Photo above – Austin Peay State University’s new Guimbal G2 Cabri is equipped with technology similar to standard commercial aircraft and will offer valuable experience to students in the Aviation Science Program. | Photo by Colby Wilson
Austin Peay State University’s Aviation Science Program, housed within the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), has added a fourth Guimbal aircraft to its fleet at Hangar 5 at Clarksville Municipal Airport.
Jerry Gray, the maintenance manager for Austin Peay’s Aviation Science Program, works on the university’s new Guimbal G2 Cabri. | Photo by Colby Wilson
The Guimbal G2 Cabri has a state-of-the-art touchscreen Garmin G500H, GTN 650TXi and Mid-Continent instrumentation. It also includes an upgraded GTX 345 transponder to identify other aircraft in close proximity and send the aircraft’s position to others with similar abilities, allowing for an increased level of safety and situational awareness. These upgrades will help Austin Peay’s aviation students familiarize themselves with digital information systems similar to those of many helicopters in the industry.
“It’s a fantastic aircraft, a 21st-century aircraft,” said Charles Weigandt, the Aviation Sciences Program’s director and chief pilot. “Because it’s more state-of-the-art, the leap from this training aircraft to more conventional, commercial aircraft is smaller because it’s more up-to-date.”
By Weigandt’s estimate, owning the Guimbals will reduce Austin Peay’s operating costs by at least 45% as opposed to leasing the French-made aircraft.
The four wholly-owned Guimbal helicopters are joined in the Austin Peay fleet by two leased Robinson R44s at Hangar 5, which has more than 10,000 feet of aircraft storage space. The program has grown exponentially since it launched in 2019 – there are now 53 students in the program, including eight expected to graduate in 2024 and a large influx of incoming freshmen scheduled to hit campus this fall.
