PIPER PROVIS NEW FLEET OF GLASS WARRIOR TRAINERS
TO BEN-AIR FLIGHT ACEMY
First European Flight School to Make nced Glass Avionics Standard
VERO BEACH, Fla., Jan., 18, 2007 – Piper Aircraft Inc. today announced the sale of four Warrior III aircraft to Ben-Air Flight Acemy (BAFA), the premier flight training organization in Belgium.
BAFA selected Piper to augment its existing fleet of trainers. All four Warriors are equipped with the Avidyne Entegra integrated flight deck – advanced glass cockpit technology similar to that found on commercial and business aircraft.
“We are pleased and honored that BAFA continues to rely on Piper as the company to go to for its aircraft needs,” said Robert A. Kromer, Piper’s Vice President of Sales. “The Warrior III is a mainstay of the PA-28 family of aircraft and is noted for its reliable capalities. Coupled with the Entegra system’s advanced glass avionics, the Warriors purchased by BAFA are state-of-the-art trainers that will provide stunts with every advantage.”
Marc Kegelaers, CEO of BAFA, said Piper was selected because of that combination of reliability, advanced technology and value for the money. He also underscored that BAFA is the first flight school in Europe to standardize on a fleet of all-glass Warriors for all phases of single-engine training – from basic VFR to training for instrument flight.
“As a flight school, we are training the professional pilots of tomorrow,” he said. “By putting our students in an all-glass environment from day one, they will be better prepared for a career in the cockpit of modern-day airliners and private jets.”
Kegelaers addedd that “spectacular” growth in student enrollment in the past year, coupled with an aging fleet, prompted the academy to purchase a new series of trainers. “We looked for a platform that would offer us dependability at a low operating cost,” he said, “The Piper Warrior has become our aircraft of choice. It has a proven track-record and provides high value for money.”
BAFA, located in Antwerp, Belgium, operates a fleet comprised mostly of Piper Seneca Vs and Piper Archer/Warriors.
Piper Aircraft, Inc. is hequartered in Vero Beach, Fla. Piper’s rich legacy is born of 70 years of unparalleled history, with more than 144,000 aircraft brought to market and more than 160 models certified. Approximately 90,000 of those aircraft are still flying and being serviced and supported on every continent by Piper’s 65 service centers, 40 dealers and 2,500 field personnel. Piper is the only general aviation manufacturer to build and offer aircraft for every general aviation mission, from trainers and high-performance aircraft for personal and business use, to turbine-powered business aircraft...and now, the PiperJet.
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For further information, contact:
Mark S. Miller
(772) 299-2900
Fax: (772) 978-6597
mail to: m.miller@newpiper.com
www.newpiper.com
For additional information or questions about
the general aviation industry, contact the
General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA)
(202) 393-1500
www.GAMA.aero