More troubles at Cirrus

[GeorgePerry]

I guess the competition isn't immune to the economic downturn...

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/CirrusGoesToThreeDayWeek_199056-1.html

This is bad for GA.  Competition spurs improvment and innovation.  It would be nice if both Mooney and Cirrus could each sustain enough market share to continue to grow, prosper and improve both brands.

[M20BE]

Yes, and Cessna also asked extra money from their parent company Textron. Remember that this article is about sales in the previous 6 months, i bet the next 6 months of cirrus will even be worse. Some people predict it's gonna be a bloodbath after newyear in GA factories and some will close. 

[RobertoTohme]

Well, my company is in close contact with Albuquerque FSDO at all times, and we heard rumors that Eclipse is shutting down by yearend; I guess the dayjet fiasco gave them a hard blow on top of all the problems they already had on their hands, including the revision of their type certificate.   The only thing I'm sure of is that it's going to get really ugly throughout the next few months....

[GeorgePerry]

I read the same under the following link...

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=e6fa9fb1-191e-4420-b8b9-54d770b1a467&

This is a real shame and another blow to GA.  When the economy turns around the demand will certainly return but the manufacturing capacities may not be there to provide the supply. 

It takes a "boat load" of Investment Capitol to get an aviation manufacturing venture off the ground.  It is almost a certainty that some GA manufacturers will not be able to weather this down turn. Eclipse based a lot of their cost projections on "stable" customer demand and mass production cost reductions.  Since the broader markets are anything but stable, along with the retraction of orders (reduction of demand), they haven’t been able to produce enough quantity to reduce their CPU (costs per unit) in line with profitability projections.  As a result Eclipse has had to raise the sales price to cover expenses.  Unfortunately with a $2m+ price point they’ve put themselves into some very competitive and expensive waters.  I am doubtful that they will weather this storm...at least not in the companys current form.  

In a broader sense....I wish the FAA would re-look at the certification requirements to bring a new plane to market.  From a common sense standpoint and knowing a little bit about government bureaucracy, I think the time and costs associated with jumping through all the certification hoops seem excessive.  This along with meaningful tort reform that limits the liability exposure of manufacturers could infuse some much needed enthuisam into aircraft production and lower costs for everyone.

If EAA’ers can build airplanes in their garage an do it “relatively” safely then a professional production facility with adequate FAA oversight should be able to build a plane that satisfies all the utility category requirements without it costing an arm&leg along with taking YEARS??

 Maybe somone with expertise in this area can explain why it costs so much and takes so long to get a new design certified and availible to the consumer....

[GeorgePerry]

Ouch...can't say nobody saw this coming, but it sure isn't good news.

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=1e6f52d5-c7c3-4c05-9b6d-d9089d6395e4&