The fastest fixed-gear single-engine piston aircraft on the market – the Cessna 400 – is on display this week at the Farnborough International Airshow. Cessna acquired assets of the Bend, Ore., operation in December 2007 and has boosted deliveries of the Cessna 350/400 to 150 this year. The company is working to achieve European Aircraft Safety Agency certification for 2009.

“By implementing Textron Six Sigma and using lean operating tools, our team in Bend is making great progress on streamlining production while maintaining the high quality and reliability of the aircraft,” said Mark Withrow, general manager of the Bend facility. “We’ve seen a significant reduction in labor hours per aircraft, and Bend is on track to cut the number of factory related safety incidents in half this year.”

“And, most importantly, I’m happy to report that along with a flawless on-time delivery record this year, our employees’ work has received the top score for quality on all post-delivery customer surveys,” he said.

At the end of 2007, Cessna added the 350 and 400 high-performance, low-wing aircraft to its line-up that includes the Cessna 172, 182 and 206 models, the best selling single-engine piston aircraft in history. All single-engine models feature the all-glass Garmin G1000 avionics suite with the GFC 700 flight control system – as do the Cessna Caravan turboprop and the Citation Mustang entry-level business jet.

Cessna’s 350 and 400 are designed for safety, comfort and speed. Both models have dual carbon fiber reinforced wing spars, dual horizontal stabilizer attach-points and multiple hinge points for all control surfaces. The airframes, including the control surfaces, are constructed entirely of fiberglass and carbon fiber, with the landing gear and engine mount being the only primary structures made of steel. The design strength of these two models is demonstrated by their certification in the Utility Category under FAR Part 23, Amendment 46.

Equipped with a 310-horsepower Teledyne Continental TCM IO-550N, the Cessna 350 has a certified ceiling of 5,486 meters (18,000 feet) and a maximum cruise speed of 354 kilometers per hour (191 knots). The twin turbocharger equipped, intercooled TCM TSIO-550C installed in the Cessna 400 enables it to reach a maximum cruise speed of 435 kilometers per hour (235 knots) and to cruise as high as 7,620 meters (25,000 feet) while its pilot and passengers enjoy the convenience of the 400’s standard four-place, built-in oxygen system.

Based on unit sales, Cessna Aircraft Company is the world’s largest manufacturer of general aviation airplanes. In 2007, Cessna delivered 1,272 aircraft, including 387 Citation business jets, and reported revenues of about $5 billion. Cessna has a current backlog of $14.5 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 5,100 Citations is the largest fleet of business jets in the world. More information about Cessna Aircraft Company is available at http://www.cessna.com.