Cessna Aircraft Co. had already produced the venerable Skyhawk in record numbers when a deal announced Sept. 13 boosted the already impressive portfolio: A Moscow-based flight training operation inked a deal to add 79 Cessna 172s to a fleet that already included 11, with the new aircraft to be delivered by next year and used in locations across western Russia.
The company announced the latest deal, with ViraZH, at JetExpo 2013 in Moscow.
“We are delighted to have a strong relationship with ViraZH and are proud they have selected the Cessna 172 Skyhawk to be their training platform,” said Cessna Senior Vice President of Sales Kriya Shortt in a news release. “It is encouraging to see an increase in both our global customer base and flight training accessibility in Russia.”
Cessna claims in a news release that the Skyhawk is the best-selling aircraft in history. Company officials did not immediately respond to an AOPA Online inquiry seeking more detail on the sales history of the Skyhawk, including international sales made in recent years, or the dollar value of the deal with ViraZH. The Skyhawks headed to Russia are equipped with Garmin G1000 avionics.
