Beijing, November 28, 2007 – Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, will partner with Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) to manufacture the new Model 162 SkyCatcher light sport aircraft (LSA). SAC is a subsidiary of China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I), which is a government-owned consortium of aircraft manufacturers.

The company made the announcement today during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Cessna will design the aircraft and handle American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) compliance work, as well as provide on-site personnel to oversee manufacturing, quality assurance and technical design. SAC will be responsible for assembling the SkyCatcher.

Founded in 1951, SAC is a civilian and military aircraft manufacturer with 16,000 employees in Shenyang, China. Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Spirit AeroSystems and Singapore Aerospace are just a few of SAC's clients.

Cessna unveiled a proof-of-concept aircraft in July 2006 to gauge market response, then announced in July 2007 that it would proceed with development of a light sport aircraft, dubbed the Cessna 162 SkyCatcher. An introductory price of $109,500 USD will hold for the first 1,000 orders and then increase to $111,500 USD. Orders have already approached 900.

The SkyCatcher features an exclusive Garmin glass cockpit - the G300 - and a Teledyne Continental O-200D 100-horsepower engine designed specifically for the LSA. The aircraft will cruise at speeds up to 118 knots and will have a maximum range of 470 nautical miles.

The aluminum aircraft will meet ASTM standard F2245 for light sport aircraft. First flight of the prototype SkyCatcher is set for the first half of 2008 and deliveries are expected to begin in the second half of 2009. Cessna expects to produce up to 700 a year at full-rate production.

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. Cessna has a current backlog of $11.9 billion. Since the company was originally established in 1927, some 190,000 Cessna airplanes have been delivered to nearly every country in the world. The global fleet of more than 5,000 Citations is the largest fleet of business jets in the world. More information about Cessna Aircraft Company is available at http://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 http://www.textron.com.

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