager at Stevens’ Greenville location “Our three facilities, as well as our AOG teams, are also authorized service providers [TAP Authorized] for Williams International FJ44-series engines. We worked hard for that and we’re proud to have achieved that level of trust from Williams. It’s a great benefit for many of our customers.”

On the avionics side, he says, the company’s technicians receive continual training on all the brands they sell, install, and service. Cockpit and cabin avionics upgrades are a growing part of Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems’ portfolio.

A growing stable of show ponies

While all Citation owners want their aircraft to deliver the best reliability and performance, a growing number are putting greater emphasis on paint and interior design—areas where Stevens’ expertise shines.

“I’ve noticed recently that owners are spending more money on upgrading to incredible interior finishes and have designed fancier paint schemes,” says Denise DeYoung, Paint and Interior Design Manager for Stevens. “Our design team has the experience with Citations to help make the process easier, which means the end product will be better, and the owner much happier.”

She explains that this is another area where Stevens’ long-standing relationships with its customers provide a big benefit.

“Many of these customers are doing their second or third airplane with us,” DeYoung says. “They come back because they have seen our attention to detail and the difference it makes to the quality of the final product. They know they’ll get a better experience with us.”

Stevens Aerospace — more than 30 years of Citation technical expertise, alongside many other well-respected airframes, managed in a customer-focused practical way, all with a personal touch. For more information, come see us at StevensAerospace.com/SIBA2023 or click the QR code at right.