Vought Wins Contract Valued at $1 Billion To Build Wings for Cessna Citation Columbus Business Jet

Contract brings production work to company’s Nashville plant


DALLAS.– Vought Aircraft Industries is proud to announce its selection as the provider of wings and slats for the Model 850 Cessna Citation Columbus business jet. The contract, with a potential value of more than $1 billion, covers engineering design, tooling and production work. Vought has a proven track record of developing and manufacturing aerostructures of superior quality and value for military and commercial use worldwide.

“This contract is just the latest affirmation of the high-quality production we do at Vought,” said Dennis Orzel, vice president and general manager, Vought Integrated Aerosystems Division. “The Cessna Citation Columbus is an innovative, world-class business jet, and we are honored to share our expertise and competitive advantage with this industry leader.”

Vought’s engineering and tool design will be done primarily in Dallas. Production work and other manufacturing engineering will be performed in Nashville. Production test articles are scheduled for delivery beginning in 2010, with production article deliveries scheduled to start in 2011.

“For the Nashville Vought facility, this contract is especially momentous,” said Dan Tharp, Vought’s general manager in Nashville. “This is our plant’s first new full wing contract in 20 years. It speaks to the relationship our Nashville team has built with Cessna in manufacturing the Cessna Citation X upper and lower wing panel assemblies. This economic charge to our region is one that our employees and our communities will certainly celebrate.”

The Citation Columbus is a large cabin, intercontinental aircraft with a target range of 4,000 nautical miles at Mach .80 carrying eight passengers. The all-new aircraft is Cessna’s largest business jet to date and is configurable for up to 10 passengers. Cessna plans to achieve Federal Aviation Administration certification by the end of 2013, with customer deliveries beginning in 2014. Cessna is a unit of Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT).

“All three of the top selling business jets of all time are Cessna Citations,” said Joe Hepburn, Cessna program manager for the Citation Columbus program. “The Citation Columbus is the culmination of everything that we know. Vought is a proven partner. It only makes sense to ask past partners of this winning team to stay on board.”