Piper Aircraft has delivered a new Piper Arrow pilot training aircraft to Liberty University School of Aeronautics. The new Piper Arrow single-engine trainer joins a growing fleet of teaching aircraft including other Piper Arrows, Piper Seminoles and Cessna 172s.
(Photo – Simon Caldecott of Piper Aircraft with David Young of Liberty University) The recent delivery is part of a long-term agreement between Piper and the Lynchburg, Va.-based Liberty University School of Aeronautics. Under the agreement, Liberty University plans to replace and expand its fleet of Piper Arrows and twin-engine Seminoles.
“Liberty University School of Aeronautics is excited to accept delivery of a new Piper Arrow into our rapidly growing fleet,” said retired Brig. Gen. David Young, dean of the aeronautics school and president of the Lynchburg, Va. FBO Freedom Aviation.
Young said, “Piper trainers have become a mainstay in Liberty’s aeronautics curriculum and have played a large role in the growing of Liberty University’s program from four students to more than 800 in the past 11 years. Liberty’s continued plans for growth will further necessitate additional fleet expansion and the school is looking forward to making many of those additions Piper products.”
“Liberty University is committed to excellence and meeting the needs of its students as it continues to add new programs and FAA certifications providing excellent training and opportunities for new pilots and aircraft mechanics entering careers in missionary, military or commercial aviation,” said Piper President and CEO Simon Caldecott.
“Our Piper Arrow is the complex training aircraft of choice for the school because of its reliability and for the smooth transition it provides for students advancing into twin-engine Piper Seminoles, which are used at Liberty exclusively for multi-engine training,” he added. “We are delighted with Liberty’s continued confidence in our training airplanes.”
The Piper Arrow is the preferred aircraft for Liberty University’s Air Race Classic team, the “Liberty Belles,” which utilizes Arrows for its annual cross-country race held in the summer. In the 2013 race, the all-female team was able to fly a total of 50 hours cross-country without a single mechanical issue. This reliability played a large part in propelling the team to ninth place in a competitive field of 42 teams (only 33 were able to finish) and in winning the “Piper Award.”
