Hartford, CT - October 4, 2007 - Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, and Yingling Aviation, an independent Cessna authorized service station in Wichita, Kan., have reached a milestone in their partnership to provide Skylanes equipped with glass cockpits and special avionics equipment to the Civil Air Patrol (CAP).
During the last week of September, Cessna's Independence, Kan., manufacturing facility delivered the 100th Skylane for Yingling's CAP special mission STC modifications. In November, Yingling will complete the modifications that provide search-and-rescue equipment and dual audio panels with the ability to have multiple, simultaneous communications between the pilot, mission specialist, observer and agencies on the ground.
These modifications allow CAP to take an increased role in support of national security and disaster relief operations. Operating as an auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, CAP is a low-cost airborne asset that local, state and federal agencies can deploy quickly and effectively in times of emergency. CAP operates over 500 Cessna aircraft qualifying them as the largest Cessna fleet operator in the world.
Yingling designed and received the STC from the FAA in 2003 for the special mission equipment package. With assistance from Cessna and Garmin, Yingling updated the STC in 2004 to work with the Garmin G1000 avionics suite. Cessna has scheduled 25 additional Skylanes this year for the CAP modification.
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. Cessna has a current backlog of $11 billion. Since the company was originally established in 1927, some 190,000 Cessna airplanes have been delivered to nearly every country in the world. The global fleet of more than 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.