8/1/97
Attention photo editors: Images of the airplanes are available on the Web for downloading at http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/~univnews/pix/AIRPORT-3.JPG and http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/~univnews/pix/AIRPORT-1.JPG
ATHENS, Ohio -- Five new airplanes at the Ohio University Airport will allow aviation students to train with the latest in aviation technology, better preparing them for a career in aviation, according to officials in Airport Operations and the Department of Aviation.
A group of certified flight instructors who also are university aviation students flew the 1997 Cessna 172 model planes to the university's airport this week. Built by Cessna Aircraft in Independence, Kan.., the four-seater aircraft will be used for student training and will be available for local use by other university pilots. "We wanted our students to have access to planes with the newest technology, the same sort of technology they might find in a corporate setting," said Ken Holmes, director of Airport Operations. "That avionics technology includes the newest radio and navigational equipment, such as the latest global positioning system technology."
Airport Operations and the university's Auxiliary Services paid $129,950 for each of the planes. The new planes replace five older models, which will be sold through a bidding process.
"This is a clear indication to both potential students and faculty that Ohio University honors its commitment to collegiate aviation education," said Elaine McCoy, chair of the Department of Aviation.
There currently are 90 students in the aviation program. The students fly about 4,000 total hours a year on the 12 university planes available to the training program.
In addition to the new planes, students also will have access to a new flight simulator that will be delivered in late August. The Frasca 142 is the same flight training device used by several major airlines for screening university interns and pilot applicants, McCoy said. The device will simulate up to nine different multi- or single-engine aircraft. Its programming capability will allow for standardization of lessons and scoring of accuracy on flights.
Funding for the $160,000 simulator came from the Department of Aviation and the Russ College of Engineering and Technology.
"The aircraft and the simulator are an investment in the current safety of our students and in the future aviation professionals of tomorrow," McCoy said.