Image: L3 Commercial Aviation
L3 Commercial Aviation has placed an order with options for up to 240 new Pipers over the next ten years, the company announced at Sun ‘n Fun this year. The new aircraft, a mix of single-engine Archers and twin-engine Seminoles, will be going to “expand and modernize” fleets at the company’s Airline Academy pilot training sites in the U.S., Portugal and the U.K.
“We are continuously exploring ways to improve both the quality and capacity of our training facilities,” said Airline Academy Vice President Geoff van Klaveren. “This significant investment in expanding and modernizing our fleet with these brand-new aircraft will help us in our aspiration to provide the highest-quality training while meeting the increasing international demand for new pilots from our airline customers.”
L3 will be taking delivery of 19 Archers and seven Seminoles in 2019 with the first aircraft arriving later this month. The new planes will be glass cockpit- and ADS-B-equipped. According to L3, it has also invested in training and recruiting additional instructors across its Airline Academy sites in order to increase training capacity.
