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."

FMI: www.cirrusdesign.com, www.wmich.edu