PAL BUYS SIX TRAINING JETS
Manila, Feb. 21, 1998 - Philippine Airlines has purchased 6 Cessna 172R aircraft to augment the ageing trainer fleet of PAL Aviation School based in Clark Field, Pampanga.
The new generation Skyhawks will compliment the five Piper Tomahawk and three Piper Seminole aircraft that have been used to train PAL pilots since 1979.
The purchase of the Cessna aircraft is part of the company's $4 billion refleeting and modernization program. The Skyhawks were shipped from Kansas in completely knocked down kits and then assembled at the PAL Maintenance Base in Nichols Field.
The planes have been assembled and are now undergoing flight tests at Clark Field under the supervision of PAL pilots and engineers, Cessna representatives and the Air Transportation Office.
Thee 1997 Skyhawk model which forms the backbone of the PAL training fleet is the most advanced produced by Cessna.
With the Cessna Skyhawks, PAL said the aviation school's reputation as Asia's foremost producer of quality commercial pilots is "set to soar to greater heights," said a statement.
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