PA28-161 Warrior II Due to its expansion, European Pilot Academy (E.P.A.) has just taken the delivery of another trainer aircraft a Piper PA 28 also known as a Warrior II to compliment its existing fleet of single & multi engine aircraft. The first thing that one will notice is its low wing and sleek lines making it look already a very nippy aircraft. A nice feature of this particular aircraft when one preflights the aircraft on the ground is the cowling (engine covers) opens fully when you check the oil so you can check out the engine compartment a lot better than the usual small flap found on other training aircraft that allows access to the oil dipstick. Once in the cockpit one will notice that in any climate this aircraft may fly in it can be easily adjusted to get large amounts of cool airflow inside the cabin for summer days or a nice toasty atmosphere during the winter days with a series of vents, blowers and heaters. Whilst the pilot adjust his seating position the passengers at the back have ample legroom and a 6 foot 4 in person will have no legroom issue. The 4 seater aircraft is fully equipped to fly at night and under low visibility conditions know as Instrument flight and will be utilized to train students to obtain Private Pilot & Commercial Licenses as well as the individual ratings of night & Instrument. The aircraft has already been sprayed in the company’s new colours which now represents a serious but yet a lively look and is already very popular with both instructors & students due to its excellent performance and very stable flight characteristics. The aircraft produces 161 horse power and flies a comfortable 120 knots and burns an average fuel consumption of 28 litres an hour of clean unleaded fuel. E.P.A. in the last 9 years of operation went green by shifting all its fleet to utilizing standard unleaded fuel (like in the automotive industry) as opposed to the more polluting AVGAS 100LL (aviation fuel for most reciprocating aircraft engines). It now owns a refueling station which is self powered by solar charging to the fuel pump located in Apron 3 at Malta International Airport. In preparation for E.P.A’s big step up to becoming Malta’s first Flight Training Organization in the flying division a decision was taken to standardize our fleet and Piper became the obvious choice. E.P.A. already has in possession a Piper Seneca II a twin engine aircraft and having now a Piper Warrior II will make the transition much easier for the student when training on the larger twin as there are very few differences in the cockpit layout. Due to its popularity and ‘good feel’ Piper has become the most renowned aircraft for flight training and also the most popular with Pilots for pleasure flying.” This aircraft was also the very first aircraft released by Falcon Aviation Engineering (F.A.E.) a recently certified maintenance facility which forms part of the Falcon Alliance Group to which European Pilot Academy also belongs to. Although this aircraft is more complex than most single engine aircraft due to its heavy instrumentation and larger engine it’s still a very easy aircraft to maintain and has an unmatched safety record within its division per flight hour.