Cessna hits stride with Skycatcher light sport aircraft deliveries

Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, said today at the annual U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Fla., that it has received more than 60 Skycatcher light sport aircraft from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. In conjunction with its reassembly site at Yingling Aviation in Wichita, Kan., Cessna has delivered more than 30 Skycatchers.

"Our U.S. reassembly facility is receiving Skycatchers from Shenyang Aircraft Corporation at an increased cadence, but most importantly the quality of the aircraft continues to be excellent. Feedback from our customers – individuals and flight schools alike – has affirmed the need for a light sport aircraft with the Cessna brand. It's encouraging to see the Skycatcher enter service in such a positive way," said Jack J. Pelton, Cessna chairman, president and CEO.

The company is on track to deliver 150 Skycatchers in 2011, including the first models featuring the McCauley two-blade, fixed-pitch composite propeller.

The Skycatcher, announced in 2007, is Cessna's entry in the popular light sport aircraft category. It features the Garmin G300 avionics suite and a Teledyne Continental O200D engine. Priced at $112,250, the two-seat, single-engine aircraft has a maximum cruise speed of 118 knots with a maximum range at 6,000 feet of 440 nautical miles. Fabrication and assembly is centered at Shenyang Aircraft Corporation in Shenyang, China. Aircraft are shipped to Cessna's U.S. reassembly site.