Private Jet Brands Owned By Textron Aviation

Textron, as a company, is so varied that it's a little difficult to describe it completely in any succinct way. It does work in defense, aviation, finance, golf carts, lawnmowers, and a lot else. In the aviation and defense field, Textron owns Bell Helicopter and its subsidiary Textron Aviation is in charge of Cessna, Beechcraft, and Hawker.

Everyone knows about Cessna, as it's the producer of the 172 Skyhawk, which is the most produced aircraft in history. By Textron's count, over 44,000 Skyhawks have left the assembly line. Additionally, Beechcraft King Air is the almost default choice if you want a twin-engine turboprop plane. 

But what about the private jet industry? With a company as big as Textron and its aviation wing, you might be a little surprised that although its private jets are popular, the lineup isn't very big. The Cessna Citation is the only jet currently produced by Textron Aviation, as Beechcraft doesn't make any jets currently and Hawker, although still serviced by Textron, is also no longer producing new jets. 

By far the most popular jet currently made by Textron Aviation is the Citation Latitude, which Textron reports as the best-selling midsize business jet. It has a cabin height of 72 inches. With its two Pratt and Whitney engines, it has a maximum speed of 513 miles per hour (446 knots) and a range of 3,107 miles (2,700 nautical miles). Last month, Textron reported that it just made its 500th Latitude. 

Hawker is under the care of Textron Aviation after a long and hectic history of having different owners with the name going, in some form or another, all the way back to Harry Hawker, an aviation pioneer from World War I. Hawker-Siddeley may also stand out for aviation history buffs. As for Hawkers that Textron is most associated with, the Hawker 800 business jet remains popular. It's a twin-engine jet with seats for up to 12 people and a range of up to 2,798 miles (2,432 nautical miles), depending on the variation. At one time, Hawker and Beechcraft were a single company and Beechcraft briefly dabbled in the jet industry in the early 2000s, making the Premier I, a smaller six-passenger jet. 

So, while the current stable of newly produced jets remains rather small, with only variations of the Citation leaving the factory, the legacy lineup of jets from Hawker, Beechcraft, and the brand's many permutations is fairly vast.