Cessna announced at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh that it has received an order for four 172S Skyhawks from the University of Dubuque in Iowa. Delivery of the aircraft in September will complete the transition to an all Garmin G1000-equipped training fleet for the school’s aviation degree programs.
“With a G1000 fleet, the UD aviation program will take a leadership position and continue to offer its student pilots an avionics system that will prepare them for the advanced aircraft they might move on to fly once they graduate,” said Joe Hepburn, senior vice president of Propeller Aircraft. “We have developed a great relationship with the University of Dubuque over the years, doing our part to help build a comprehensive aviation degree program that continues to turn out passionate, first-rate pilots and aviation professionals.”
Dubuque manages a training fleet of 15 Skyhawks and will replace its remaining four 172R aircraft with the new 172S models. Dubuque’s flight training department began operating Cessna aircraft in 1973.
Why not three used ones for $100K each and one with all the bells and whistles for $400K. That would be half the cost of their intended purchase. You don’t need a brand new airplane full of the latest gizmos to teach “the basics” of turns, glides, climb, landings, stalls, etc.
Wonder how much the feds contributed to this? Ya, Uncle Sam, that guy who is hock up to his eyeballs?
Must be nice to be able to afford a brand new 172. I wonder how many hundreds of thousands this deal was? I guess Obama will get the student loans to cover the depreciation on these babies.