Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. company, announced today at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture 2011 it has signed a contract with Seneca College in Toronto for four 172 Skyhawk aircraft modified with Cessna’s Crew/Cockpit Resource Management (CRM) training seat.

The four Skyhawks will join the Seneca School of Aviation and Flight Technology fleet of 14 aircraft that includes eight earlier model 172s. The new aircraft will be delivered later this year.

Seneca has been an international leader in aviation education for four decades, having graduated more than 1,000 pilots. Seneca offers the only aviation flight technology-based degree program in Canada, which includes an integrated airline transport pilot program. Seneca’s four-year Bachelor of Aviation Technology educates pilots for the global aviation industry through a rigorous technology-based curriculum and hands-on training with current industry technology.

“Seneca is proud of our leadership in aviation education, and the addition of four new Cessna 172 aircraft to our fleet in the Bachelor of Aviation Technology program will continue to keep our students and faculty in the top rank of aviation schools worldwide,” said Seneca President David Agnew.

“The CRM-equipped Skyhawks are specifically designed for the type of training done at Seneca,” said Mark Patterson, Cessna director, U.S. Propeller Sales.

The Skyhawk is even more effective as a training platform with the addition of the CRM training seat, a single, forward facing seat positioned aft and center of the pilot and co-pilot seats.

Cessna press release