Four new Cirrus SR20 airplanes -- appropriately bearing November-Delta tail numbers -- were delivered recently to the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota collegiate training program, located in Grand Forks.

"This is the beginning of a new phase in our relationship with the University of North Dakota Aerospace program," said Cirrus Fleet Sales Manager John Gauch. "For over three years, UND Aerospace has been our partner in the very successful Cirrus Customer Transition Training Courses that have already been attended by over 2,500 pilots. This delivery of new SR20 airplanes to UND Aerospace is the natural progression of the long-standing commitment by both organizations to improve aviation safety."

As was reported in Aero-News, the four SR20s -- combined with the university's recent addition of seven Avidyne Entegra-equipped Piper Warrior IIIs -- is intended to help UND move to an all-glass training fleet.

"We maintain a fleet 112 airplanes and 15 flight training devices, and are always upgrading our fleet -- it’s really an ongoing process," said UND Aerospace Director of Operations Alan Palmer.

"Eventually," added Palmer, "we’ll operate an entire fleet of all-glass cockpit technically advanced airplanes and when that occurs we’ll also include the primary flight training in the TAA airplanes."

Cirrus CEO and co-founder Alan Klapmeier said, "It’s an honor for us at Cirrus to become a part of the UND Aerospace training program. We value their commitment to safety and for providing a quality flight education program that is among the best in the world."

FMI: www.cirrusdesign.com, www.aero.und.edu