WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Texas State Technical College is giving aviation students a major upgrade with the debut of five new Piper Pilot 100i airplanes at its Waco campus.
The aircraft arrived from Piper’s headquarters in Vero Beach, Fla., and marks the latest step in the college’s plan to modernize its pilot training fleet.
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The new planes feature updated avionics, including glass cockpits, synthetic vision and enhanced autopilot technology. Certified flight instructors say the upgrades bring the program closer to the systems students will encounter once they enter commercial aviation.
“It's going to help them tremendously,” certified flight instructor Brandon Jaco said. “This is kind of more in line with what the airlines have. The airlines basically have everything at their fingertips, and this plane gets us a little bit closer to that from what we used to have.”
For freshman pilot training student Sawyer Tacker, learning on the new technology provides a clearer picture of what his future career may look like.
“With the new instruments, it's so nice because you look in a cockpit of a big jet and it's kind of almost similar. It's not exactly, but it's what you're going to see… an idea of what I'm gonna see later on,” Tacker said. “So just starting off early with what I'm going to see for the rest of my life.”
Tacker hopes to eventually move into commercial aviation.
“My future plans could go two ways, but as of now, I'm planning on going the commercial route or the airlines, hopefully getting into the bigger jets flying passengers,” he said.
Instructors said that experience with airline-style equipment offers students a competitive edge after graduation.
The Piper aircrafts are being phased in as older models are retired. The first group of new planes arrived in November 2023.
TSTC plans to continue expanding its fleet in the coming years as demand for pilot training grows.
