Piper Aircraft Inks Largest Civilian Fleet Order In Company History With L3 Commercial Aviation

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Piper Aircraft announced in early April that L3 Commercial Aviation placed an order for up to 240 Piper aircraft to expand and modernize its trainer fleet. The deal includes a hard order for seven twin-engine Piper Seminoles (shown here) and 19 single-engine Piper Archers. (Photo courtesy of Piper Aircraft.)

In a deal proclaimed as the “largest civilian fleet order in its history, Piper Aircraft announced at the Sun N’ Fun International Fly-In & Expo in Lakeland, Florida, that L3 Commercial Aviation has ordered up to 240 new Piper aircraft to expand and modernize its trainer fleet. L3 operates Airline Academy pilot training sites in Florida, Portugal, and the UK. The deal includes a hard order for 19 single-engine Piper Archers and seven twin-engine Piper Seminoles.

Related to this, Piper also announced it has added two new value-priced aircraft to its trainer-class lineup. The new Piper Pilot 100 and Pilot 100i carry a $259,000 price tag and offer the “same rugged durability and functionality” of Piper’s Archer TX trainer, Piper says.

“The Ideal Classrooms”

Overall, Piper manufacturers M-Class M600, M500, and M350 business and personal models, as well as Twin Class Seneca V and Seminole models and Trainer Class Warrior, Archer TX, Archer DX, Arrow, Seminole, and Seneca V models.

Concerning the L3 deal, Piper CEO and President Simon Caldecott says Piper’s “advanced training aircraft are the ideal classrooms for cadets to learn and first experience the unique joy of flying.”

L3’s Piper aircraft will feature the latest technology used on commercial jets, thus providing the “perfect training environment” for future pilots seeking to join commercial airlines. Geoff van Klaveren, L3 Commercial Aviation vice president of Airline Academy, says the 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.”

Making History

L3’s order comes little more than a year after Piper received an order for 152 aircraft from Fanmei Aviation Technologies, Piper’s exclusive dealer in China. At the time, the order marked the largest single trainer order in Piper’s history.

If you’re looking for a Piper trainer or M-Class model, Controller.com has numerous used models for sale, including M350s, M500s, M600s, Senecas, Seminoles, Warriors, Archers, and Arrows.

Source: Piper Aircraft

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