Cessna’s Single Engine and Mustang Programs Reach Milestones

OSHKOSH, Wis.– Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, has reached the following milestones for its single engine piston and entry-level business jet products on display at this week’s Experimental Aircraft Association
AirVenture 2008:

Citation Mustang - The Citation Mustang entry-level business jet has gained global popularity since entering service in April 2007 and orders have surpassed 500. Forty-five aircraft were delivered in 2007, and Cessna plans to celebrate the 100th unit in August. The company will deliver 100 Mustangs this year alone, about three of every five going to international customers.

The current fleet totals 86 aircraft that have accumulated more than 12,500 flight hours. The high-time aircraft has logged more than 500 hours. All current production Citations employ new generation turbofan engines, which meet or exceed the most stringent noise requirements and allow Cessna’s line of business jets to be among the most fuel efficient and achieve some of the lowest emissions in the industry.

Cessna 350 and 400 - Cessna expects to deliver 150 Cessna 350/400 high-performance, low-wing composite aircraft this year with the help of the Textron Production System, which also has improved workplace safety, productivity and customer satisfaction.

Cessna acquired certain assets of the Bend, Ore., operation in December 2007. The company has since rebranded the models and transitioned the Bend, Ore., composite aircraft facilities.

“By implementing Textron Six Sigma and using lean operating tools, our team in Bend is making great progress on streamlining production while maintaining the high quality and reliability of the aircraft,” said Mark Withrow, general manager of the Bend facility. “We’ve seen a significant reduction in labor hours per aircraft, and Bend is on track to cut the number of factory related safety incidents in half this year.

“Most importantly, I’m happy to report that along with a flawless on-time delivery record this year, our employees’ work has received the top score for quality on all post-delivery customer surveys,” Withrow added.

Cessna 182 Skylane - Through Sept. 30, 2008, Cessna is offering customers an incentive to purchase a new Cessna 182 Skylane or Turbo Skylane. Cessna will pay for up to $15,000 in fuel for the new Skylane between now and the end of 2009, based on an average of 11.5 hours flown per month at normal power settings (12 gallons/hour). Cessna also will upgrade the aircraft at no charge to include Garmin’s Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT). SVT offers an enhanced presentation of terrain as well as “Highway-in-the-Sky” flight guidance that is integrated into the Garmin G1000 avionics suite, the standard avionics suite in the Cessna 182, as well as in all other Cessna propeller aircraft and the Citation Mustang entry-level business jet.