Wichita, KS – July 12, 2010 – Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, will have a Mobile Service Unit on standby to assist Citation owners participating in the 2010 Special Olympics USA National Games.
Citation customers donate their aircraft, pilots, and fuel to transport some 800 athletes and coaches from across the nation for the competition in Lincoln, Neb. Citations will deliver athletes on Saturday, July 17, and Citations will return the Special Olympics athletes on Saturday, July 24.
"With so many Citations converging on Lincoln, Cessna wants to make absolutely certain that our customers receive expedited customer service during the event," said Stan Younger, Cessna's vice president of Service Facilities.
"So we are assigning one of the seven Cessna Mobile Service Units to Lincoln Municipal Airport (LNK) as a Citation touches down every two minutes over a 10-hour period," he said. The Mobile Service Unit will augment the excellent aircraft maintenance routinely provided by Duncan Aviation, a Cessna-authorized Citation service facility.
Cessna announced it is adding a new mobile service unit to its growing fleet. After this Special Olympics event, this unit will be based in Texas. Its addition will bring the number of MSUs in operation in the U.S. to seven, with nine more planned in the near future, including the company's first MSUs in Europe and Canada.
The Citation Mobile Service Units are part of the company's ServiceDirect system to support the Cessna Citation business jet fleet. The units are full-size service trucks equipped with tooling to perform a variety of diagnostic and maintenance functions including AOG support. They can also perform medium-sized planned maintenance events as well as engine removal.
ServiceDirect provides a range of customer service options for Citation operators outside of the company's service centers. This includes on-site maintenance operations and long-term logistics support including A&P placement or contract support.
About Cessna Aircraft Company
Cessna is the world's leading general aviation company, based on unit sales, with five major lines of business: Citation business jets, Caravan single-engine turboprops, Cessna single-engine piston aircraft, aftermarket services and lift solutions by CitationAir. In 2009, Cessna delivered 754 aircraft, including 289 Citation business jets, and reported revenues of about $3.3 billion. Since the company was originally established in 1927, more than 192,000 Cessna airplanes have been delivered around the world, including more than 6,000 Citations, making it the largest fleet of business jets in the world. More information about Cessna Aircraft Company is available at www.cessna.com.
About Textron Inc.
Textron Inc. 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.