Continental Motors advances diesel Skyhawks
Continental Motors Group announced the addition of a Turbo Skyhawk JT-A to the fleet of a major flight training institution, and noted the approval from U.S. and European government agencies to retrofit older Cessna 172s with its diesel-powered engines.
A Textron Aviation Cessna Turbo Skyhawk JT-A has been selected by the flight training institute of Purdue University’s School of Aviation and Transportation Technology, Continental Motors Group said in a news release.
“The CD-155 powered Turbo Skyhawk JTA is the ideal fit for a training organization. It offers unbeatable total ownership and direct operating costs combined with reliability that allows our professional clients to increase the number hours flown per aircraft consistently. This translates into more pilots trained in the same time frame, with greater efficiencies and reduced costs,” said Robert Boggan, vice president of sales and customer service for Continental Motors Group.
“As one of the preeminent flight schools in the country, we at Purdue Aviation look forward to utilizing this next generation aircraft with advanced Jet-A engine technology in our flight training fleet,” said Scott Niswonger, chairman of Purdue Aviation.
Continental Motors also announced receiving supplemental type certificates (STC) from the FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the Cessna 172 family of aircraft powered by the 155-horsepower CD-155 diesel engine. The certification includes the incorporation of the Garmin G1000 integrated avionics system.
“This STC clears the way for European and American Cessna 172 owners to benefit from Continental Motors’ efficient and reliable Jet-A or diesel CD-155 engine solution, with all engine data displayed on their G1000. With this STC now approved by both EASA and the FAA, flight schools, fleet operators, and recreational users can reduce their fuel and maintenance costs, regardless of the avionics installed in their Cessna airframe,” said Jürgen Schwarz, senior vice president of engineering for Continental Motors Group, a subsidiary of AVIC International Holding Corp. of Beijing, China.
More than 5,000 of the CD-100-series engines (the CD-155 and the 135-horsepower CD-135) have been manufactured and delivered, according to the company.
