Cessna Says New Large Business Jet Will Create 1,010 New Jobs

There's little argument that Cessna Aircraft Company has been good to Wichita, KS... and on Tuesday, the Wichita City Council returned the favor, authorizing a $5 million loan to assist with the planemaker's Citation Columbus business jet.

The Wichita Business Review reports the council voted 4-0 in favor of granting Cessna the forgivable loan, matching a proposed loan put forth by Sedgwick County that is expected to be approved soon.

City spokesman Van Williams said two councilmembers were absent from the vote, as was Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer.

As ANN reported, Cessna announced in February it would go ahead with production of the Columbus, which was introduced as the Large Cabin Concept proof-of-concept mockup at NBAA 2006. Slated to be Cessna's largest aircraft to date, the Columbus is designed for intercontinental travel with a target range of 4,000 nautical miles at Mach .80 carrying eight passengers.

Cessna says it will need over $750 million to develop the Columbus, creating 1,010 new jobs in the process. The Kansas Department of Commerce previously committed $14.5 million in funds towards the program.

Major fuselage components for the Columbus will be supplied from Spirit AeroSystems... which received approval for its own $1.6 million cash incentive from the Wichita council last week.

Spirit plans to soon build a 375,000 square-foot factory to handle Columbus production duties, creating another 700 new jobs tied to the program.

FMI: www.cessna.com, www.wichitagov.org/