John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences - Aircraft

Aircraft

UND currently operates a fleet of 103 aircraft including 89 airplanes, 14 helicopters and 9 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's). The majority of these aircraft are based at Grand Forks International Airport with the remainder located at various satellite campuses throughout the United States. The fleet is primarily made up of 62 Cessna 172 Skyhawks equipped with the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit avionics suite. Currently the Skyhawks are used to teach students the fundamentals of aviation and instrument as well as the more advanced Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) and Certified Flight Instructor - Instrument (CFII) courses. UND Aerospace took delivery of its first Skyhawk, tail number N511ND, in 2008 as a replacement of the earlier Piper PA-28 Warrior III fleet.

In addition to the Skyhawks, UND owns 5Piper PA-28R Arrows with retractable gear and constant-speed propellers which allows CFI candidates to obtain their complex endorsement and fly on conventional "steam gauge" instruments. Students utilize 15 Piper PA-44 Seminoles in order to obtain their multi-engine commercial pilot certificates.

Rounding out the fleet, UND Aerospace's Flying Team practices in 3 Cessna 150's. These two aircraft were the original aircraft used for pilot training by Odegard. Aerobatic and spin training is provided in two American Champion Super Decathlons. Contract students from Air China fly two of the University's King Air aircraft, a BE-90B. Lastly, the Atmospheric Sciences Department employs a Cessna Citation II for weather and atmospheric research.

Helicopter training is primarily accomplished in 10 Schweizer 300B two-seat helicopters. Rotorcraft students also receive training in the fleet's three Bell 206B III turbine four-seat helicopters.

As of September 2011, the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) department employs nine aircraft for various missions including three CropCam, two Ravan, two Scan Eagle, one Draganflyer, and one Telemaster UAV's. Along with the aircraft, the university provides realistic ground training in UAV flying with its two Reaper, one Predator, and one Scan Eagle flight training devices (FTD).

Past aircraft included various Piper and Cirrus aircraft. Prior to the arrival of the Cessna 172 Skyhawks, UND's primary fleet consisted of a combination of glass and conventional-gauge Piper Warrior III's which were the primary workhorses of the UND fleet from 1989 to 2010. The last conventional-gauge Warrior was retired in March 2010. On March 28, 2008, UND Aerospace took delivery of a new Cessna Citation Mustang business jet. However, the school sold it in order to purchase a second King Air The school also was given a Piper PA-12 Supercruiser that was overhauled to provide students another aircraft to practice tailwheel landings.

The UND fleet includes the following aircraft (as of March 2012):

• 62 Cessna 172S (4 Seats)
• 15 Piper Seminole (4 Seats)
• 10 Schweizer 300B (2 Seats)
• 5 Piper Arrow (4 Seats)
• 4 Bell 206 (5 Seats)
• 3 Cessna 150 (2 Seats)
• 2 Beech King Air 90 (9 Seats)
• 2 Decathlon (2 Seats)
• 2 Piper Warrior (4 Seats)
• 1 Cessna Citation II (8 Seats)