ATP Flight School has signed an agreement to purchase 55 Cessna Skyhawk aircraft from Textron Aviation. With this order, ATP will have about 200 Skyhawks across 74 training centers across the country.
Chris Crow, vice president, Textron Aviation Piston Sales, said: “This order announcement demonstrates the continued long-term relationship we have with ATP in support of their flight training needs. For more than six decades, the legendary Cessna Skyhawk has been one of the world’s top training aircraft. We are thrilled to see these aircraft utilized to inspire the next generation of professional pilots."
Michael Arnold, director of marketing at ATP, said: “The Skyhawk has proven to be an integral part of ATP’s fleet of 490 aircraft, which system-wide delivers 480,000 flight hours and nearly 9,000 pilot certificates issued annually. The new order with Textron will be essential in continuing to provide students with the fastest path to gain certification and start their careers as airline pilots."
Textron claims that the stable flight characteristics, advanced avionics, and proven dispatch reliability of the Cessna Skyhawk make it a dependable training platform for ATP, which flies over 40,000 flight hours per month.
Deliveries of the 55 aircraft will begin in late 2023 and continue throughout 2024.