Liberty University’s School of Aeronautics (SOA) has added to its growing fleet of training aircraft.
The flight school, located in Lynchburg, Virginia, received two new Cessna 172s from Textron Aviation. With the addition of the new Cessnas, the university’s fleet climbs to 27 aircraft. All but five are Cessna 172s.
“This investment in our fleet reflects our commitment to excellence and the overall growth of our program. It also ensures that we have world class training resources for our students,” SOA dean Dr. Rick Roof said in a statement.
The new Cessna 172s fall under the technically advanced aircraft (TAA) segment and are equipped with Garmin integrated flight decks with top-of-the-line safety systems such as the factory-installed Safe Flight Angle-of-Attack (AoA) indicator and new Garmin GI 275 solid-state standby attitude indicators.
“These additions are both technically advanced Garmin G1000 Nxi-equipped aircraft,” Roof said, “That’s important to us. It simplifies and standardizes our flight training programs by maintaining a consistent learning environment for our students.”
The Cessna 172 has long been a popular training aircraft because of its straightforward flight handling, modest landing speed, forgiving stall characteristics, good visibility, and a technology-driven cockpit.
Adding the new aircraft will allow Liberty’s flight program to grow even more. The flight line just recently surpassed 600 students and 225 students are currently enrolled.
Roof recognizes the support from the school.
“The School of Aeronautics is thankful for the continued support of Liberty University’s Executive Leadership team and their investment in the continued growth of our program.”
