LAS VEGAS, Oct. 21, 2013 – Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, has today named best-selling author and pilot Stuart Woods as the launch customer of the Citation M2.
A long-time Citation customer, Woods – perhaps best known for his ‘Stone Barrington’ thrillers – visited Cessna’s manufacturing and delivery facility in Independence, Kan., earlier this month to see his Citation M2 nearing completion.
While at the Cessna plant, Woods toured the M2 manufacturing line and met the people who make the aircraft. Part of the tour included an up-close look at the finished flight deck and the new Garmin G3000 avionics, as well as the interior finish and the personalized paint scheme.
Woods is an award-winning author whose published work includes more than 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction. He is an instrument-rated pilot with over 3,400 hours of flight time. Woods plans to fly his new Citation M2 on portions of his upcoming book tour to promote his new Stone Barrington novel “Doing Hard Time.”
Stuart Woods said: “I am glad to be on the cutting edge at this moment with this airplane. I am grateful to have the M2, grateful to be able to see it go through the line, to see how carefully everything is built. It brings me a great sense of comfort. I am looking forward to flying from New York to Key West, Fla., in three and a half hours at 400 knots without stopping to refuel. I do two book tours a year, usually coast to coast, so about 90 percent of my flying is for business. I’m looking forward to great things from the M2, and my wife is looking forward to being the co-pilot.”
Following his tour of the plant, Woods flew his Citation Mustang to nearby Wichita, Kan., to hold a book signing for “Doing Hard Time” at Watermark Books. Fans will dive into a swirling murder mystery centered on New York Police Department detective-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington. A trail of intrigue develops as the case takes Stone from the high-stakes poker tables of Las Vegas to the glitz and glamour of California’s luxury resorts.
The M2 has been called the first of the “next generation” in the light jet category and the innovative aircraft reflects design inspired by customer and pilot feedback. The M2 will be certified for single-pilot operation and has seating configurations for six passengers. The cabin is equipped with two 110-volt AC outlets, tracking seats and large windows. The Garmin G3000 avionics feature two large touch-screen panels, placing flight controls in a familiar, user-friendly interface. The M2 can easily handle non-stop legs such as Houston, Texas-Washington D.C.; Chicago-Miami, Fla.; Frankfurt-Moscow, and Dubai, U.A.E.-Mumbai, India.