OU's Meet the Fleet event introduces community to new planes ... and choppers

Apr. 19—A fleet of new airplanes landed Friday at the University of Oklahoma's Max Westheimer Airport.

The university introduced the public to the fleet, which will be used for training in the School of Aviation program.

The new additions include nine Piper single-engine airplanes intended for flight training, and two new helicopters.

Airplanes circled the audience at Max Westheimer before landing, eight of which were flown by School of Aviation students.

Joseph Harroz Jr., president of OU, said the school has increased its enrollment since the School of Aviation moved to the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, just two years ago, which has necessitated a larger fleet of more advanced airplanes.

"They are so much more powerful and so much more efficient than the previous planes that we had," Harroz said.

He said aviation and aerospace is the state's second largest and fastest growing industry.

"We know that being No. 1 comes with not just the benefit of the talking point, but the obligation of service," Harroz said. "We knew that we had to answer the call, and answer the call we have."

Ben Arnold, an OU senior from Flower Mound, Texas, professional pilot major and certified flight instructor, said the new airplanes will help students as they transition from school to professional settings.

"We've got amazing avionics — brand new G3X multifunction displays," he said.

He said the new equipment, particularly the displays, will help students to be ready for larger equipment that they will fly in the future.

The new airplanes have stronger engines and are equipped with autopilot, which will allow students to travel farther and more quickly.

"These airplanes have great power. There's 20 more horsepower in these engines than in our previous fleet, so now we're able to go fly at a faster airspeed. We're able to climb faster — we're able to fly at higher altitudes and get to destinations faster in the same amount of time," Arnold said.

Harroz told attendees the aviation school would also begin to teach helicopter training.

"If that isn't good enough for us, we decided we'll go beyond airplanes. We're also starting our newly created helicopter aviation program," Harroz said.

To launch its new program, the school showed off its two newly acquired Guimbal Cabri G2 helicopters.

Kaci Russell is a former chief warrant officer for the Oklahoma National Guard who flew UH-60 Blackhawk and LUH072 Lakota helicopters in Iraq. She is now a full time federal technician at a flight facility in Tulsa and flew in one of the two new helicopters for the event.

"This helicopter was manufactured to help people train and then transition into a larger turbine engine helicopter," Russell said. "They're easy to maneuver, they're cheap to maintain, and they don't use a lot of fuel, so I think that it's a really good trainer."

She said the acquisition of helicopters is a big announcement because the university's flight school has never owned them. She said the helicopters will help the school to save money, and they will help students to transition into larger helicopters.

Bree Montoya, Norman Ward 3 councilor, attended the event and said the new aircraft will help the city as it establishes itself as an aviation hub.

"I think it's great. It's great for our city but most importantly it's really fantastic for the students," Montoya said. "I'm so excited for them as they have this great opportunity to add to their education."

Rod Cleveland, Cleveland County commissioner, said it was a great moment for aviation for residents.

"It's nice to see aviation thrive," Cleveland said. "Aviation is the second biggest industry in Oklahoma, but I think it will soon surpass oil and gas. It's a needed thing around the country and world. Whenever you're talking about aviation, people will think that it starts in Cleveland County."

Eric Stevenson, president of the OU Board of Regents, said the new aircraft will help position the school as the premiere place to learn aviation.

"Any time we have a chance to expand our offerings is a great day," Stevenson said.

Jacob Howell, a sophomore at the School of Aviation from Oklahoma City, said the new fleet looks "nice."

"They've been talking about this addition for a while, but it's nice to see it," Howell said. "These are more like the planes we'll fly with airlines."