Cessna Receives Fleet Order From Ethiopian Airlines for Diesel Skyhawks
November 11, 2007, Ethiopian
Airlines and Africair, Inc., Cessna Aircraft Company’s authorized
representative for Ethiopia, announced today a contract for 10 new turbo
diesel Skyhawks. Cessna, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced the
diesel option for the Model 172S at the U.S. Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Association annual Expo in October.
The Cessna Skyhawk TD (turbo diesel) is a new variant of the 172 Skyhawk,
aviation’s most popular aircraft seeing extensive use in flight training and
pleasure flying throughout the world. The Skyhawk TD is powered by a 155
horsepower Centurion 2.0 diesel engine manufactured by Germany’s Thielert
Aircraft Engines Gmbh. The engine burns JetA-1 fuel, making it a popular
option in countries where Avgas is scarce.
The Skyhawk TD was selected by Ethiopian Airlines to replace its current training fleet of 10 Cessna 172XPs due not only to the lower operating cost provided by the Jet A-1 powered aircraft, but also to the excellent support the airline has received from Cessna and Africair during the past 20 years. Ethiopian Airlines lauded the Skyhawk TD as a more economical aircraft that, along with the advanced Garmin G1000 avionics, made it the logical choice for the modernization of its fleet.
“These aircraft will be used in ab-initio airline training and represent the first fleet of the new Skyhawk TDs ordered by a major airline training school. We feel that the early acceptance of this aircraft in the training market is the beginning of a trend we are confident will continue to spread throughout the world,” said Bob Gibbs, Cessna’s director of International Propeller Aircraft Sales. Established in 1964, Ethiopian Airlines’ Pilot Training School, based in Addis Ababa, is one of the premier training organizations in Africa. Africair, Inc. is the Cessna distributor for 41 countries in Africa and has been selling and supporting the full range of Cessna products in Africa since 1968.