[180]GOV. BREDESEN HELPS MTSU UNVEIL 8 NEW DIAMOND AIRCRAFT

Release date: Oct. 28, 2008


News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-2919
Department of Aerospace contact: Dr. Wayne Dornan, 615-898-2788


GOV. BREDESEN HELPS MTSU UNVEIL 8 NEW DIAMOND AIRCRAFT OCT. 30 AT MURFREESBORO AIRPORT

(MURFREESBORO) — Gov. Phil Bredesen will help celebrate the arrival of eight new Diamond DA40 planes with synthetic vision that will be part of the MTSU aerospace department training fleet by flying in one of the planes Thursday, Oct. 30, Dr. Wayne Dornan, who is chair of the MTSU aerospace department, said recently.
The event, which starts at 10 a.m., will be held in the hangar recently named in honor of alumnus Donald McDonald. Other local and state officials are expected to attend the event, which will be open to the campus, alumni and general public.
Bredesen, MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and others will fly the planes from Nashville between 10 and 10:30, Dornan said, adding that a 30-minute program will follow. After remarks by Bredesen, Diamond Aircraft executive Dave Moser and others, attendees can take tours of the MTSU Flight Operations Center.
Each of the eight planes will cost $365,000 Dornan said, adding that they will be paid from revenue generated through MTSU’s flight training school.
“We now have the largest fleet of Diamond Aircraft of any school in the U.S. for training students,” Dornan said. “With the support of President McPhee, we were able to acquire not only eight new Diamond DA40 Aircraft that are all glass, they also come with synthetic vision.
“The revenue we generate from our flight training department will enable us to purchase the latest technology in aircraft and simulation, which has a direct benefit on our students.”
MTSU purchased 20 Diamond Aircraft and five from The New Piper Aircraft Inc. that were unveiled Aug. 4, 2003, just before the start of the fall semester. Those planes cost a combined $4.8 million, which was paid for by revenue generated from the flight training school. This purchase replaced a fleet of planes that were 20 to 25 years old, a department official said at the time.
For more information, call aerospace at 615-898-2788.
For MTSU news and information, go to mtsunews.com.
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Media welcomed.