Lycoming Announces Sponsorship of Gene McNeely

Team Lycoming Welcomes Veteran Racer and Airshow Professional

Williamsport,PA - April 3, 200 8 - Lycoming Engines, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, proudly welcomes Gene McNeely to the Lycoming Team. Gene is very well-known among airshow fans both as a masterful performer and as an enthusiastic good-will ambassador for aviation.

Gene has been interested in aviation since his teens, and his flying career began in the 1960’s after his Navy service, when he became a flight instructor and a crop duster. He operated his own agricultural business for many years and was also in air cargo service. Gene performs at air shows in a vintage T-6 Texan in the right wing slot for the famous 4-man formation Aeroshell Aerobatic Team. Gene is also an accomplished air racer, piloting a T-6, and a consistent top-five finisher since1986 at the Reno Air Races.

The aircraft Gene will be performing in as a Lycoming-sponsored pilot is his homebuilt Vans RV-8, beautifully finished in a paint scheme matched to the T-6 he flies with the formation team. The aerobatic airplane is equipped with a new Lycoming AEIO-390-X Thunderbolt Engine.

Thunderbolt Engines are Lycoming’s “team-built” engines with customized features and enhanced performance. The IO-390 series engines are Lycoming’s largest normally aspirated 4-cylinder engines, fuel-injected and producing 210 horsepower. The Thunderbolt AEIO engine powering Gene McNeely’s RV-8 is equipped with an aerobatic kit.

“We are thrilled to sponsor Gene McNeely and proud to support him as the newest addition to Team Lycoming’s aerobatic pilot sponsorships. It’s an honor to have this legendary pilot and performer carry the Lycoming and Thunderbolt names to aviation fans everywhere” stated Todd Stoner, Lycoming Engines Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Gene’s home base is Spruce Creek, a Florida airpark near the Atlantic coastline.

Launched in April 2006, Lycoming Thunderbolt Engines provide product offerings that include engines ranging from the rugged O-235 to the legendary IO-720. Customers may choose from a variety of available fuel systems, ignition systems, and performance enhancements including component balancing, cylinder flow matching, increased compression, tuned induction, and turbo charging. Finishing options include chrome and custom colors. More information is available at www.mytbolt.com

Lycoming Engines specializes in Engineering, Manufacture, Service and Support of piston aircraft engines. Headquartered in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Lycoming piston engines power more than half of the world's general aviation fleet - both rotary-wing and fixed-wing. Lycoming Engines is a division of Avco Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc. More information is available at www.lycoming.textron.com.

Textron Inc. is an $11 billion multi-industry company operating in 32 countries with approximately 40,000 employees. The company leverages its global network of aircraft, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, Fluid & Power, Textron Systems and Textron Financial Corporation. More information is available at www.textron.com.

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