ATP Flight School Takes Delivery of Six New Piper Archers and Signs Purchase Agreement for 100 Piper Trainers

ATP Flight School accepted delivery of six new Piper Archer TXs and renewed a 100-aircraft order with Piper Aircraft, Inc. ATP operates the largest fleet of 402 flight training aircraft, the majority of which are Pipers.

Despite the setback from COVID-19, the airline industry anticipates a recovery and strong long-term demand for airline pilots. Over 80,000 U.S. airline pilots will be forced to retire at age 65 over the next 20 years, in addition to those taking early retirement.

“Anticipated airline pilot demand exceeds the current capabilities of the flight training industry,” said Michael Arnold, Director of Marketing, ATP Flight School. “ATP continues to invest in our graduates’ careers with the best flight training fleet in the industry.”

ATP has opened six locations in 2020, and plans to add five more before the end of the year. The new Piper aircraft provide ATP students access to a reliable, technologically-advanced training platform.

“ATP continues to expand as one of the largest private training organizations in the United States. Piper Aircraft is delighted to be a part of their continued growth. The Archer and Seminole are durable training products that feature advanced avionics technology which make them ideally suited to the demands of ATP’s rigorous training programs,” said Piper President and CEO Simon Caldecott. “We look forward to continuing to work with ATP as they continue their commitment of providing well trained pilots for the commercial aviation industry.”

Kim Stevens

Kim Stevens is the publisher of State Aviation Journal, which he founded in 2009. A longtime commercial-rated pilot, he was introduced to state aviation in 1992 as Director of the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics, later serving as Deputy Division Director for the Arizona Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Division. From 2013 to 2018, he was Director of Communications and Operations for the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) in Washington, D.C. Relocating to North Carolina, Kim worked for the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for two years and now concentrates solely on the Journal. Prior to his aviation career, Kim spent a decade in the newspaper and magazine business.