ATP Flight School took delivery of five Cessna 172 Skyhawks this week, bringing its total fleet to 500 piston singles. Equipped with Garmin’s G1000 NXi integrated flight deck, the Skyhawks are used for the Jacksonville Beach, Florida-based school’s airline pilot training and career development programs.

“Reaching the milestone of a 500-aircraft fleet is significant, not just in scale, but for the operational support required to provide a safe and dependable training environment for our students,” said ATP marketing director Michael Arnold. “The capabilities and advancement of ATP's flight operations center mirror that of airlines, with maintenance, flight operations, flight safety, flight standards, and quality assurance teams working in unison to promote a high level of safety and support for our students.”

The fleet expansion will increase ATP’s capacity to graduate 20,000 airline pilots by 2030, the school said. An additional 85 aircraft are expected to be handed over to ATP in 2023 and 2024.