From yarn to aeroplanes

Textron Aviation’s parent began far from the air. Royal Little founded the Special Yarns Corporation in Boston in 1928; it made parachutes in the Second World War as Atlantic Rayon and renamed itself Textron, from textiles and synthetics such as Lustron. From 1953 Little turned it into one of America’s first conglomerates, buying Bell Aerospace in 1960. Cessna joined the group later, and by the 2010s Textron owned Bell helicopters, Lycoming engines and Cessna, maker of the most-produced aircraft in history.

Wichita’s rivals united

Across Wichita stood Cessna’s old rival, Beechcraft, which had passed through Raytheon and private-equity ownership as Hawker Beechcraft before a bankruptcy. Textron agreed to buy Beech Holdings on 26 December 2013 for about US$1.4 billion and closed the deal on 14 March 2014. It merged Beechcraft with Cessna as Textron Aviation, keeping Cessna, Beechcraft and Hawker as brands for their history and recognition. Cessna’s Scott Ernest became the first chief executive. New Hawker jets were dropped, though the fleet is still supported.

The fleet in the sky

The combined catalogue is enormous. By 2015 the company said its brands had delivered nearly 251,000 aircraft that had flown more than 100 million hours in over 170 countries. It includes the Cessna 172, with more than 44,000 built the most produced aircraft in history, the Bonanza, the King Air turboprop family, the Caravan, the Citation business jets and the Beechcraft T-6 Texan II military trainer. In 2022 Textron bought Pipistrel of Slovenia to found Textron eAviation for electric aircraft.

New aircraft, slowly

New types have arrived steadily if not quickly. The super-midsize Citation Longitude first flew on 8 October 2016 and was certificated in September 2019. The twin-turboprop Cessna 408 SkyCourier, launched with FedEx, flew in May 2020 and entered service in May 2022. The Beechcraft Denali single-engine turboprop flew on 23 November 2021 but waited on its new GE Catalyst engine, certificated only in February 2025. The Textron AirLand Scorpion, a low-cost combat jet secretly built in Wichita, flew in 2013 but has found no buyer.

Strike, recovery and a new chief

A strike hit production in 2024, and 2025 brought recovery: revenues rose to US$5.955 billion from US$5.284 billion, with a backlog of US$7.7 billion at year-end. In the fourth quarter alone the company delivered 49 Citation jets and 43 commercial turboprops. NetJets took the first Citation Ascends in May 2026, and in August 2026 Textron named Brian Rohloff, a Textron Aviation veteran of nearly three decades, to succeed Ron Draper as chief executive from 31 August.

Factories

• Wichita headquarters and plants · Wichita, Kansas — Former Cessna and Beechcraft sites
• Pipistrel · Ajdovščina, Slovenia — Acquired 2022; Textron eAviation

People

• Scott Ernest · first CEO, 2014–2018
• Ron Draper · CEO, 2018–2026 — Retired after eight years leading Textron Aviation
• Brian Rohloff · president and CEO from 31 August 2026 — Nearly three decades in the aviation business

Records and firsts

• Cessna 172: more than 44,000 built, the most produced aircraft in history