Hawker Pacific Gets Massey’s $NZ8 Million Fleet Replacement Contract

At this year’s Avalon airshow in Geelong, Australia, Hawker-Pacific and Massey University School of Aviation signed an agreement for the replacement of Massey’s entire fleet of training aircraft. Under the agreement—worth around $NZ8 million ($US5 million)—Hawker Pacific, which is the regional distributor for Diamond aircraft, will supply 12 new Diamond DA-40 (single-engine four-seater) and two DA42L360 (twin-engine four-seater) aircraft to the university over a six month period, the first four of which are expected to be delivered by the end of May. The entire fleet should be in place before the end of the year, replacing the school’s current fleet of Piper Warrior single engine and Piper Seneca twin-engine aircraft and operating from the Milson Flight Systems Centre at Palmerston North Airport.

Massey conducted an extensive evaluation programme before selecting the DA-40 and DA42L360, judging them best to meet the requirements of the university’s demanding aviation training programme. Both Massey and Hawker Pacific say that the Diamond’s state-of-the-art design, Garmin G1000 glass cockpit and leading edge technology were major factors in the purchase decision.

Manufactured by Diamond Aircraft Industries in Ontario, Canada, the DA-40s will be powered by the Lycoming IO-360-M1A (Avgas) engine and the DA42L360s by a pair of conter-rotating Lycoming IO-360s. Massey’s aircraft will also be equipped with “Spidertracks”, a GPS based, real-time tracking and reporting system that enables constant monitoring of the aircraft from the flight operations centre. Spidertracks was developed with the aid of a Massey University mechatronics graduate, James McCarthy, who is now director of Spidertracks and says the company is looking forward to furthering its relationship with the school and outfitting the new aircraft.

Ashok Poduval, the general manager of the Aviation School, is enthusiastic about the Garmin glass cockpit specification and says that the modern commercial environment will place graduating students in a high-tech glass cockpit environment, complete with sophisticated automated navigation and flight management systems, soon after completion of their training. He sees it as good sense to introduce the required competencies at as early a stage as possible. Senior instructors from the school will undergo training at the Diamond Aircraft factory over the next three months.

Massey is the only New Zealand university to incorporate an aviation school, which it established in 1990, and it is one of just a handful worldwide to offer degrees in aviation with professional pilot training integrated into the syllabus. It will become the first New Zealand training organisation to be fully equipped with both the Garmin and Spidertracks systems, a decision that Mr. Poduval says will enhance safety and improve training quality. The university’s vice-chancellor, Steve Maharey, says he is delighted with the purchase, which reflects a major commitment by the university to the school.