N686QS · Cessna Citation XLS flight activity
370 tracked flights in the 12 months to 31 Jul 2026, on about 14 days a month and an estimated 468 hours in the air.
How N686QS has been flying
N686QS flies about two and a half times as often as the middle Citation XLS, well above the 4 to 18 flights a month flown by the middle half of the fleet.
Tracked by ADS-B, so a minimum.
From time in the air. The logbook has the exact total.
Against 5.6 d for the middle Citation XLS.
Last tracked in July 2026. Published seven days later, by month only.
Month by month
370 flights over 12 active monthsFlights per month · shaded band is the middle half of the fleet (4.5–18.4 a month)
N686QS flew more than the middle half of the fleet in 9 of 12 months. Its busiest month was June 2026, with 56 flights.
Its busiest month was June 2026, with 56 flights, and its quietest August 2025, with 12. The record has 187 tracking gaps, so about one flight in 2 may be missing and every count is a minimum.
Utilization
How steadily it has been used: flights, flying days and estimated hours against the type.
Flown far more than most. Harsher on utilization.
Heavy use means more of its maintenance intervals have been used up. Worth checking where it sits in its inspection cycle before a pre-buy.
Against 8.7 for the middle Citation XLS (86th). Used harder than most.
Share of flying days from one field.
The data behind it
Against all 840 tracked Citation XLSs, over its record since 1 Jan 2025.How it travels
Its flying is spread across many routes.
3 of 370 flights, both directions.
Spread across many destinations.
14 flights crossed a border.
N686QS’s flying is spread across many routes. Its most-flown pair of airports carries 1% of flights, 3 of 370, counting both directions. Its top three pairs make up 2%, so about ten flights in ten go somewhere else. Of its 370 tracked flights, 14 (4%) crossed a border.
Fatigue, corrosion, engines and brakes
01 Fatigue
Close to the typeHow short were its legs? Airframes age by landings as well as by hours. Many short legs put more pressurization cycles on the structure for the same time in the air.
N686QS is in here
Also graded: short hops. Leg length is shown as context. See this chapter in the sample report →
02 Corrosion
Not graded: not enough dataWhere does it spend its nights? Where a jet sleeps shapes how fast it corrodes. Salt and damp overnight are what an inspector looks at first.
Also graded: damp air, freeze–thaw, near the coast and moisture in the air. See this chapter in the sample report →
03 Engines and brakes
Outside the middle of the fleetHow hard were its airfields? Short, hot and high runways ask for more thrust on every takeoff and harder braking on every landing. That wear doesn’t show in the hours.
N686QS is out here, on one side or the other
Also graded: hot, high takeoffs; density altitude; dust and dry climate. See this chapter in the sample report →
What the full report adds for N686QS
- 01 All four chapters graded, with the evidence behind every grade
- 02 The operational summary: the whole aircraft in one read
- 03 Its longest stay away from base, and what the record does and doesn’t show about it
- 04 Its home base pattern and operating rhythm: busiest days and months
- 05 PDF, CSV and a share link
$395 for N686QS, one payment
A fraction of the cost of a pre-buy inspection, before you book one.
Other Citation XLSs
Tails flown at a similar rate, with their tracked flights in the 12 months to 31 Jul 2026. Each has its own free page.
About N686QS
How many hours does N686QS fly a year?
About 468 estimated hours in the 12 months to 31 Jul 2026, across 370 tracked flights. Hours are estimated from time in the air, so the logbook has the exact figure.
How often is N686QS flown?
N686QS made 370 tracked flights in the 12 months to 31 Jul 2026, about 31 a month, and flew on about 14 days in each month it flew.
Does N686QS fly internationally?
14 of its 370 tracked flights in the 12 months to 31 Jul 2026, 4%, crossed a border.
When did N686QS last fly?
It was last tracked in July 2026. We publish an aircraft’s flights seven days after they happen, and show them by month only.
Why don’t you show which airports N686QS uses?
We leave out airports, bases and exact dates on purpose. We show how an aircraft has been used, not where it goes.
What’s in the full TailCheck report for N686QS?
All four graded chapters (Fatigue, Corrosion, Engines and brakes, and Utilization), each against the tracked Citation XLSs, plus the operational summary and operating rhythm, as a PDF, CSV and share link. It costs $395, or $995 a month for unlimited reports and Spotlight.
How this page is made
Everything here comes from N686QS’s ADS-B track, the position signal aircraft broadcast, over the 12 months to 31 Jul 2026. ADS-B misses some flights, so every count is a minimum. Flights appear seven days after they happen, by month only, and hours are estimated from time in the air; the logbook has the real totals. Airports, bases and exact dates are left out on purpose. How grades work: each graded measure is placed among the tracked Citation XLSs against the middle aircraft, the 50th percentile. Between the 25th and 75th it is typical; outside that band it is gentler or harsher. Utilization is graded here for free; for the other chapters this page shows the middle value of the fleet and whether this aircraft sits inside the middle half or outside it. Their grades and values are in the report, not on this page. Owners and operators can ask us not to publish an aircraft’s activity.