1981 Cessna 551 Citation II/SP for Sale (N5TR)
Sold
Available now: 2001 Citation Bravo — $2,300,000
Aircraft Specifications
- Asking Price
- Sold
- Year
- 1981
- Model
- Cessna 551 Citation II/SP
- Registration
- N5TR
Consultant's Notes
The short version
A 1981 Cessna 551 Citation II/SP, registration N5TR. Two Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D engines, CE-500 type rating with single-pilot authorisation.
This aircraft has been sold. What follows is about the cheapest way into jet ownership, which is roughly what an early Citation II/SP represents — and about the specific ways that route goes wrong.
The entry price is not the barrier people think it is
An airframe of this vintage can be acquired for less than a well-equipped single-engine turboprop, sometimes for less than a new light aircraft. That fact draws a steady stream of buyers into the market, and it is genuinely true.
What is also true is that the acquisition price is the smallest of the numbers involved, and the gap between "can afford to buy" and "can afford to operate" is where most first-time jet owners get hurt.
The recurring costs on a forty-year-old light jet do not scale down with the purchase price. Insurance, hangarage, recurrent training, scheduled inspections and engine reserves cost approximately what they cost regardless of what you paid for the aircraft. An owner who spends their entire budget on acquisition has bought an aircraft they cannot fly.
The honest test before buying at this end of the market: work out your annual operating cost for the hours you actually intend to fly, and confirm you can carry it comfortably in a year when something unexpected happens. If that number only works in a perfect year, the aircraft is too much aircraft.
What the "/SP" means, and what it does not
The 551 is a Citation II certified for single-pilot operation. For an owner-operator that removes a second salary, or the problem of finding a second crew member for an early departure. Over a few hundred hours a year it is usually a larger saving than fuel.
What it does not do is guarantee that you will be allowed to fly it alone.
Single-pilot operation requires the CE-500 type rating with the single-pilot authorisation, and — the harder gate in practice — an insurer willing to write the policy. Underwriters look at total time, time in type and recurrent training. A pilot new to jets is frequently quoted a two-crew requirement, or a mentor-pilot requirement, for the first year or more. That changes the operating cost materially and it is the most common unpleasant surprise on this type.
Get a written insurance quote for the specific pilot who will fly the aircraft, before you commit. Not an estimate, not a general indication — a quote. It takes days and it can change the whole decision.
Age, at this vintage, is the real variable
An early-eighties airframe has had four decades to be looked after well or badly, and the difference is not visible from the ramp.
Corrosion is driven by where the aircraft lived and whether it was hangared, not by how much it flew. Low hours on an aircraft of this age is neutral information at best. A logbook showing continuous, documented maintenance under one or two long-term owners is worth considerably more than a low number on the tach.
The same applies to the engines. On aircraft of this generation an hourly engine programme is frequently absent, which means a hot section or an overhaul arrives as a single invoice. On an aircraft whose purchase price is modest, that invoice can approach or exceed what you paid. This is normal for the type and it is not a reason to avoid it — it is a reason to hold a reserve rather than to be surprised.
What to verify on any 551
A written insurance quote for your pilot. First, because it can end the conversation before anything else matters.
Engine hours, position against intervals, and programme status. Whether the quoted hours are total time since new, and whether anything covers the next event.
Corrosion and basing history. Where it lived, whether it was hangared, and what a proper structural inspection finds.
Inspection status, as the actual report with dates and hours.
ADS-B Out and RVSM. Installed, certified and current for the airspace you will use. Without RVSM you are capped below the efficient altitudes on every leg.
Confirmation that it is genuinely a 551, not a 550 being described loosely. The single-pilot certification is the reason to buy this variant; confirm it from the serial number and the paperwork.
Damage history and title, in writing, plus your own search.
A pre-purchase inspection at a facility you choose. Not the seller's. At this age, spend properly on it — it is the cheapest money in the transaction.
Who this suits
An owner-pilot with the rating, the insurance and a realistic operating budget, flying one- to two-hour legs from airports where runway length rules out larger equipment. A buyer who values a documented maintenance history over a low hour count.
Who it does not suit
Anyone whose budget is consumed by the purchase. Anyone assuming single-pilot certification means single-pilot permission. Anyone who needs range. And anyone treating a low asking price as good luck rather than as information about what comes next.
What is currently available
The aircraft listed on this site today is a 2001 Citation Bravo, serial number 550-0995 — a considerably later aircraft than a 1981 551, with PW530A engines enrolled on Power Advantage+ with full coverage and maintenance tracked on CESCOM.
It is a two-crew aircraft, so it does not answer the single-pilot case. What it answers is the reserve problem described above: the engines are covered, which makes the cost of ownership a known number rather than a wager. Its full specification and assessment are on its own page.
Further aircraft are due into inventory. When enquiring, say whether single-pilot operation is a requirement or a preference — it narrows the field immediately.