WICHITA — Even billionaires don’t always buy new.
Phil Ruffin Sr. bought a used Citation X, though he hasn’t flown in it yet, to replace the Premier I he bought off the line from Raytheon Aircraft a decade ago.
“It was a nice airplane,” Ruffin says of the Premier.
It wasn’t big enough, though. So he bought the Cessna Citation from the head of Glock, the gun manufacturer.
“It was his personal airplane, Ruffin says. “Had very few hours on it.”
Only 1,800 to be exact, which Ruffin says is like new.
The asking price was $11 million, though that’s not what he paid.
So did he get a good deal?
“Well, it was just a good airplane. … I think it was an OK deal.”
Ruffin says he likes that the plane is the fastest noncommercial aircraft he could buy. It travels almost Mach .92, which is about 700 miles an hour. Ruffin says he can make it from his Las Vegas home to Wichita in an hour and 45 minutes.
The extra space doesn’t necessarily mean his Wichita family members won’t still be flying coach on Allegiant from Vegas, where they’ve previously been spied.
“Sometimes the plane is busy. Let me put it that way.”