Training Notes And News

SimuFlite Training International will award seven training scholarships worth more than $80,000 during 2000, the company announced. The scholarships include six pilot and one maintenance training opportunities. Four pilot scholarships are available through the University Aviation Association, and one pilot scholarship is available through the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum. One pilot and one maintenance scholarship made available through Women in Aviation International already have been awarded. The pilot scholarship went to Susan Ballew of Laguna Beach, California. Ballew will earn a Citation type rating after successfully completing a 13-day initial training program this summer. The maintenance scholarship winner, Joy Reeske, of Houston, Texas, will receive a certificate of completion after successfully finishing an eight-day Citation maintenance training course. For more information, visit SimuFlite's Web site (www.simuflite.com).

Cirrus Orders Top 500

Cirrus Design Corp. has received more than 500 orders for its SR20 four-place composite construction airplane. At the time of the announcement, 16 SR20s had rolled off the line at the company's Duluth, Minnesota, manufacturing facility. Currently, the facility is producing about one airplane every five days, but that rate is expected to improve to one airplane every working day by late this year.

Raytheon Delivers First T-6A Texans To Military

Raytheon Aircraft has begun deliveries of the T-6A Texan training aircraft to the U.S. Air Force. The first two Texans will be used in evaluations for both the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy. The seven-month testing program will take place at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Raytheon is expected to deliver up to 26 of the aircraft this year. Deliveries to the Navy are scheduled to begin in 2001. The U.S. military has ordered a total of 68 production Texans. The joint services are expected to order more than 700 aircraft through the year 2017.

International Young Eagles Day Set For June 10

Thousands of children from around the world will have the opportunity to experience flight at the seventh annual International Young Eagles Day set for June 10. As part of the event, dozens of flight rallies are scheduled in North America, South America, Australia, Asia, and Europe. Volunteer pilots will offer free flights to kids throughout their local area. Last year, more than 15,000 young people were involved in the event.

Women in aerospace poster brings aviation to classrooms

NASA and Women in Aviation are bringing career information to the classroom with a new poster depicting premiere women in aerospace. The colorful poster provides detailed lesson plans for classroom use and discussion. It depicts famous women from the aviation and aerospace industries and is intended to encourage girls to consider careers in engineering, aviation, aerospace, and education.

Student Pilots, Instructors Welcome At AOPA Expo

Fly in for just one day - or stay for two or three. This year's AOPA Expo will be held October 20 through 22 in sunny Long Beach, California, with year-round VFR weather. Log some flying time. Learn about hot job opportunities from on-site recruiters. Do a ride-along with your instructor. Rub elbows with other student pilots and instructors at Saturday's AOPA Flight Training/Project Pilot Reception. Listen to top speakers in more than 80 seminars. Visit our largest exhibit hall ever. Any way you look at it, AOPA Expo is a great opportunity to explore all of general aviation at once! Call 1-888-GO2-EXPO and save on one-, two-, and three-day advance registration packages. For more information visit our Web site (www.aopa.org ).

Student Pilot Network Awards Scholarships

Four winners have received scholarships ranging from $200 to $1,000 each from the Student Pilot Network. The scholarships can be used to defray the cost of flight training at schools affiliated with SPN. Jill Grobelski of West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, earned this year's $1,000 award. Bill McCoy of Austin, Texas; Michael Barnett of Kansas City, Missouri; and Matt Barton of LaGrange, Georgia, won $200 each. For more information about the scholarships, visit SPN's Web site (www.studentpilot.net ).

School Notes And News

Sierra Academy Introduces Professional Helicopter Program

Sierra Academy of Aeronautics has introduced a program designed to take future helicopter pilots from zero time to an airline transport pilot certificate in two years. Students at the Oakland, California-based school earn the necessary 1,200 hours of flight experience as instructors at Sierra.

The program is modeled after Sierra's successful Airline Pilot Qualification Program, which prepares pilots for jobs with regional airlines. The new Professional Helicopter Pilot Qualification Program has been approved by the Department of Education and the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology. Those approvals make students eligible for a wide variety of long-term loans, grants, and other forms of financial assistance. Students may also select associate or bachelor degree options through an extension campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

For more information about the program, contact Sierra Academy at 800/243-6300 or visit the school's Web site ( www.sierraacademy.com ).

Central Missouri State Gets Skyhawk Fleet

Central Missouri State University recently took delivery of 16 new Cessna 172Rs to replace its aging fleet of Cessna 150s and 152s. The aircraft were flown from Independence, Missouri, to the school's campus in Warrensburg by pilots among the school's students and faculty. John Dennison, chairman of the university's Department of Power and Transportation, said that the decision to purchase the Skyhawks was based on the school's extensive experience with other Cessna aircraft. CMSU offers an aviation technology degree that includes courses in professional piloting, aviation management, aviation maintenance management, avionics management, agricultural aviation, and systems design.

Embry-Riddle Civil Engineering Program Wins Accreditation

The civil engineering program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Daytona Beach, Florida, campus has won accreditation from ABET, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. The program was established in 1994 to meet the demand for engineers in aerospace design, airport planning and design, and transportation. Graduates are prepared to become practicing civil engineers dealing with structures, materials, soil mechanics, and foundations.

Phoenix East Introduces Pilot Training Package

Phoenix East Aviation Academy has created a new professional flight training program designed to take students from no flight experience through the private pilot certificate, multiengine rating, commercial certificate, and instrument rating for less than $18,000. The Part 141 program recently received approval from the FAA. Pilots who complete the program will have logged more than 60 hours of multiengine time. The cost of the course includes all books, flight exams, written exams, and ground schools. In addition, Phoenix East offers job placement assistance for graduates, and student loans and financial assistance are available. For more information about this or other programs, contact Phoenix East, Daytona Beach International Airport, 561 Pearl Harbor Drive, Daytona Beach, Florida 32114; telephone 800/868-4359; or visit the Web site ( www.pea.com ).

Cessna Foundation Establishes Leadership Scholarships

The Cessna Foundation has committed $250,000 to endow the Cessna Leadership Scholarship at Kansas State University. The scholarship will provide financial support to juniors and seniors studying piloting or aviation maintenance. The exact amount of the scholarships has not yet been determined, but the pilot scholarship is expected to cover a substantial portion of the cost of turboprop or jet transition course.