1989 Cessna 560 Citation V/Ultra for Sale (N753MB)
Sold
Available now: 2001 Citation Bravo — $2,300,000
Aircraft Specifications
- Asking Price
- Sold
- Year
- 1989
- Model
- Cessna 560 Citation V/Ultra
- Registration
- N753MB
Consultant's Notes
The short version
A Cessna 560, registration N753MB, recorded here as a 1989 Citation V/Ultra. Straight wing, two Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D engines, CE-500 type rating.
This aircraft has been sold. What follows is about buying at the older end of a type — the early production examples, which are always the cheapest on the market and are cheap for reasons worth understanding before you write an offer.
A note on the designation. This was recorded as a "V/Ultra" with a 1989 year. The Ultra is a later aircraft than the V, so that pairing is inconsistent. We flag it rather than repeat it. On any 560, the serial number and the type certificate data sheet settle the question; the advertisement does not.
Early production is a real category
Manufacturers change things during a production run. Some changes are refinements, some are fixes, and some become service bulletins that owners of earlier serials pay to comply with. Early examples of any type therefore tend to sit at the bottom of the price range — not because they fly badly, but because the market prices in the accumulated differences.
This is not a warning against buying early production. Plenty of early-serial aircraft are excellent, and the discount is often larger than the actual difference in cost of ownership. It is a warning against buying one *without knowing which one you have*.
The document that settles it is the serial number, checked against the applicable service bulletins and airworthiness directives for that specific range. That check is routine, a competent shop does it quickly, and the result changes what the aircraft is worth to you.
Age, not hours, is the question at this end of the market
On a low-time thirty-five-year-old airframe, buyers often relax when they see the hours. That is the wrong reading.
Hours measure use. They do not measure calendar time, and several of the things that cost money on an old aircraft are driven by the calendar rather than the tach: inspections with time limits, life-limited items with calendar components, avionics support life, seals and rubber, and above all corrosion.
Corrosion is the one to take seriously. It is driven by where the aircraft lived and how it was stored, not by how much it flew. A low-time aircraft that spent thirty years parked outside near salt water can be in worse condition than a high-time aircraft hangared inland. Neither the logbook hours nor a fresh interior tells you which one is in front of you.
So the questions are: where has it been based, for how long, and was it hangared? A seller who knows the answers and produces them without hesitation is a good sign in itself.
What "cheapest on the market" usually means
The lowest-priced example of any type is almost never a bargain waiting to be spotted. It is usually one or more of: off engine programme, approaching a major inspection, carrying deferred maintenance, needing avionics work to meet current requirements, or an early serial with outstanding compliance items.
Each of those is a number. The competent move is to find out which ones apply and add them up, then compare that total against a better-presented aircraft at a higher price. Frequently the more expensive aircraft wins the arithmetic. Occasionally it does not — and when it does not, you have found a genuine bargain, with evidence rather than hope.
What to verify on an early-production 560
Serial number, variant, and outstanding service bulletins and ADs for that serial range. First, and non-negotiable at this end of the market.
Corrosion and basing history. Where it lived, how it was stored, and what a borescope and a structural look-over find.
Engine variant, hours since new, position against intervals, and programme status. Still the largest single cost variable on the type.
Inspection status, as the actual report rather than a summary.
ADS-B Out and RVSM — installed, certified and current for the airspace you will use.
Damage history and title, in writing, plus an independent search.
A pre-purchase inspection at a facility of your choosing. On an early-serial aircraft this is not optional and the inspection should be a thorough one. A seller who resists has answered the question — and that includes us.
Who this end of the market suits
A buyer who wants the cabin and performance of a 560 at the lowest entry price and is genuinely prepared to spend on the airframe rather than only on it. An operator with a maintenance relationship they trust. Someone who will do the compliance check before the offer rather than after.
Who it does not suit
Anyone who needs the purchase to be the last large cheque. Anyone without a shop they trust. And anyone who reads a low price as good fortune rather than as information.
What is currently available
The aircraft listed on this site today is a 2001 Citation Bravo, serial number 550-0995 — a later airframe than anything discussed above, with PW530A engines enrolled on Power Advantage+ with full coverage, Pro Parts, and maintenance tracked on CESCOM.
It is not the cheapest way into a Citation, and this page is the wrong place to pretend otherwise. What it is, is an aircraft whose expensive variables are covered rather than unknown. Its full specification and assessment are on its own page.
Further aircraft are due into inventory. When enquiring, it helps to say what you are optimising for — lowest entry price or lowest total cost — because they lead to different aircraft.