Sierra Industries of Uvalde, Texas, has delivered its first Super II XR-modified Cessna Citation IIs to Europe. Patrick and Paul Tiba of France’s Airlec Air Espace took delivery of the airplane for use as a state-of-the-art air ambulance.
The airplane is fitted out with twin stretchers and Sierra’s 36-inch-wide door mod, plus Sierra’s extended-range fuel cells and dual LifePort patient handling and medevac systems. The airplane can be reconfigured with an eight-passenger executive interior. Airlec Air Espace plans to use the II XR throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia.
The Sierra II XR features a wide range of upgrades to the basic Citation II. Chief among them is the replacement of the stock Pratt & Whitney JT15D engines with more powerful, FADEC-controlled, 2,820-pound-thrust Williams FJ44-3 engines. Adding the extended-range fuel cells gives the II XR a maximum range of 2,100 nm as well as better fuel efficiency and times to climb. Reduced carbon emissions are another benefit of the FJ44-3s. Takeoff runway requirements under hot and high (5,000 feet, ISA +20 degrees Celsius) conditions are reduced by 20 percent compared to the stock airplane.
Sierra has been modifying early-model Citations since the late 1990s, when its Eagle II and Stallion programs were introduced.
AOPA ePublishing staff
Related Articles
