Flight Training - November 2014 - 16

PREFLIGHT»

NEWS

Piper continues strong showing
in trainer market

BY THOMAS B. HAINES

Update offered at AirVenture
CONTINUING SIGNIFICANT ORDERS

for the training market show that
Piper Aircraft is making progress in its
three-year plan to gain market share in
that competitive arena. The company
has seen success internationally, but
especially in the past couple of years is
delivering more and more trainers to U.S.
schools, including CAE, Florida Institute
of Technology, and ATP.
At EAA AirVenture, Piper President and
CEO Simon Caldecott said the company
recently sold two new Arrows to Kent
State University in Ohio to serve as complex trainers. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University recently received five Arrows.
Under an alliance, FIT now has 13 Pipers
in its fleet and the University of North
Dakota is flying three Seminole twins.
To keep its largest twin, the Seneca V,
competitive, Piper recently certified the
Garmin GFC 700 flight control system,
replacing the S-Tec Fifty-Five X autopilot that was certified when the Seneca

first sported the Garmin G1000 displays
in 2013.
Hours after Textron Aviation
announced that its Cessna 172 would be
certified with a diesel engine, Caldecott
noted that the Piper Archer DX diesel
model, certified in 2013 with essentially
the same Continental engine that Cessna
is using, has been to 11 countries in
Europe on tour. The Lycoming avgaspowered Archer TX sells for $338,500,
whereas the diesel model goes for
$399,500-about $35,000 less than the
Cessna Skyhawk JT-A diesel.

UPDATE

Back on top

BY PHIL SCOTT

Record-setter gets second chance at certificate

LOOKING TO
PURCHASE
YOUR FIRST
AIRCRAFT?
Our goal is to help
members find an
easier path to aircraft
ownership by offering:
- Low Rates
- Flexible Terms
Call us today at 1-800-627-5263

WHEN AOPA LAST caught up with Rachel Carter-who at 9 years old had set the unofficial record for youngest pilot of a transcontinental flight-she had bad news.
A few years after the flight (along with her flight instructor father Jimmy Carter-
no, not that one-in the right seat) she had two heart valves replaced, and the FAA
refused to issue her a third class medical certificate. Though she could not receive her
private pilot certificate, Carter went on to become the assistant manager of California's Ramona Airport, then its manager, and then operations coordinator of Fallbrook
Airport-all while fighting like a tiger for that medical (see "Debrief: Rachel Carter,"
May 2012 Flight Training).
Now she has great news: Thanks to her tenacity, and the testimony of a cardiologist,
the FAA Oklahoma branch had a change of heart, and on August 18 the agency issued a
giddy Carter her first medical certificate.
"I am on my way to fulfilling my passion in flying and getting my long-overdue
license," she said. She and her father are shooting for her checkride before Thanksgiving. Keep up with Carter's progress toward her private pilot certificate on her blog
(http://alwaysflyhigh.blog.com), followed by her upcoming pursuit of her instrument,
multiengine, and commercial tickets.
"I'd like to get into aerobatics, too," she said. "I'm so stoked."

16 /

FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

http://www.gleim.com/FT314 http://alwaysflyhigh.blog.com http://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG

Flight Training - November 2014

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