Geneva, Switzerland, May 3, 2006 – Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, does more comprehensive and exhaustive testing on its aircraft than any other general aviation manufacturer. Before the Cessna Citation Mustang is certified, it will have been cycled through at least five lifetimes worth of wear and tear, qualifying it as a no-life-limit airframe.

“Cessna consistently goes beyond what is required when testing and certifying an aircraft, often more than doubling or tripling the hours or cycles considered baseline for certification,” said Russ Meyer III, Citation Mustang Program Manager. “For example, instead of the fatigue test article completing the baseline durability test of two lifetimes (30,000 hours) with no damage to the aircraft structure, we will continue testing to five lifetimes (75,000 hours). Many parts of the aircraft are tested to the same levels as commercial airliners. Ensuring Cessna customers have the safest possible aircraft is always top priority.”

The following is an update on testing and certification activities for the Citation Mustang.
• FAA certification tests that have been completed include:
o Flight envelope expansion to maximum airspeeds
o Tanker icing
o Environmental chamber testing (from -40 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit)
o Basic engine and FADEC operation
• The FAA certification tests in progress include:
o Natural icing (flight into known icing)
o Garmin G1000 avionics and autopilot
o Aircraft stability and control
• Areas where Cessna’s development is completed and ready to begin FAA certification tests include:
o All major mechanical systems
o Flight control systems
o Climb and cruise performance
o Runway performance
• More than 2,300 hours have been accumulated on the Mustang’s Pratt & Whitney Canada PW615F dual-channel FADEC engine. Pre-certification development is complete on the engines. The engine has been certified in Canada.
• Static testing is more than 85 percent complete.
• The main landing gear surpassed its goal of 75,000 landings, reaching more than 100,000 landings. The nose landing gear has 23,000 landings out of 75,000.
• Structural fatigue testing is nearly complete with 74,000 out of 75,000 cycles completed.

Based on unit sales, Cessna Aircraft Company is the world's largest manufacturer of general aviation airplanes. In 2005, Cessna delivered 1,157 aircraft and reported revenues of about $3.5 billion. Since the company was originally established in 1927, more than 187,000 Cessna airplanes have been delivered to nearly every country in the world. The global fleet of more than 4,500 Citations is the largest fleet of business jets in the world. More information about www.cessna.com.

Textron Inc. is a $10 billion multi-industry company operating in 33 countries with approximately 37,000 employees in continuing operations. 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