Piper Delivers Fleet to Qatar Aeronautical College

Vero Beach, Fla., Jan. 27, 2010 – Piper Aircraft Inc. delivered 14 new aircraft during December to Qatar Aeronautical College, a leading Arabic Gulf provider of airline pilot training. The fleet sale consists of four Piper Seneca Vs and 10 Piper Archer IIIs.

Qatar Aeronautical College’s Pilot Training Division is updating its current fleet, which consists of a number of Piper training aircraft. The college’s training campus is in Ras Abu Aboud near Doha International Airport, in the capital city of Qatar.

“Piper is very appreciative and pleased to be selected by a prestigious institution like Qatar Aeronautical College for this important fleet order,” said Chuck W. Glass, the director of Piper’s global flight training and fleet programs whose office is in Brunei. “This sale reinforces that Piper has a strong reputation around the world for supplying reliable and efficient training aircraft for new pilots,” he added.

While both organizations are not disclosing the fleet purchase price, retail value of four new Piper Seneca Vs and 10 new Archer IIIs totals about $6.7 million. In addition, Qatar Aeronautical College ordered its new fleet with advanced Garmin avionics. The Seneca V trainers have 4-screen dual G600 systems and the Archers have 4-screen dual G500 systems.

The Seneca V is a twin-engine piston aircraft powered by Continental TSIO-360-RBs, each generating 220 horsepower with a 197 KTAS, 365 km/h max cruise and a 828 nm, 1,533 km range. The single-engine Archer IIIs are powered by a 180 horsepower Lycoming 0-360-A4M with 128 KTAS, 237 km/h cruise and 522 nm, 822 km range.

In December of 2010, Piper also announced the sale of six Piper Seminole multi-engine piston-powered advanced training aircraft to Airline Transport Professionals, a North American firm specializing in airline pilot training and pilot career development.

About Qatar Aeronautical College

Qatar Aeronautical College was founded in 1975 as the Civil Aviation College of the Gulf States, with assistance from the United Nations Development Program. It changed its name in 1996 to Qatar Aeronautical College, and its programs have expanded to include training not just for airline pilots but also for aircraft maintenance engineers, air traffic controllers, meteorologists, flight dispatchers airport operations managers. The Pilot Training Division has its own building on campus with classrooms, briefing rooms, a library and a cafeteria, plus six simulators – three single-engine and three twin-engine.

About Piper Aircraft

Piper Aircraft Inc. is headquartered in Vero Beach, Fla. A global force in aviation, Piper offers efficient single-engine and twin-engine trainer, personal and business aircraft. Piper Aircraft designs, manufactures, sells and supports the strongest and broadest single-engine product line in the industry, from high-performance pistons to turboprops to the world’s most fuel-efficient seven-person business jet, the PiperJet Altaire. With economical acquisition and operating costs, Piper airplanes deliver the best values available today and into the future. Piper is a member of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.