US-based Cirrus Aircraft has been selected by Lufthansa Airlines’ flight training division to supply 25 SR20 planes.

The new SR20 aircraft will be added to Lufthansa Aviation Training’s primary training fleet and lead Lufthansa’s ab-initio, MPL and other flight training programmes in Goodyear, Arizona, US.

They will also be used to train pilots from various commercial airlines, including Lufthansa Airlines, Swiss Air, Austrian Airlines, Eurowings, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and KLM, as well as the German Air Force.

Delivery of the 25 new Cirrus aircraft is scheduled to begin by October and expected to be completed by next February.

“Today’s forward-thinking airlines and pilot training programmes are realising the immediate benefits of teaching and learning in the most effective equipment available uniquely from Cirrus."

Cirrus Aircraft Customer Experience president Todd Simmons said: “Today’s forward-thinking airlines and pilot training programmes are realising the immediate benefits of teaching and learning in the most effective equipment available uniquely from Cirrus.

“Those benefits are amplified in the airline pilot training environment as the Cirrus SR series solution offers competitive advantages of advanced navigation and safety systems similar to the systems these new pilots will use in the airlines’ larger aircraft.”

Cirrus’ SR series aircraft are equipped with an integrated Cirrus Perspective+ solution developed by Garmin.

The aircraft’s flight deck includes two large flight displays, a flight management system (FMS) keypad controller, an electronic stability and protection system, as well as integrated engine indication and crew alerting/warning systems.

The SR series also features a modern Lycoming IO-390, 215HP power plant and a durable all-composite structure with the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS).

In November 2015, Emirates Flight Training Academy selected 22 SR22 aircraft for its primary training programme.

Image: Lufthansa to use Cirrus Aircraft’s SR20 planes to train pilots. Photo: courtesy of Cirrus Design Corporation d/b/a Cirrus Aircraft.