The exceptional support and expertise of Team XL

Textron Aviation believes in the value of supporting customers throughout their ownership journey. Whether customers are new to aviation or Cessna and Beechcraft products, we have teams of experts ready to support all Textron Aviation manufactured products when needed.

Meet Team XL: Ben, Russ and Jerry. Collectively, they have nearly 90 years of aviation experience. Customers who own and operate Cessna Citation Excel, XLS, XLS+ and XLS Gen2 aircraft can lean on this team of experts when they have questions. This team will also support Citation Ascend customers as the Ascend is the next iteration of the legendary Citation Excel family.

Ben joined Textron Aviation’s Experimental Engineering team in 1997, just as the Citation Excel was certified. Ten years later, he transitioned into Customer Support, joining a team of nine members who supported all fielded aircraft manufactured by the company. Since 1997, the Product Support team has included sub-teams based on aircraft model. In 2013, Ben joined Team XL.

One thing that makes the team successful is the collaborative efforts of its members with one another, as well as the customer and other stakeholders, in finding solutions.

Take for example, an instance of an anti-skid brake error. The preliminary steps of a team call and mobile service visit didn’t resolve the issue. Team XL determined a more in-depth examination of the aircraft was needed and worked with the customer to bring the aircraft to the Wichita Service Center.

Once onsite, Team XL brought in additional resources to support the customer, including Engineering and Flight Test teams. These teams worked together with daily and hourly communications to find a solution.

After a lot of collaboration and troubleshooting, they were able to quickly resolve the issue and the customer was pleased with the results.

“Working through issues like this help us step through the troubleshooting path quicker in the future,” explained Russ.

The team receives about 30-40 phone calls and 100 emails daily, and they strive to close everything before the end of the day. The requests are divided based on each person’s area of expertise. Ben and Russ are trained A&P mechanics and Jerry’s background is in avionics.

“We can’t know the fix for everything, but we are determined to find one,” added Jerry. “We like to know different ways of finding solutions so we can help the next customer.”  

Not every email or phone call results in a long-term project. The team has many tools it utilizes to help customers. Between internal databases, other experts at Textron Aviation or having access to aircraft currently in the Wichita Service Center, Team XL can help identify solutions to customers’ questions. The most important partner in the troubleshooting process is the customer. Customers know they can reach out for expert support when it comes to their aircraft.

Customers can connect with the team directly by email or phone, via the Textron Aviation Service Management app or by calling 1CALL. The teams are standing by ready to support customers who own and operate Textron Aviation manufactured aircraft. After all, nobody knows Cessna, Beechcraft and Hawker aircraft better than the original equipment manufacturer; Team XL brings the full support of Textron Aviation to its customers.