meaning of "lit-de Cessna", "checked in with", "number two behind Cessna traffic"

[kjc0123]

What is the meaning of "lit-de Cessna", "checked in with", "number two behind Cessna traffic" in the following sentences?

 

Twelve miles west of the airport, he called the tower and was directed to enter the traffic pattern. The wind was light and variable. the landing would be a cinch. On final approach, with the runway a mile away and fifteen hundred feet down, and Ray and his lit-de Cessna gliding at a perfect descent, another pilot came on the radio. He checked in with the controller as "Challenger-two-four-four-delta-mike," and he was fifteen miles to the north. The tower cleared him to land, number two behind Cessna traffic. 

[jno]

to check in with someone is to announce your presence (like checking in at a hotel or at the check-in desk at an airport). So he got in touch with the air traffic controller, giving that phrase as his identification (really the plane's identification). He was told that one other Cessna would land, then it would be his turn, so he was number two.

Don't know what a lit-de Cessna is, sorry, sounds like some sort of pilots' jargon.

[Clanad]

lit-de, as translated by Babel Fish means read-of, which has no discernable meaning in this context.  I can assure you it is not a phrase used in aviation.  As an aside, the identification of his aircraft has to do with the identification numbers on the outside of the aircraft.  Each country that is signatory to the International Congress of Aviation Organizations (ICAO) is assigned a first letter (sometimes more than one) which denotes the country of registration.  In the U.S., it's "N" and pronounced "November" for clarity.  The number is no more than 5 characters in length, usually ending in one or two alphabetic letters.  These letters are also pronounced phonetically to make radio communications more clear.  The reference to "Challenger" is another example of literary license, since the appropriate call would have been Cessna 2-4 DM...