25 hours of supervised operating experience as PIC in the Excel / XLS / XLS+ (14 CFR 61.64(g)) — for most 135 pilots that's line flying next to a captain holding the unrestricted rating — each flight attested in writing in your logbook → administrative removal by an examiner, no checkride. One rating covers all three models.
The CE-560XL SOE, in plain English
The CE-560XL type rating covers the Citation Excel, XLS, and XLS+ — one of the largest business-jet fleets ever built and, for years running, one of the most chartered airplanes in America. That fleet size means constant upgrade classes at the sim schools, and under 14 CFR 61.64(f)(2) a rating earned in the simulator prints with the Supervised Operating Experience limitation unless you brought one of the §61.64(b) experience outs — a prior unrestricted turbojet type, 1,000 hours in two turbojets, 500 hours in the Excel itself. First-jet charter pilots stepping up from turboprops or right seats rarely have them. Until removal, you act as PIC only under the direct observation of a pilot holding the CE-560XL without limitations.
Because the Excel is a two-pilot airplane living mostly in commercial operations, most CE-560XL SOEs get flown off fast — the qualified observer is already in the other seat. The part that goes wrong isn't the flying. It's the logbook.
Watch the 560 naming trap
Despite the model numbers, the Citation V, Ultra, and Encore — the "straight" 560s — are not on this rating. They belong to the CE-500 type rating along with the rest of the straight-wing Citation family, and they have their own SOE page. Excel/XLS/XLS+ hours all pool under CE-560XL; straight-560 hours pool under CE-500; the two never mix for SOE purposes. If your logbook has both, send it ahead and we'll sort the eligible columns before the appointment.
Your 135 line flying probably counts
Legs where you performed the duties of PIC while a captain or check airman holding an unrestricted CE-560XL observed satisfy §61.64(g)(1) and (g)(3) exactly — most charter Excel pilots have the 25 hours flown within their first month on the line. The trap is §61.64(g)(2): each flight must be logged and attested in writing in your logbook. Company OE records document things for the operator and stay behind when you leave; plenty of Excel pilots discover at interview time that the limitation is still printed on a certificate they "fixed" years ago. Get the attestations into your book while the captain still remembers the legs — the sample attestation wording (PDF) shows exactly what it should say.
Why Excel pilots don't sit on this
- It follows you into your next type ride. Under §61.64(b)(1), a type rating carrying an SOE limitation doesn't count as the prior unrestricted turbojet type that lets you take a future type-rating practical entirely in the sim. In a fleet this size, the next type ride is a matter of when.
- Applications and interviews. An unrestricted certificate reads cleaner, and recruiters do ask what "subject to pilot in command limitations" means.
- It's 20 minutes of paperwork. The hours are almost certainly already flown.
On the certificate side this is the same administrative machinery as the CFI-world SOE limitation removal — evidence verified against the reg, certificate reissued, nothing flown. The full regulatory walkthrough lives in our 61.64(g) guide.
What removal requires
- 25 hours of flight time in the Excel / XLS / XLS+ while performing PIC duties, under the direct observation of a PIC holding the CE-560XL without limitations (§61.64(g)(1), (g)(3))
- Written attestation for every SOE flight in your logbook (§61.64(g)(2))
- Certificate + government photo ID
- IACRA application for the limitation removal
Common tripwires we see in Excel logbooks: OE legs documented in company records but never attested in the pilot's own book, attestations signed without the observing pilot's certificate number, SIC time counted toward the 25 (it doesn't count — the hours must be flown performing the duties of PIC under observation), and straight-560 time mixed in with Excel time. Send your documents ahead — you'll get a checklist after the contact form — and we verify everything before the appointment. If the documentation is thin, we'll tell you exactly what to go get before you've paid a dime.
How the appointment runs
- Identity verification (valid, unexpired photo ID)
- Certificate + logbook review — 25 SOE hours and attestations verified against §61.64(g)
- IACRA application signed live
- Temporary certificate without the limitation issued on the call
About 20 minutes, from anywhere with a stable connection — FBO, hangar office, layover hotel. 24-hour advance notice required for FAA DMS oversight entry.
Pricing — $200 flat
No travel fees, no rescheduling fees, no charge if you're determined not eligible during the appointment. Details → Pricing
Related
25 hours in the book? You're one video call from unrestricted.
Submit the contact form and you'll get a document checklist within 24 hours. $200 flat.
Schedule your CE-560XL SOE removal →