And Now You Know The Rest Of The Story

As ANN reported at the beginning of the month, the University of Oklahoma's Department of Aviation finally decided to replace its fleet of Piper Warriors. After checking around, Aviation Directdor Glenn Schaumburg went back to New Piper and ordered 13 new Warrior IIIs.

Now, we know why.

At an Oshkosh news conference on the eve of AirVenture 2004, Piper formally announced the sale to reporters, quoting Schaumburg as saying one of the biggest selling points from Piper was the inclusion of Avydine glass.

Piper CEO Chuck Suma (below) quoted Schaumburg as saying, "the industry requires new pilots with GPS and glass cockpit training. It's important for us to privde this technology to our students. We've had a long history with Piper and they have evolved with our needs."

The OU Daily newspaper reported the sale was worth $2.2 million.

Suma made the disclosure Monday evening, telling reporters that all entry-level models will feature Avidyne FlightMax Entegra flight deck systems.

OU will be among the first customers to receive the newly-outfitted aircraft. Piper will also put the Entegra systems in Archer IIIs and Arrows.

The Entegra equipped aircraft are all electric -- replacing the vacuum system and related vacuum-driven equipment.

Piper will also offer as an option Narrowcast Datalink, providing GPS location/positioning with Nexrad weather information.

FMI: www.newpiper.com