N438AD

This entry covers airframe N438AD, a Cessna 650 Citation III built by Cessna in 1985 with serial number 650-0094. The airframe is registered in the US and is owned by the Louisiana-based corporate entity LANDING GEAR 7 LLC, located in Bossier City, LA. The operator/home base is tied to the owner's location in Bossier City; records indicate corporate ownership rather than individual private use. Public registry actions for this airframe have been limited to corporate registration details rather than frequent title transfers or notable incidents. Condition and valuation notes are limited to registry descriptors; maintenance history and appraisals are not published in the supplied data.

The cabin of N438AD is outfitted in a typical executive configuration accommodating 8–12 passengers with an approximate cabin volume of ~422 cu ft and baggage space of ~61 cu ft; the specific interior finish for this airframe is not detailed beyond the standard executive layout. Original avionics fit for this model included a Sperry/Honeywell SPZ-650 flight director/autopilot package and Collins Pro Line II–style radios with Honeywell weather radar, consistent with typical factory installations of the era and likely reflected in this airframe's equipment as delivered. Typical missions for this Citation III include medium–range corporate travel and charter operations within a roughly 2,038 nm mission radius at cruise speeds near 423 kts, operating out of the owner's base in Bossier City for regional and transcontinental hop profiles. Maintenance considerations follow older-generation turbofan requirements for the TFE731 series and common Pro Line avionics support pathways.

The Cessna 650 Citation III occupies a high-speed, high‑altitude mid-size business jet niche with a service ceiling of 51,000 ft, offering competitive cruise speed among late-1970s and 1980s designs. Competitors in its era included larger Citation variants and contemporaneous mid-size jets from manufacturers such as Learjet and British Aerospace. Demand for Citation IIIs among buyers and charter operators is driven by performance and cabin flexibility, while resale and maintenance considerations hinge on TFE731 engine cycles, avionics modernisation needs (given original SPZ-650/Pro Line II–era equipment), and airframe refurbishment to meet current charter expectations.