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Old March 20th 17, 06:42 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Bruce Hoult
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Default We need an ASW-19 rebirth for $25,000

On Monday, March 20, 2017 at 8:20:45 PM UTC+3, Andrew Ainslie wrote:
...not to mention that they can't keep up with demand for their $200k gliders, what possible incentive do they have to do this?


I'm not sure that's true.

While manufacturers do tend to have a year or so delay from ordering to delivery, I don't think the queue is getting longer. They are producing gliders at, on average, exactly the same rate as new orders are coming in.

Are they losing potential orders because someone isn't prepared to wait a year, but would buy a new glider today if it was sitting in a showroom? Possibly some, but I don't think it's significant.

Security of employment for skilled workers, and the time taken to train new ones are quite enough to explain the queue. You can't hire someone if you can't guarantee them a year's work.

If someone came along with a firm order for 10000 gliders then they could expand and step up the production rate, with a delay of a couple of years.

No doubt DG is very happy to have a few dozen DG1000/1001 ordered by the world's airforces. but it's not enough to fundamentally change the production equation.