- To acquire Magnus
The Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria has stated that it will be taking delivery of two more of its 15 acquired Diamond Aircraft in 2022.
The Rector/Chief Executive Officer of NCAT, Capt. Alkali Modibbo who disclosed this in an interactive session with aviation journalists also hinted that the college was equally considering the acquisition of Magnus aircraft.
“So far, we have Diamonds, Tampicos and Beech Baron 58. We are looking at getting more Diamond aircraft. Seven of the Diamond aircraft were supplied in 2020 and this year, we will be taking delivery of two of the Diamond aircraft – double and single engine. At a given time, you have at least five to six serviceable airplanes. Presently, we have about 20 serviceable aircraft at the college, but whatever we have, are enough to train students at any given time,” he said.
“We intend to take delivery of more airplanes this year. We will take one in February and another in April. The Diamonds will be about 15 in all. They are advanced cockpit; we have the latest technology that you can find in any machine in it and it uses Jet A1, which is cheaper than the Aviation Gas (AvGas). Aviation gas is not easy to come bye. We have to import it into Nigeria and that is what the Tampicos are using. It will gladden me to tell you that we are moving another step higher. We are thinking of getting Magnus, which is another airplane that is manufactured in Hungry. We have been to their factory with NCAA and the Ministry of Aviation. We conducted our technical inspection. Sooner or later, we will start to have those machines here.
The advantages of that machine are that one, it is made from carbon fibre, very light. It uses Premium Motoring Spirit (PMS) like the one you use in your car. So, from AvGas, we went down to Jet A1 and we are also going into PMS. It is going to be less expensive to run with that aircraft.
Something unique about that aircraft is that it has a parachute of its own. If you lose an engine, there is a parachute that you will pull and the engine will come out and the pilot will be able to land the aircraft with that parachute. With this, you have saved a life and the equipment. The parachute is there for you in case you lose an engine and the aircraft has only one engine,” he explained.
