Wichita, Kansas – September 28, 2006 – For the flight school's dedication to encouraging new people to pursue their pilot's license and for placing special emphasis on safety and advanced flight training, Hillsboro Aviation, based in Hillsboro, Oregon, was selected for the Cessna Diamond Award from the nearly 300 Cessna Pilot Centers worldwide. Cessna Pilot Centers are affiliated with Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company.
"This is the first-ever Diamond Award given in the northwest United States," said Jim Hackman, Cessna Pilot Centers western regional manager. "We felt their team deserved this recognition because they work enthusiastically to increase the number of new pilot starts, leading the region with 10 new students per month in 2006. Their efforts to encourage students to further advance their expertise through continued flight and proficiency training places makes them one of the top Cessna Pilot Centers in the nation for instrument flight rules (IFR) ratings. They consistently turn out safety-conscious, top-quality pilots."
When ranked annually, Hillsboro Aviation consistently places in the top 10 of Cessna Pilot Centers worldwide. Since the flight school became an official Cessna Pilot Center in 1982, Hillsboro Aviation has taught thousands of people how to fly.
In addition to being a Cessna Pilot Center, Hillsboro Aviation is a full-service, fixed-base operator at the Portland-Hillsboro Airport. Hillsboro Aviation is also a certified Cessna Service Center, and the authorized Cessna sales affiliate for Oregon and Washington, as well as parts of Idaho and Montana. Hillsboro Aviation has nearly 160 employees. President of the company is Max Lyons, Jonathan Hay is the flight school's director and Wayne Moore is the director of admissions.
Cessna has taught more people to fly than any other company through its network of Cessna Pilot Centers established more than 35 years ago. The average time for students to obtain their private pilot's certificate while using Cessna's computer-based instruction training course is 54.5 hours. This is almost 30 percent less than the national average.
Based on unit sales, Cessna Aircraft Company is the world's largest manufacturer of general aviation airplanes. In 2005, Cessna delivered 1,157 aircraft and reported revenues of about $3.5 billion. Since the company was originally established in 1927, more than 187,000 Cessna airplanes have been delivered to nearly every country in the world. The global fleet of more than 4,500 Citations is the largest fleet of business jets in the world. More information about Cessna Aircraft Company is available at www.cessna.com.
Textron Inc. is a $10 billion multi-industry company operating in 33 countries with approximately 37,000 employees. The company leverages its global network of aircraft, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO and Greenlee, among others. More information is available at www.textron.com.