USU Flies in Style

The aviation technology program in the College of Engineering received 10 DA40 Diamond Star single-engine aircraft that landed on the Logan-Cache Airport runway in late July. A group of USU flight instructors and professional pilots went to Diamond’s plant in Canada to pick up the airplanes and flew them home.

“The flight was great and it was like driving a new car – the planes even have that new plane smell,” said Jeremy DeWitt, a USU flight instructor.

 

Diamond’s DA40 is a low-wing, four-seat airplane built using the latest composite and carbon-fiber technology. The computerized glass cockpit displays and records flight and engine data for the pilot.

 

“It was different to fly a new plane because I am used to using a yoke, and these new airplanes use avionics,” said Tom Scibelli, a USU professional pilot major. “I am excited to train with these new planes – they have all the latest technology that major airlines use.”

 

“Our students will log flight training hours in one of the most modern airplanes available,” said Rick Charles, director of USU’s aviation program. “The new airplanes strengthen our program because our students will not only fly in the plane, they will be able to research and study the recorded flight and engine data, thus enhancing their education.”

 

Diamond Aircraft Industries is the largest general aviation manufacturer of single-engine aircraft in Canada and the third largest in North America. The students and instructors who went to Canada were treated to a tour of the Diamond plant and did some sightseeing at Niagra Falls.

The airplanes purchased by USU were built at Diamond’s London, Ontario, Canada, factory.

 

Three hundred students are currently enrolled in USU’s aviation technology program, which offers a choice of emphasis in professional piloting or aircraft maintenance management. Charles said the new airplanes are already allowing the flight program to grow. Forty new professional pilot students will enter the program this fall.

 

“What’s great about these planes is that our students will be able to go through the entire flight program using one airplane,” said Robert Eggen, a USU flight instructor. “These airplanes incorporate all the features students need to know in one spot. Before we had to use two or three planes to teach students and these new planes will make the program more streamlined.”

 

The DA40s replace several older Cessna models owned by USU’s aviation technology program. The program is entirely self-funded, and USU was able to purchase the new airplanes through a lease program with financing from a commercial bank. 

 

The program is also purchasing two multi-engine Diamond DA42 Twin Stars that will arrive in August. They will replace two older multi-engine aircraft that were manufactured in 1958.

 

Students graduating USU’s aviation technology program are employed by corporate airline and aviation companies, the government, military and in the private sector.

 

For more information on USU’s aviation technology program in the College of Engineering, visit its Web site.

 

Contact: Rick Charles, 435-213-6171, 435-753-9110