Textron Aviation has announced an order for 10 Cessna 172s from the Kansas State University Salina Aerospace and Technology Campus.
The order will expand the K-State fleet from 10 to 20 Skyhawks. All the aircraft will be equipped with Garmin G1000 NXi avionics.
“Textron Aviation remains committed to supporting the training and development of the next generation of pilots, and our continued strong relationship with Kansas State is a critical element to these efforts,” Chris Crow, Textron Aviation’s vice president of piston sales, said Tuesday in a statement.
“Kansas State University has been training future pilots in Cessna Skyhawks since their program’s inception in 1987, further demonstrating the strength and capability of the platform and its leadership in pilot training.”
For the fourth year in a row, KSU’s Aerospace program has seen its enrollment increase. In 2021, the number of program participants rose 14 percent from 649 to 741 students.
The order is the latest move in a long-term relationship between the school and Textron. In 2019, Textron delivered five brand new 172s to the school.
The school was also one of the first universities to join Textron’s “Top Hawk” program, which provides selected schools the opportunity to fly custom branded Skyhawks for flight training and promotional activities.
“The addition of these aircraft is a major step toward our vision to meet industry demands by providing students experience from a primary trainer all the way to a business-class airplane,” said Alysia Starkey, CEO and dean of K-State Salina.
The Cessna 172 is known for being the go to training aircraft for most schools. The school is set to receive the new aircraft at the beginning of 2022.
