Jeff_S Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 I'm surprised no one else has commented on this weeks blog from Mac McClellan: http://macsblog.com/2014/01/the-mooney-barometer/ He writes that he sees the restarting of the Mooney manufacturing line as being a historical barometer for the health of the piston airplane market. As someone who has lived through more ups and downs in this industry than most, he should have a good read on it. Let's hope! Quote
Cruiser Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 For years the official position from Mooney was that they would not start the factory until they had enough work to build a years worth of planes (keep the factory running for one year) because of the cost/effort to start and stop the line. Either sales, the promise of sales or enough money to do that is what got Mooney working again. I believe it was the latter not any sign of improving health of the piston airplane market. 1 Quote
orionflt Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 I think his barometer may be a little off this time, I hope i'm wrong but i do not see a big uptick in general aviation at this time. the economy is still trying to recover from the last few years and even though it seems to be rebounding i do not see it being stable enough for the people who would purchase mooneys to go buy new. Quote
pirate Posted January 10, 2014 Report Posted January 10, 2014 The up tick is not here per say, it's around the globe and the biggie is Asia. I just retuned from a business trip from over yonder and it sure looks bright for general aviation. Quote
kris_adams Posted January 11, 2014 Report Posted January 11, 2014 Great blog. There definitely seems to be a correlation between Mooney production and better times for GA. I hope this time is correct as well. Quote
DaV8or Posted January 11, 2014 Report Posted January 11, 2014 The up tick is not here per say, it's around the globe and the biggie is Asia. And when you say Asia, you really mean China I think. The Mac article is pretty optimistic IMO, but I hope it proves to be correct. He left out the time when Mooney went bust from squandering all the money on the M22 Mustang to out do Beech. Then after that, Mitsubishi threw in the towel and unloaded Mooney. I think both of those events occurred when the GA economy was doing just fine. Quote
aviatoreb Posted January 11, 2014 Report Posted January 11, 2014 There of course other barometers for the economy. See: http://www.edisproduction.de/2013/12/24/an-engineers-guide-to-cats/ The cat barometer is at 1:24. Of course the whole video is really funny. Quote
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