Textron Aviation received an agreement from long-term customer Epic Flight Academy for 15 Cessna Skyhawk 172s, the Wichita, Kansas, airframer announced today during the 2023 Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo.
Based at New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport in Florida, Epic Flight Academy is a Cessna Pilot Center and has trained thousands of students from more than 80 countries since 1999. Since 2016, the flight school has ordered 43 of the Cessna Skyhawks, which it uses exclusively for its piston-single training.
"At Epic, our motto has always been ‘safety first,’" said Danny Perna, Epic Flight Academy's founder and CEO. "This is why we train our pilots in the Cessna Skyhawk. This aircraft proves itself with every flight and prepares our students for a successful career."
Textron Aviation said the Skyhawk has been a dependable training platform for Epic with stable flight characteristics, Garmin G1000 NXi avionics, and proven dispatch reliability.
“The Cessna Skyhawk has been one of the world’s top training aircraft for over six decades,” noted Chris Crow, v-p of Textron Aviation piston sales. Textron has delivered more than 45,000 Skyhawks to customers worldwide.