Ireland-based Cross Aviation recently placed an order for a Citation 560 Encore. Chief pilot Frank Nolan, who manages and operates the company’s existing CJ1, explained: “We placed an order for a CJ3 but then changed our minds and ordered a 560 Encore!” He said: “The CJ3 isn’t due for delivery until early next year, but

we’ve decided to sell that

option. We’re going out to Wichita, Kansas, next week to take delivery of the 560 Encore.

“For our operations, the CJ3 wouldn’t really give us any great advantage over the current CJ1. Our main problem is passenger numbers,” he explained. “With the CJ1, we’re full most of the time and we could always do with another couple of seats.

“We need to operate in and out of short strips and with the CJ3, even though it has eight seats, as opposed to our current six, we wouldn’t be able to fill those two extra seats out of the short strip. However, with the Encore, we will be able to fill those extra seats and it will operate in and out of the short strip.”

The Encore will enter operations, hopefully in the middle of April. It

will be kept on the American register but imported into Ireland for

VAT purposes.

“We will be operating straight away within Ireland,” he said.

“Our CJ1 is up for sale at the moment so we will just be operating the Encore 560.

“We’re a corporate operation

and we operate exclusively for a particular company, carrying company personnel backwards

and forwards. That is really the

extent of our operations,” he explained. “We operate under FAA regulations, Part 91, which covers private and business travel.”

The company operates within Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe.