Amy Wilder is a private pilot with more than two decades of experience as a writer and editor in a career spanning journalism, marketing, and communications. 
She has worked in aviation journalism since 2023, combining a lifelong passion for flight and a love of the aviation community with a penchant for storytelling. As a licensed pilot, she brings firsthand insight to the stories she covers, lending an authentic, on-the-ground perspective to industry coverage.
She holds a Master of Arts in Eastern Classics and a Master of Arts in Liberal Arts, both from St. John&#039;s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, along with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Culture.

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Cessna Citation 560XL, Excel, XL, XLS, and Ascend

Amy Wilder

Aircraft modification company CitationPartners has two slots left in 2026 for its Excel/XLS Eagle transformation program, reserved for fourth quarter financial deliveries, the company said. The program refurbishes preowned Cessna Citation Excel/XLS twinjets with updated avionics, interiors, and paint.
CitationPartners said process improvements and cost-reduction initiatives have cut transformation downtime by 20% while producing savings for customers. The U.S. company is offering discounted inspections for customers who elect concurrent DOC inspections and repairs.
The Eagle program was founded by former Cessna chairman Russ Meyer, his son Russ Meyer III, and former Cessna executives Gary Hay and Joe Hepburn, all of whom worked on the original Excel program. The upgrade replaces a preowned Excel/XLS’s avionics, adds a custom interior and a full repaint, and enrolls the airplane in Textron Aviation’s ProParts hourly maintenance cost program.
<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2023-11-01/eagle-program-keeps-citation-excels-flying">In 2023, CitationPartners</a> suggested the Eagle as a lower-cost alternative for buyers who want the Excel’s qualities without the roughly $17 million price of the new Ascend variant. The full upgrade at the time was priced at $1.55 million.

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

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Cessna Citation 560XL, Excel, XL, XLS, and Ascend

Citation Partners

Textron Aviation

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