Oshkosh, WI - July 27, 2009 - In anticipation of the advanced technology it will soon unleash on the market and to provide a higher level of aftermarket support to legacy engines, Lycoming Engines, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, has launched its first network of Lycoming Authorized Service Centers.

As a requirement to applying for Authorized Service Center (ASC) designation, facilities must meet specified equipment and facility requirements, maintain required staff training levels, meet or exceed required levels of quality and professionalism and be capable of handling fly-in customers.

"These standards were set to identify only the best-trained, best-operated service centers," says Mike Everhart, Lycoming director of Distribution Management & Customer Service. "By identifying and working with shops that meet or exceed our standards, we are building a quality customer support network of dependable, honest, competent and professional service providers that will be known for their technical capabilities and the highest standards associated with the Lycoming brand."

Lycoming will support its Authorized Service Centers with online training programs and by making them the exclusive source for service and support of Lycoming-s soon-to-be available advanced technology - the new iE2 (integrated electronic engine) and the new IO-233-LSA Light Sport Engine.

Lycoming Authorized Service Centers will also be the primary source of Lycoming Echelon STCs, Lycoming's own supplemental type certificate program to upgrade legacy aircraft with modern power plants.

Lycoming has approved 27 Authorized Service Centers to date, including Executive Flyers Aviation of North Andover, Mass., and Yingling Aviation of Wichita, Kan. Executive Flyers Aviation is the maintenance facility of Lycoming-sponsored aerobatic pilot and Red Bull Air Race competitor Michael Goulian. Yingling Aviation is a Cessna affiliate in operation since 1946.

Steve Ranck, a product manager and marketing analyst for Lycoming, will give presentations on Lycoming Authorized Service Centers in Lycoming's Training Tent Booth 277-282, at EAA Airventure. The presentations, which are open to the public, are Tuesday, July 28; Friday, July 31; and Saturday, Aug. 1, all beginning at 11:45 a.m.

For more information, contact Ranck at 570-327-7177 or Michele Demarest at 570-327-7037.

About Lycoming
Lycoming Engines specializes in Engineering, Manufacture, Service and Support of piston aircraft engines. Headquartered in Williamsport , Pennsylvania , Lycoming piston engines power more than half of the world's general aviation fleet - both rotary-wing and fixed-wing. Lycoming Engines is a division of Avco Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc. More information is available at www.lycoming.com .

About Textron Inc.
Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, 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, and Textron Systems. More information is available at www.textron.com .