GENEVA, Switzerland, May 16, 2011 — Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced today at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition that it will deliver this year three 208B Grand Caravan aircraft to an unnamed Vicenza, Italy-based commercial aircraft operator. The Caravans will augment the operator’s global helicopter fleet operation.
“In the past 12 months, we’ve seen a very strong interest in the Cessna Caravan in Italy,” said Pana Poulios, Cessna’s European sales director. “The Caravan fits very well in the European geography and the customers appreciate the roomy cabin and its comfortable ride. The low operating costs together with its high reliability and dispatch rates make the Caravan a great working platform.”
Cessna also took an order in May for 10 Model 172 Skyhawk piston aircraft from the Turkish Aeronautical Association (Turkish: Türk Hava Kurumu — THK) following the successful introduction in 2010 of an initial cadre of six Skyhawks. Cessna will deliver all 10 in 2011.
THK is a non-profit organization devoted to increasing public awareness and participation in aviation-related activities and the national body governing air sports in Turkey. It was founded in 1925 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, regarded as the father of modern Turkey.
The Model 208, with more than 11 million flight hours in the fleet, is Cessna’s popular single-engine turboprop used worldwide for passenger, VIP and cargo missions, to name a few. The Model 172 Skyhawk is the most-produced aircraft model in history with more than 42,000 produced and the world’s most popular training and utility piston single.
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