Lakeland, FL - April 17, 2007 - Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, this year will deliver 46 Skyhawks to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) and 31 Skylanes to Civil Air Patrol (CAP).
To keep up with the latest in cockpit technology, ERAU is replacing their entire training fleet at the Prescott, Ariz. campus with 17 Garmin G1000 equipped Skyhawks. Another 29 G1000 equipped Skyhawks will be delivered to their campus in Daytona Beach, Fla.
“We accelerated the delivery schedule for these Skyhawks to meet the needs of Embry-Riddle after the destruction that resulted from the tornado in December 2006,” said John Doman, vice president of propeller aircraft sales.
By the end of 2007, ERAU will have taken delivery of 170 single engine Cessnas since the new single engine production facility opened in Independence, Kan., in 1996. Embry-Riddle's current aircraft fleet consists of 92 aircraft, amassing well over 70,000 flight training hours annually.
“We refresh our fleet every five to seven years,” said Thomas Connolly, chancellor of the Daytona Beach campus. “We choose Cessna because of the service and support we receive. They genuinely care about our university and jump when we are in a time of need.”
The university has been operating Cessna aircraft for 40 years.
The CAP order includes 29 Skylanes and 2 turbocharged Skylanes adding to the largest fleet of Cessna single engine aircraft in the world. CAP uses more than 500 Cessnas for missions in their cadet programs, aerospace education, and search and rescue operations.
“The 182T is a versatile four-place aircraft that is well-suited for the CAP mission,” said General Antonio J. Pineda, CAP national commander. “The 182T is fuel efficient, has great endurance, and the G1000 glass cockpit is a great enhancement,” he said. “It provides truly integrated systems that, until recently, were only available in the big jets. It reduces pilot workload and increases safety – the best of both worlds.”
CAP is a non-profit volunteer organization that conducts 95 percent of the nation's inland search and rescue missions, aerial reconnaissance for homeland security, and disaster relief and damage assessment, among other missions. The organization also includes a cadet program and provides aerospace education. The more than 52,000 members include 22,000 cadets ages 12 to 21.
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.
Forward-looking Information: Certain statements in this report are forward-looking statements and speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the statements, including but not limited to the following: [a] changes in worldwide economic and political conditions that impact demand for our products, interest rates and foreign exchange rates; [b] the interruption of production at Textron facilities or Textron's customers or suppliers; [c] the occurrence of slowdowns or downturns in customer markets in which Textron products are sold or supplied or where Textron Financial offers financing; and [d] changes in aircraft delivery schedules or cancellation of orders.