WICHITA, Kan.  – Textron Aviation announced an agreement with long-term customer Epic Flight Academy at the 2023 Sun n’ Fun Aerospace Expo today for the order of 15 new Cessna Skyhawk 172 aircraft. As a Cessna Pilot Center, Epic Flight Academy has been training pilots since 1999 and thousands of students from over 80 countries have graduated from the flight school. The Cessna Skyhawk is Epic’s exclusive single-engine aircraft, with a total fleet of 43 ordered since 2016. The new aircraft will supplement and expand Epic Flight Academy’s current fleet based at New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport in Florida.

The Cessna Skyhawk is designed and manufactured by Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company.

“The Cessna Skyhawk has been one of the world’s top training aircraft for over six decades,” said Chris Crow, vice president, Textron Aviation Piston Sales. “We are thrilled to see these aircraft continue to inspire the next generation of professional pilots through this agreement with Epic Flight Academy.”

The stable flight characteristics, advanced avionics, and proven dispatch reliability of the Skyhawk have made it a dependable training platform for Epic. The new airplanes will be used exclusively by students to put them in the pilot’s seat of the best training aircraft in the industry.

“At Epic, our motto has always been ‘Safety first!’ This is why we train our pilots in the Cessna Skyhawk,” said Danny Perna, founder and CEO, Epic Flight Academy. “This aircraft proves itself with every flight and prepares our students for a successful career. We can’t wait to take delivery and expand our fleet.” Since the aircraft first took to the sky, more than 45,000 Skyhawks have been delivered to customers worldwide—more than any other aircraft in the industry.