Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, today debuted its Model 162 Skycatcher light sport aircraft in Europe. The introduction took place at the Cannes (France) AirShow 2011 which begins today and runs through June 11.

“The light sport sector is critically important to Europe in terms of supporting general aviation and stimulating new pilot starts,” said Pana Poulios, Cessna’s European sales director. “Cannes is just the beginning of a Skycatcher European tour that will include training sessions with pilots in our extensive dealer network.”

From Cannes, the Skycatcher will make appearances at airshows throughout Europe, including Tannkosh 2011 (Germany, August 26-28) and the Air Expo Zell (Austria, September 3-4).
Cessna has received orders for more than 1,000 Skycatchers, 300 of which are from European customers.

The Skycatcher, announced in 2007, is Cessna’s entry in the popular light sport aircraft category. The aircraft features the Garmin G300 avionics suite and a Teledyne Continental O200D engine. The two-seat, single-engine aircraft has a maximum speed of 118 knots with a maximum range of 470 nautical miles.

Designed as a low-cost flight trainer, Skycatchers have already been delivered to many Cessna Pilot Centers around the U.S. The first international delivery, to a customer in Australia, took place in March 2011 and more international deliveries are slated for later this year.

Cessna press release