Delta State Gets a New Airplane

On July 8, 2002 "Delta State 16" arrived in Cleveland. #16 is especially important because it is the school's only high performance aircraft that will be available for training; the 6-seat Cessna 206 is rated for a maximum 300 HP (285 cont.), which qualifies for high performance training as outlined by the Federal Regulations. Our acquisition of this fine machine has been a long-term effort on the part of school executives and the state government; here are a few pictures of the day that we took delivery.

Click on a thumbnail to see the full size picture.

Step One: Fly to the Madison Airport (KMBO), where the plane is stored. Since the airplane came from the State Bureau of Narcotics, it was parked on a state-funded ramp dedicated to the Forestry Commission. The Cessna 172 in the distance is N6089K, also known as DSU #6.

Step Two: DSU Director of Flight Operations, Travis "Chip" Cooper, starts the paperwork process.

Step Three: Chip makes a few phone calls to tie up a few loose ends.

Step Four: Off to the office!

Step five: "...just initial in block 38(c), and sign in blocks 42(f)i...."

Step six: "...then place the name of George Washington's grandmother in block 364..."

Step Seven: Back to the airplane for a few more checks.

Step Eight: N102BN is DSU #16! In this picture, you can see State Representative Johnny W. Stringer (center), who represents District 87 (parts of Jasper, Newton, and Jones counties). Representative Stringer was instrumental in working out the transaction, and has been a great friend to Delta State and the Commercial Aviation Program.