Textron awards Skyhawks to five schools
Top Hawk program supports flight training at colleges and universities
Textron Aviation Inc. recently announced it has selected five universities to receive custom-branded Cessna 172 Skyhawks as part of the company’s 2018 Top Hawk program. Middle Tennessee State University, University of Dubuque, Lewis University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott, and California Aeronautical University will use the four-seat trainers for flight training, university recruiting efforts, and promotional activities.
“As the Top Hawk program enters its fourth year, we’re proud to build on a program that has allowed us to support general aviation and contribute to the enhancement of student pilot training with the renowned Skyhawk 172 platform,” said Doug May, vice president of piston aircraft for the Textron Inc. company, which markets Cessna, Beechcraft, and Hawker aircraft. “We are eager to begin collaborating with the universities selected for the 2018 Top Hawk program and continue to build relationships with the schools training the next generation of pilots.”
Each school’s Top Hawk 172 will come with a Garmin G1000 NXi database subscription and a Garmin Pilot subscription, as well as two Bose A20 active noise reduction aviation headsets.
ASI NEWS
Be the eyes and ears
Protect your airport and aircraft from danger or threat
By Machteld Smith
We like to think it can’t happen at our airport, but unfortunately there are individuals who try to unlawfully gain access to airport property or our aircraft. AOPA’s Airport Watch program and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) teamed up to develop the General Aviation Security course to help the GA community tap into resources to thwart security breaches at our airports.
The course was recently updated with refreshed content, and can now be delivered to your desktop, laptop, and mobile devices. The interactive course offers practical guidance to limit opportunities for criminals or potential terrorists seeking access to aircraft at airports, flight schools, flying clubs, and FBOs. It provides examples of suspicious activity at airports and ways to identify, confirm, and report such activity while staying safe.
GA airports and tenants vary by location and services offered, so the course covers topics that allow customization of the type of security practices that may be employed. You can select one of four custom tracks (flight schools, aircraft owners, renter pilots, and FBOs and flying clubs) to fit your needs. The custom track for flight schools—and FBOs and flying clubs that have direct contact with flight students—include the TSA’s annual initial and recurrent security awareness training.
Explore the course and learn how to prevent unauthorized access to your hangar and aircraft (www.airsafetyinstitute.org/courses/gasecurity).
Machteld Smith is an aviation technical writer for the AOPA Air Safety Institute.
New from ASI
Spring seminar focuses on ‘See and Avoid'
The risk of a collision increases when multiple aircraft converge near the same navaid or approach the same airport. Regardless of ATC support and in-cockpit traffic displays, midair collisions still make the newspaper headlines and close calls still happen too frequently.
Collision Course: Avoiding Airborne Traffic, which debuts January 10, looks at the problem from a risk management perspective. The seminar identifies high-risk scenarios and locations, then lays out strategies for avoiding them. From congested corridors to frenetic fly-ins, your seminar leader will talk about human eye limitations, proven techniques for enhancing visual scan effectiveness, maximizing your visibility to other aircraft, the promise and peril of cockpit technology, and “danger zones” you may not be aware of. Invite your friends and fellow pilots and plan to attend the seminar at a location near you. Seminar made possible by the generous support of Joyce Gardella in memory of Paul Gardella.
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