Piper Aircraft Inc. is selling a fleet of six Piper Seminole multi-engine piston-powered advanced training aircraft to Airline Transport Professionals (ATP), a nationwide firm specializing in airline pilot training and pilot career development. The airplanes will be delivered to ATP in 2010.
Piper and ATP jointly made the announcement at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s Aviation Summit 2010, held here in Long Beach. Both companies are exhibiting at the annual gathering. While both companies are not disclosing the fleet purchase price, retail value of six Seminoles is approximately $3.9 million.
“The Piper Seminole has proven itself in hundreds of thousands of hours of flight school training around the world,” says Piper Executive Vice President Randy Groom. “ATP students admire the airplane for its ability to help them learn advanced flight training maneuvers and procedures while the instructors appreciate the Piper Seminole’s ability to teach these lessons in a safe and forgiving manner.”
Degree Program
ATP Vice President of Flight Operations Jim Koziarski says, “Our fleet purchase will help us meet increasing demand for Mountain State University’s ATP Pilot Operations degree program, for which ATP provides all the flight training.”
The program offers the first aviation bachelor’s degree program with online coursework directly integrated with a standardized flight training curriculum available nationwide. Designed for future professional pilots, MSU and ATP students build over 100 hours of multi-engine Piper Seminole flight experience in a coast-to-coast, airline-style environment.
Fleet Reliability and Compatibility
“ATP chose the Piper Seminole because of its dispatch reliability, compatibility with our existing fleet, and, of course, ATP’s commitment to providing high-quality multi-engine flight training and experience to pilots of all certification levels,” Koziarski explains.
With the purchase, ATP will operate 87 Piper Seminoles in its training fleet. The company also operates 50 Cessna 172s, five Diamond DA40s and a CitationJet. The new Piper Seminoles are powered by two Lycoming O-360-A1H6 engines each generating 180 hp, with a 2,000-hour time between overhaul. Seminoles have a 15,000-foot service ceiling.
About ATP
In 1984, ATP pioneered cost-efficient, accelerated, multi-engine flight training with an emphasis on pilot career development. Today, ATP’s Airline Training Programs prepare graduates for airline pilot and corporate pilot careers with nationwide flight experience in the largest, multi-engine training fleet. Advanced jet training transitions these pilots from light twins to modern regional jets in CRJ-200 flight training devices. With thousands of graduates who have completed airline training on time and on budget, airlines come to ATP first to meet their demand for pilots. ATP flies over 6,000 hours to provide more than 300 FAA pilot certifications each month at 22 locations nationwide.
About Piper Aircraft
Piper Aircraft Inc. is headquartered in Vero Beach, Fla. A global force in aviation, Piper offers nine efficient models of single-engine and twin-engine trainer, personal and business aircraft. Piper Aircraft designs, manufactures, sells and supports the strongest and broadest single-engine product line in the industry, from high-performance pistons to turboprops to the world’s most fuel-efficient seven-person business jet, the PiperJet Altaire. With economical acquisition and operating costs, Piper airplanes deliver the best values available today and into the future. Piper is a member of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.
