1976 Cessna 500 Citation I en Venta (N551GB)
Vendido
Disponibles ahora: 2001 Citation Bravo — $2,300,000
Especificaciones de la Aeronave
- Precio Solicitado
- Vendido
- Year
- 1976
- Model
- Cessna 500 Citation I
- Registration
- N551GB
Notas del consultor
The short version
A 1976 Cessna 500 Citation I, registration N551GB. Two Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D engines, CE-500 type rating.
This aircraft has been sold. The page stays up because the Model 500 is where the entire Citation line begins, and understanding it explains why the family works the way it does — and why the earliest examples are the cheapest jets on the market.
The aircraft that created the category
When Cessna introduced the Model 500, the prevailing idea of a business jet was fast, swept-wing, long-runway and crewed by two professionals. The 500 went the other way deliberately: a straight wing, modest speed, and the ability to operate from the kind of runway that until then had belonged to piston twins and turboprops.
The industry was not universally impressed. It was slower than the alternatives, and it was said so at the time.
It also outsold them, comprehensively, and it created the light jet category that the Citation II, S/II, V, Bravo and Ultra were all built on. Every straight-wing Citation that followed is a development of the argument the 500 made first: that most business flying is short, from small airports, and that access matters more than cruise speed.
That argument is still the reason to buy any aircraft in this family today.
What that means for a buyer now
The 500 is the oldest and cheapest way to own a jet, and the numbers involved genuinely surprise people. Acquisition costs at this end of the market are lower than many single-engine aircraft.
The costs that follow are not lower in proportion. This is the central fact and the rest of the page is about it.
Age dominates everything. An aircraft built in 1976 has had nearly fifty years of storage, ownership and maintenance decisions applied to it. Whether it was hangared, where it was based, and whether one owner kept it properly for a long stretch matter far more than the hour count. Corrosion is the risk that ends projects at this vintage, and it correlates with environment, not utilisation.
Support is thinner than for later models. The JT15D engine is well supported and that is not the concern. Airframe-specific parts for the earliest serials, and support for legacy avionics, are a different matter. Some equipment from this era is out of production and out of repair support; when it fails, replacement is the only path and it is not always a small one.
Compliance costs are real. ADS-B Out, RVSM and current pitot-static and transponder checks apply to a 1976 aircraft exactly as they apply to a new one. An aircraft that has not had that work done is not cheap — it is an aircraft with mandatory invoices attached, and they should be in your offer.
When an early Citation is the right answer
When the flying is short-leg, the utilisation is modest, the buyer has a maintenance relationship they trust, and — this is the part that decides it — there is a genuine reserve behind the purchase.
Owners who do well at this end of the market treat the acquisition as the small part of the budget and hold real money against the first engine or inspection event. Owners who do badly spend everything on the purchase and discover the rest afterwards.
It is also a legitimate answer for an operator who wants the CE-500 type rating and the family experience at the lowest possible entry cost, with a view to moving up inside the line later. The rating carries across to every straight-wing Citation, which makes the step to a II, V or Bravo far cheaper than it would otherwise be.
What to verify on any Citation I
Corrosion, thoroughly, by someone who has seen a lot of them. At this age it is the finding that matters most and the one a cosmetic refresh most easily hides.
Basing and storage history. Where it lived and whether it was hangared, across decades — not just the current owner.
Engine hours since new, position against intervals, and programme status. An hourly programme is unusual at this vintage; know when the next event falls.
Airworthiness directive and service bulletin compliance for that specific serial, which on the earliest serials is a longer list than on later ones.
Avionics: what is installed, what is certified, and what is still supported. ADS-B Out and RVSM status specifically.
Inspection status, as the actual report, with dates and hours.
Damage history and title, in writing, plus an independent search.
A pre-purchase inspection at a facility of your choosing, and at this age a thorough one is the best money in the transaction. A seller who resists it has answered the question — ourselves included.
Who it suits
A buyer who wants the lowest possible entry into jet ownership, understands that the entry is the small number, and has a shop they trust. An operator who wants the CE-500 rating with the intention of moving up inside the Citation family.
Who it does not suit
Anyone whose budget ends at the purchase. Anyone needing modern avionics without a retrofit. Anyone needing range. And anyone who cannot get comfortable with the reality that on a fifty-year-old aircraft, the inspection findings — not the advertisement — determine what you have bought.
What is currently available
The aircraft listed on this site today is a 2001 Citation Bravo, serial number 550-0995 — twenty-five years newer than a 1976 Model 500, on the same CE-500 type rating, with PW530A engines enrolled on Power Advantage+ with full coverage and maintenance tracked on CESCOM.
It costs considerably more to buy. What it removes is the variance: the engines are covered and the maintenance history is documented and continuous. Whether that trade is worth it depends on how much uncertainty you want to own. Its full specification and assessment are on its own page.
Further aircraft are due into inventory. When enquiring, saying what reserve you hold behind the purchase is more useful than saying what you want to spend on it — it changes which aircraft are sensible.