Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Nationwide Aviation, a flight school with locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Nashville, Tennessee areas, has updated the avionics on its fleet of 25 Piper Warrior training airplanes, qualifying the trainers as technically advanced aircraft (TAA). The company spent about $1 million on the fleet upgrade, which was completed by Sparkchasers Aircraft Services in Smithfield, North Carolina.
In addition to an IFR Garmin avionics suite, the modification included a new custom-designed and powder-coated instrument panel with dual USB-A and -C charging ports, custom switches, and an Electroair EA-15000 ignition switch panel with pushbutton starter.
The legacy panel had traditional vacuum-driven instruments, King radios, and a Garmin GNS 430 com/navigator.
Centered around a Garmin G3X Touch display with fuel quantity and engine indicating system, the Warrior upgrade includes a G5 standby instrument, GTR 20 remote com, GNC 255A navcom, GNS 375 GPS/transponder, Flightstream 510 wireless gateway, GMA 245R remote audio panel with Bluetooth, and GFC 500 autopilot.
“Investing in our fleet allows us to provide our students with the same advanced technology found in brand-new production aircraft,” said Trevor Hall, Owner of Nationwide Aviation. “We are committed to delivering the highest quality training experience without passing on costs to our customers. Our students can now train on modern, state-of-the-art equipment at the same rental prices as other area schools that are still using outdated aircraft.”

New developments and products in avionics, specifically about aircraft electronics in the cockpit.

Flight School Turns 25 Piper Warriors into Technically Advanced Aircraft

Modifying 25 airplanes cost about $1 million

In addition to an IFR Garmin avionics suite, the modifications included a new custom-designed and powder-coated instrument panel.

Flight School Turns 25 Warriors into TAA Trainers

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