Eight Warriors And Two Seminoles Add To The Existing
Fleet
In a Tuesday news conference at the Singapore Air Show, Piper
announced the sale of eight Piper Warriors and two Piper Seminoles
-- fully equipped with the most advanced technology available in
single- and twin-engine trainers -- to the Australian Airline Pilot
Academy (AAPA).
The academy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Regional Express
Holdings Limited (Rex).
"We are honored that AAPA is continuing its long-standing
relationship with Piper as its exclusive provider of instructional
aircraft," said Mary Messuti, Managing Director, Piper Aircraft
Asia. "AAPA's acquisition of these advanced trainers to
augment its existing fleet of Piper aircraft shows the school's
dedication to providing its students with the unique combination of
reliability and advanced technology that both the Piper Warrior and
Piper Seminole deliver. At the same time, we are making major
commitments to expanding our business and providing top quality
aircraft and service throughout Asia/Pacific, and AAPA can look
forward to continued best-in-class sales and service from Piper in
the years ahead."
Piper Warrior File Photo
AAPA's new aircraft take the Academy's existing fleet to 20
Piper aircraft: 16 Piper Warriors and four Piper Seminoles.
These aircraft give AAPA's students hands-on experience with
state-of-the-art systems -- including full-glass panel cockpit
displays similar to those found in commercial aviation - and two of
the world's most reliable and performance-driven
aircraft.
Commenting on the sale AAPA, Chairman and Rex Managing Director,
Jim Davis, said: "We have been operating the latest generation
Piper aircraft in our school since its inception just over two
years ago and are very pleased with their performance, reliability
and the training experience they provide for our cadets. The
advanced technology cockpits are ideal in terms of preparing them
for flying modern airline aircraft."
AAPA -- Located in Wagga Wagga, Australia, at Mangalore Airport
-- has a current enrollment of 39 cadets. The Academy's most
advanced students (enrolled in April 2008) are currently in the
flying stage of their curriculum and on track to graduate later
this year and commence their conversion training onto Rex's SAAB
340 aircraft. A new group of 20 cadets is scheduled to be enrolled
every three months, and all of AAPA's students are being trained
exclusively in Piper Aircraft with full glass cockpits.
Piper Seminole File Photo
Piper Warriors and Seminoles have long been considered a
"staple" aircraft for flight schools. In addition, the Piper
Seminole is considered a complex trainer, providing students with
the hands-on experience to learn special skill sets required for
advanced ratings and licenses.
Piper says the benefits of going "full-line" include:
- Maintenance: Technicians can focus on one brand of
aircraft. This reduces airplane downtime, and also decreases
the training-time for technicians. In many cases, aircraft
components and systems are similar from one Piper model to the
next. Plus, there is the added benefit of dealing with only one
company for warranty, parts and service issues.
- Flight Training: As students move up through the line,
they can focus their attention on their progression of specific
skills. They learn new, more complex systems -- rather than
struggle with flight characteristics inherent in aircraft
manufactured by different companies - and are consequently better
able to gain the knowledge and experience they need to achieve
advanced ratings and licenses.
- Financial: There are financial benefits to making a
full-line fleet purchase, such as volume pricing for aircraft and
parts.
- Marketing: From a marketing perspective, with today's
tough competition to attract students, new equipment and advanced
technology give schools an upper hand. To that end, Piper
incorporates the most advanced certified components available in
today's market.