Cessna Aircraft Company (SNF 001, 004) of Wichita and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU; NE 021-NE 025) of Daytona Beach, Fla., announced here at Sun ’n’ Fun a long-term agreement for the purchase of 57 Cessna Skyhawk 172s. Deliveries of 29 aircraft are scheduled for this year with the remaining 28 slated for delivery next year. The aircraft will replace the Cessna Skyhawks currently used in the university’s flight-training program at its Daytona Beach and Prescott, Ariz. campuses.

The new 172s feature Garmin G1000 glass-panel avionics suites and minor modifications such as reconfigured seating for easier student observation and “ride alongs,” and a newly branded paint scheme to reflect a joint effort between ERAU’s flight departments in Daytona Beach and Prescott.

“We are pleased that our longstanding relationship with ERAU will continue with this upgrade to the school’s fleet,” said Joe Hepburn, Cessna’s senior vice president of piston aircraft.

Said Jerry Kidrick, chair of the Flight Department of Embry-Riddle’s campus in Prescott, “The Cessna Skyhawk is the workhorse of our flight program. A typical student gets the majority of his cumulative flight time in the aircraft at completion of his time with us.”