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Airbus North America Donates Simulator to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Prescott, Ariz., Aug. 5, 2005 -- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Airbus North America will celebrate the installation of the A320 Fixed Base Simulator at Embry-Riddle’s Prescott, Ariz., campus Wednesday, Aug. 31, at 1:30 p.m.

The A320 was donated by Airbus for Embry-Riddle senior-level training. Airbus will also use the simulator to prepare current pilots on these aircraft.

“Embry-Riddle is thrilled to receive this generous donation from Airbus,” said Dan Carrell, chancellor of Embry-Riddle’s Prescott campus. “This addition to our fleet will provide students with an excellent training tool that will greatly enhance their employment options upon graduation.”

The A320 aircraft family is composed of the A318, A319, A320, and A321. Airbus’s design allows a person who can fly one of these aircraft to fly them all, and this can be accomplished with a single training course.

“Adding the A320 to our simulation fleet is a huge bonus to our flight program,” said Sean Jeralds, chair of Embry-Riddle’s Flight Training Center in Prescott. “Students will now have the opportunity to experience the flight systems of a transport category jet that is world-renowned for its innovative technology. Airbus makes up roughly half of the world’s jet fleet, so it’s highly likely that a student will sit in the right seat some time in his or her career.”

Jeralds said that exposing students to this level of technology as undergraduates will allow them to transition from single- and multi-engine light aircraft to air carrier aircraft much more easily when they go for a type rating with the airlines. He added that Embry-Riddle is the first and only university in North and South America to provide training on the A320.

This will add even more advanced training for a university that already provides more alumni to the major airlines than any other collegiate aviation program. Embry-Riddle graduates account for one in four commercial pilots in North America. Upon graduation, 96 percent of the university’s graduates are either employed or have decided to continue their education.

Airbus launched the A320 in 1984 and it entered service in April 1988. Seating up to 180 passengers, the A320 has a range of 3,000 nautical miles. It is in widespread service on five continents, flying routes that range from short commuter sectors to European charter operations to coast-to-coast flights in the United States.

During the event, instructors from Embry-Riddle will demonstrate the capabilities of the A320 simulator, allowing guests to step inside the cockpit and experience firsthand the realism of the training. Tours of the university’s flight training facilities will be available and will showcase the fleet of nearly 60 Cessna and Piper aircraft used to train students, the wide variety of flight training devices, and the flight dispatch area, as well as classrooms and laboratories. Embry-Riddle will also introduce its National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) national champions, the Golden Eagles, to the crowd. The Golden Eagles are five-time NIFA national champions.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 degree programs through its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering and meets the needs of students and industry through educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Embry-Riddle educates more than 30,000 students annually in undergraduate and graduate programs at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through its Extended Campus at more than 130 centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, and worldwide through distance learning.

There are four established hubs of Airbus North America (ANA) activity. ANA and Airbus Customer Service headquarters are located in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Herndon, Va. The facility employs nearly 150 people in sales, marketing, communications, and service to Airbus customers in the United States and Canada. ANA’s Spares Center in Asburn, Va., ships out aircraft parts, tools, and sections to customers in the Americas. The southernmost Airbus facility is the $50 million Airbus Training Center in Miami, Fla., where team members are dedicated to training more than 3,000 air crew and maintenance personnel each year. ANA Engineering in Wichita, Kan., hosts some 180 engineers and staff working on the A380 and other Airbus long-range programs.