When the
going gets tough, goes the old motivational phrase, the
tough get going.
The LSA industry had a
hard year in 2009, as did all of General Aviation...not to mention the economy.
And although news pops up here and there indicating better times are - eventually - coming, the
most resilient companies keep looking for ways to
stimulate their markets rather than simply holding on for better sales numbers.
Cases in point from Day 1 of Sun 'n Fun:
1. Piper Aircraft CEO Kevin J Gould addressed a morning press gathering to paint a
thumbs-up picture for Piper and
General Aviation as well. He backed up his nuanced optimism with
positive stats: Piper expects to sell
8 times as many trainers this year as last; Piper's total sales are
up 75% over 2009; enthusiasm for the
PiperSport is strong - the company could
produce and deliver as many as
75 PiperSports this year; sales of other models from its GA fleet are
showing improvement; and the
three new owners of the
first PiperSports took
delivery of their aircraft in a well-attended ceremony at the company's flight line display.
I like that last item for several reasons, but here's my
#1: Mr. Gould said in
January that Piper would deliver its first PiperSports this month. He kept his word. We need examples just like this of leaders who talk the talk - then
walk it.
---- > Piper CEO Kevin Gould (r) and new PiperSport owners 2.
Flight Design CEO Matthias Betsch, and
FD USA Prez Tom Peghiny and Marketing head
John Gilmore talked about several
new developments in existing and new products:
the
CTLS Lite, the
all-metal MC S-LSA (look for my
flight report in the
next issue of Plane & Pilot), the new
CT HL tow aircraft for Europe, where noise pollution is a real problem; ongoing development of the
after-market GA hybrid engine, currently pegged at
$34,000 and expected to fly
this year; an
all-hand control system for disabled pilots, now
certified in Germany, which will be an
easy - and then reversible - retrofit for any CT;
and
floats under development for the CT line.
Mr. Betsch also reiterated what he told me at Sebring in January: that the market "
is starting back" and 2011 should be
considerably stronger than 2010.
He also made a cogent point: "There is
no aviation without
basic aviation." Makes sense, ja?
3.
American Legend announced a new model today: the
Classic J3, which is exactly what it sounds like: the
original sport plane of them all, without any frills, and at a price, for an all-American made airplane, that should attract some
solid interest: $94,895. More on that later, I'm running out of room
4.
Randy Schlitter of
Rans Aircraft told me he's holding the line on the Coyote II, aka
S-6ELS, at
$63,000. That's another attractive, all-American airplane that's about
half the price of many S-LSA.
Randy also shared some insider info on his development of an
all-electric aircraft: more on that later too.
As I said at the top: when the going gets tough, etc. These four market leaders aren't waiting for the turnaround: they're helping
make it happen.
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