Evan Krueger

3 of the 5 brand new Cessnas

Last night, Southern Illinois University Aviation welcomed home five brand new Cessna 172R models with Garmin G1000 glass panels.  As I waited out on the ramp, I could see five distinct sets of light flashing in the distance.  It was immediately obvious that they were the new aircraft inbound for Carbondale.  The aircraft approached in a straight line of 5 and looked quite sharp.  After the five planes landed, students were allowed to take a look at the brand spanking new airplanes.  The receiving crew left on Thursday and returned last night around 8:15 pm.  Flight instructors Kevin Krongos, Jeff Jaynes, Brian Harrison, Steve Goetz, and Adiran Krupa with aviation flight students Taylor Breum, Jordan DiGrazia, Scott Blair, Christian Padilla, and David Bias went to retrieve the aircraft from the Cessna factory in Independence, Kansas.  I talked to David Bias about his experience picking up the new planes and he was more than happy to give me the down low on the entire experience.

Upon arriving at the Cessna factory on Thursday, the Cessna Aircraft Company’s hospitality was remarkable.  The receiving team was treated to a nice steak dinner by the company as they got to know each other very well.  After a good night’s sleep, SIU was toured around Cessna’s facilities including the manufacturing, training, and sales buildings.  Most of the day was spent waiting around for paperwork to go through.  In the mean time, final flight testing was conducted.  Finally, about 5:30 pm, the flight of five aircraft took off for their new home in Carbondale, Illinois.  Of course, no flight should be conducted without a thorough pre-flight inspection; especially on an aircraft’s first cross county flight.  David noted the flight back as incredibly smooth with very crisp control responses.  The biggest difference, of course, was the state-of-the-art Garmin G1000 glass cockpit.  The glass display which replaces the basic gage-style flight instruments of most flight training aircraft, offers a plethora of information to the pilot.  If one is not properly trained to use this technology, the data can become overwhelming.  However, when utilized correctly, the G1000 will greatly increase a pilot’s situational awareness.  When the planes landed in Carbondale, I immediately began drooling over the brand new aircraft.  It was weird seeing an aircraft not completely covered in splattered bugs.  The bright white paint glistened in the clear night sky.  The new airplane smell filled my nostrils as soon as I opened the cockpit door.  I gazed in disbelief at how clean the panel looked.  Those giant 10 inch displays replaced near every “steam gauge” traditional aircraft had (except for a few backup instruments).  The interior was impeccable and super clean.  We didn’t get long to admire the new machines as they had to get to bed after an eventful day.

So when can students expect to be able to hop in the left seat of these beautiful aircraft?  Plan on the aircraft to be available next semester with priority given to those students undergoing instrument training.  For those students who would like to log some time in these aircraft (who wouldn’t?), I would suggest reading up on the G1000 system before hand.  I suggest reading Max Trescotts’ G1000 Glass Cockpit Handbook (available on Amazon.com and Sportys.com).  Make sure to give a thanks to the Aviation department for making such a great program even better with these new additions to SIU’s fleet.