Who would have guessed?  While Eclipse was garnering consistent national media attention for its Eclipse 500 VLJ effort and its high profile investor pool, Cessna was quietly but assiduously working toward certification on the Mustang.  Only a few days ago Cessna was awarded the very first full certification of a VLJ.  I am sure by now, we all now the significance of full certification given the provisional certification announcement of the Eclipse 500 at Oshkosh last month.  Frankly, though I understand perfectly the marketing motivation of Eclipse in hyping the Eclipse 500’s provisional certification, to most manufacturers partial certification, though significant internally, is rarely newsworthy to any extent and certainly isn’t treated with the fanfare granted to Eclipse.  There is something admirable to me about winning the VLJ certification race without the constantly changing projections and media courting exhibited by Eclipse.  Cessna is the clear winner in not only the certification race, but in exhibiting the experience gained through multiple Citation Jet certifications. With that said, it is beneficial for consumers in creating a competitive market dynamic to have both the Mustang and the 500 nearing production.  Though manifesting rather antithetical corporate philosophies in doing so, both companies are to be congratulated for their resolve in bringing a VLJ to market.