Mon, Oct 03, 2005
Could Involve 165 Aircraft Over Ten Years
Western Michigan University's huge (we
can't remember one bigger in recent memory) order for Cirrus
aircraft now appears even bigger than first news
indicated.
As Aero-News reported on Friday, the deal was
initially described as a 130 aircraft order, spanning ten-years.
But in an exclusive conversation with Aero-News Senior Editor Pete
Combs, Cirrus and Western Michigan leaders said the deal could
actually reach 165 aircraft before the ten-year term has
concluded.
"For us (130 planes) is a minimum," said Capt. Dave Powell,
assistant dean at WMU's College of Aviation. "We're starting slow
and growing big."
Why pick Cirrus aircraft equipped with glass cockpits?
"We really were looking
for training outcomes," Powell, a former 777 captain, told
Aero-News. "When they brought two airplanes down for us, they left
them with us for awhile to go through on our own. I was going for a
ride and the guy I was flying with was delayed for a little bit. So
I went out and sat in the cockpit. Without anybody being around, I
turned everything on, loaded a flight plan and was ready to go. And
that's with no training. What I did use, though, was the knowledge
base I gained at the airline. Glass is it. There's not a regional
jet or larger that's being delivered that's round-dialed. It had to
be glass."
That works out just fine with Cirrus, said Fleet Sales Manager
John Gauch. "From March, 2003, Cirrus has only delivered glass...
because we feel that really is the future of the industry."
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