Airframe Manufacturers Announce Lycoming-Powered Fleet
Sales
In its 80th year of manufacturing
piston aircraft engines, Lycoming is doing a bit of bragging about
their being the powerplant of choice for a growing number of flight
school and service fleets all over the world. In recent months,
airframe manufacturers that include the likes of Cessna
Aircraft of Wichita, Kan., Lancair International of Redmond, Wash.,
and Diamond Aircraft of London, Ontario have announced the sale of
Lycoming-powered fleets to schools including Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Florida, The US Air Force Academy
in Colorado, Massey University in New Zealand, the Colombian Air
Force Training Institute, Bogotà, Colombia, and the CAE
Global Academy based in India.
"Our products, innovation and services make us an attractive
solution for airframe manufacturers," says Ian Walsh, Lycoming
senior vice president and general manager. "Our worldwide support
network of distributors and service centers makes us unique in
piston aircraft engine manufacturing; fleet buyers see that as a
positive."
For example, Embry-Riddle purchased 10 Diamond DA42 L360
twin-engine aircraft, equipped with two counter-rotating Lycoming
IO-360 engines. Lycoming earned certification for the left-hand
turning version of the engine in just nine months after Diamond's
original choice of engine manufacturers filed for bankruptcy. This
allowed Diamond to keep the aircraft in production.
To open its exhibition at the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In in Lakeland,
Fla., in April, Cessna announced two fleet orders. The Civil Air
Patrol (CAP) ordered 19 additional new Cessna 182T Skylanes,
equipped with Lycoming IO-540s, and the University of North Dakota
(UND) ordered 13 additional new Cessna 172S Skyhawks, equipped with
the Lycoming IO-360s. The UND fleet will be used for flight
training at the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences.
Lastly, Lancair has announced the sale of 25 modified Legacy FG
aircraft, known as the Synergy, to be used for primary flight
training of Colombian Air Force Pilots. The Synergy sports the
newly certified 210-horsepower Lycoming IO-390 four-cylinder
engine. Lancair also holds the distinction of being the final
installation and test partner for Lycoming's new iE2 integrated
electronic engine, which it will install in its Evolution
airframe.
"As we celebrate our 80th year of manufacturing piston aircraft
engines, our solutions remain the power of choice for so many
airframe manufacturers and fleet buyers," says Todd Stoner,
Lycoming vice president of sales and marketing. "We look forward to
providing continued service to both for many years to come."