A report on the little-known Cessna Citation V of the Spanish Air Force

The Spanish Air Force has well-known aircraft, such as its fighters, its transport aircraft and its firefighting seaplanes.

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However, and as we already reviewed here, the Air Force also operates other lesser-known aircraft that are used in missions that are rarely talked about. Among them are the three Cessna 560 Citation V of the 403 Squadron, based in Getafe (Madrid), called TR.20 by the Air Force and which are operated by the Cartographic and Photographic Center (CECAF ), mainly in aerial photography missions, radio aid calibration and personnel transportation.

This Tuesday, Fly By Wire Aviation (I recommend you subscribe to this channel Youtube, publishes very good content) has published a video in which one of the pilots of these Citaton Vs, Lieutenant Prieto, presents this plane, explaining its characteristics and its missions and showing its interior, including a very detailed description of the cabin (the video is in Spanish, you can activate the automatic English subtitles in the bottom bar of the player):

The data of these three planes are as follows:

• TR.20-01 (403-11). It is an aircraft built in January 1992 and with serial number 161. According to Spanish Air Force, was purchased directly from Cessna in the year of its construction, flying from Wichita (Kansas) to Spain with stops in Goose Bay (Canada) and Keflavik (Iceland) in December 1992, on a flight of 11:50 hours. It is equipped with two WILD RC-30 aerial photography cameras installed on the sides of the fuselage. Since 2023, this aircraft has been painted entirely gray.
• TR.20-02 (403-12). It is an aircraft built in June 1992 and with serial number 193. It was acquired by the Spanish Air Force directly from Cessna, flying from Wichita (Kansas). to Spain with stops in Buffalo (New York), Sydney (Nova Scotia) and the Azores Islands, in May 1993, on a flight of 11:35 hours. Like the TR.20-01, it is equipped with two WILD RC-30 cameras. Currently this aircraft is painted with a two-color scheme, white on the upper part and gray on the lower part.
• TR.20-03 (403-21). It is an aircraft built in May 1992 and with serial number 183. According to AerialVisuals, its first operator was the American company Universal Enterprises Inc, of Ontario (Ohio), which operated it with the civil registration number N82RE. In April 2008 it was acquired by Van Ness Plastic Holding, of Clifton, New Jersey. The Air Force purchased it in August 2009. Unlike the other two CECAF Citation Vs, this aircraft does not carry the WILD RC-30 cameras. According to Aeronaves Militares Españolas, this aircraft is equipped with a calibration console for the inspection and calibration of radio aids for air navigation. Currently this aircraft is painted with a two-color scheme, white on the upper part and gray on the lower part.

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Main photo: Ejército del Aire.