Embry-Riddle Sponsors Matt Chapman

NEWS RELEASE

Communications and Marketing Office
600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114-3900

For more information, contact:
Phone: 386-226-6157
Fax: 386-226-6158

Contact: Mary Van Buren
Phone: 386-226-6525

Embry-Riddle Sponsors Aerobatic Performer Matt Chapman

Daytona Beach, Fla., April 9, 2007 -- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is pleased to announce that it is now an official sponsor of award-winning aerobatic pilot Matt Chapman.

“As a captain for American Airlines and an exhilarating aerobatic performer, Matt is a great role model who gets kids excited about aviation,” said Embry-Riddle President John P. Johnson. “I think Matt will be able to help us in recruiting students to Embry-Riddle.”

The university and Matt Chapman Airshows will coordinate on cross-promotions such as aircraft markings, pilot and crew uniforms, print advertisements, websites, and appearances at air shows and other venues.

Chapman and his CAP 580 airplane, to be named the Embry-Riddle Eagle, will debut under the new contract at the 33rd annual Sun N Fun Fly-In, to be held April 17-23, 2007, at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Fla. He will fly solo and also in tandem with fellow aerobatic pilot Mike Mancuso.

“I’m proud to be associated with Embry-Riddle,” Chapman said. “Its reputation in aviation and aerospace higher education and in the industry is unmatched.”

Chapman’s aircraft, a CAP 580 with a custom-modified 330-horsepower Lycoming engine, can reach speeds in excess of 240 mph, pull up to 10 g’s, and roll at a rate of 400 degrees per second -- all within a few feet of the ground.

He started flying in 1979 and has accrued 16,000 hours of flight time, with 3,000 of those hours in aerobatic aircraft. As a captain with American Airlines he flies the MD-80. He is a 25-year veteran of the air show circuit.

Among his many accomplishments, Chapman was the highest-ranking American pilot at the World Aerobatic Championships (WAC) in 1998, won the Fond du Lac Cup in 1995, and won the prestigious International Aerobatic Club Championships in 1994. He is also a recipient of the Hilliard Trophy, awarded to the highest finishing U.S. pilot at the WAC.

For more information on Matt Chapman, visit www.mattchapman.com.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering. The university educates more than 34,000 students annually in undergraduate and graduate programs at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through the Worldwide Campus at more than 130 centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, and through online learning. For more information, visit www.embryriddle.edu.