Geneva, Switzerland - May 21, 2007 - Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced today at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) that the Citation Mustang has achieved Steep Approach certification.
This milestone enables the Mustang to land at airports with instrument approaches steeper than a 4.5 degree approach angle. Steep Approach certification is the first step in the approval process at airports such as London City in England, which has a glide slope angle of 5.5 degrees, and requires special authorization through the airport administration for both the aircraft and the pilots landing there.
Initial production audit test flights for the Mustang have been completed by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, and Cessna's Independence facility is now delegated for production acceptance flights.
The first Citation Mustang was delivered on November 22, 2006 to a customer who leased it back to Cessna as a company demonstrator. Serial No. 005, delivered to businessman Dave Goode, the first Citation Mustang owner-operator, has accumulated well over 80 squawk-free flight hours. The keys were recently handed over to the undisclosed owner of Serial No. 008, one of four Mustangs delivered to owner-operators to date, who reports more than 25 squawk-free flight hours in less than a week of operation.
Thirteen customers have completed Mustang type ratings at FlightSafety International in Wichita. EASA qualification for the full motion, level D Citation Mustang flight simulator was achieved in March, and the FlightSafety type rating program in Farnborough, England is expected to be operational at the end of this year.
Cessna has booked more than 300 Citation Mustang orders, 100 of which were placed by European customers. Forty aircraft are scheduled for delivery this year. Cessna plans to ramp up Mustang production at the Independence plant to 150 aircraft by 2009.
Based on unit sales, Cessna Aircraft Company is the world's largest manufacturer of general aviation airplanes. In 2006, Cessna delivered 1,239 aircraft, including 307 Citation business jets, and reported revenues of about $4.2 billion and a backlog of $8.5 billion. Since the company was originally established in 1927, more than 189,000 Cessna airplanes have been delivered to nearly every country in the world. The global fleet of almost 5,000 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 an $11 billion multi-industry company operating in 32 countries with approximately 40,000 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 Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, Fluid & Power, Textron Systems and Textron Financial Corporation. More information is available at www.textron.com.
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