New Planes from old companies

Okay, its getting boring so, here is a new twist on an old subject.

Beech and Cessna have recently seen HUGE increases in demand for aircraft
with the G1000 cockpits. Will this cause them to rethink the introduction
of a new piston design to compete with the new players?

If so, how long till you can buy one and fly it?

GO!

"Dude" wrote:
Beech and Cessna have recently seen HUGE increases in demand for
aircraft
with the G1000 cockpits. Will this cause them to rethink the
introduction
of a new piston design to compete with the new players?
...

I wouldn't have a clue true or not, but I'd still like to know if
that's a fact or just press release puffery.

Fred F.

I'm not sure how these old companies with their long suffering bottom
lines on singles could afford to get a new design thru certification. And
if they did how they'd ever sell enough planes to recoup their investment.


"Dude" wrote in message
...
Okay, its getting boring so, here is a new twist on an old subject.

Beech and Cessna have recently seen HUGE increases in demand for aircraft
with the G1000 cockpits. Will this cause them to rethink the introduction
of a new piston design to compete with the new players?

If so, how long till you can buy one and fly it?

GO!

"OtisWinslow" wrote in message
news
I'm not sure how these old companies with their long suffering bottom
lines on singles could afford to get a new design thru certification. And
if they did how they'd ever sell enough planes to recoup their investment.


None of the new aircraft manufacturers have done it yet.

"Dude" wrote in message
...
Okay, its getting boring so, here is a new twist on an old subject.

Beech and Cessna have recently seen HUGE increases in demand for aircraft
with the G1000 cockpits. Will this cause them to rethink the introduction
of a new piston design to compete with the new players?

If so, how long till you can buy one and fly it?

Cessna is simply putting the G1000 in their existing airplanes.

Although the model designations remain the same, the current line of piston
airplanes is in fact all new. The Cessna 182 has changed so much that it
barely resembles the Skylanes of old. It looks more like a Cardinal on
steroids.

Next year's 172 will have the G1000 and air bags.

"Dude" wrote in message
...
Okay, its getting boring so, here is a new twist on an old subject.

Beech and Cessna have recently seen HUGE increases in demand for aircraft
with the G1000 cockpits. Will this cause them to rethink the introduction
of a new piston design to compete with the new players?

About the only thing I could see might be Cessna bringing back the P-210.
It's not a huge market but it would restore a little luster to the brand. I
wouldn't bet money on it though.

-cwk.

Well, Beech is claiming fifty orders for Bo's, and they seem as suprised as
anyone. I believe them.

Cessna has a big back order for G1000 182's, and I heard interested buyers
who were frustrated at the wait, as well as C Stars who were claiming to be
sold out of inventory for over 6 months.

I believe them too.




"TaxSrv" wrote in message
...
"Dude" wrote:
Beech and Cessna have recently seen HUGE increases in demand for
aircraft
with the G1000 cockpits. Will this cause them to rethink the
introduction
of a new piston design to compete with the new players?
...

I wouldn't have a clue true or not, but I'd still like to know if
that's a fact or just press release puffery.

Fred F.

Couldn't they do it like Cirrus, Diamond, and Lancair have done it?

If these guys can make money, then it would seem that Cessna has a near
guarantee on a 182 replacement.

Dude wrote:

Couldn't they do it like Cirrus, Diamond, and Lancair have done it?

If these guys can make money, then it would seem that Cessna has a near
guarantee on a 182 replacement.



I don't think Cirrus has come even close to making money yet, on a total
investment basis. I haven't keep track of the total amount of venture
capital they've secured, but I think it was north of $200MM. That will
take a long time to recoup. They may well be profitable at the
operations level, but that isn't the same thing as "making money" overall.

I suspect that Cessna has run the numbers and realizes that the cost of
a "clean sheet" light airplane would simply never be recovered in
today's market.

Matt

"Dude" wrote in message
...
Couldn't they do it like Cirrus, Diamond, and Lancair have done it?

If these guys can make money, then it would seem that Cessna has a near
guarantee on a 182 replacement.


But Cessna doesn't need a 182 replacement. They don't seem to be having any
trouble selling Skylanes and Skyhawks and they are probably making a hefty
profit on each plane that rolls off the line. IIRC a year or two back Cirrus
was still trying to get labor costs down low enough so that they weren't
*losing* money on each plane they sold. I don't know if they've even broken
that barrier yet. Forget about certification costs. Other than Cessna pretty
much every GA manufacturer has been through at least one bankruptcy. Well,
guess what that does? It washes out the cost of certification, and now the
new owner can essentially try to figure out how to manufacture the plane at
a profit.

The market is currently not that large, and the manufacturers are better off
staying out of each others' territory. Cessna is Old Reliable, with Piper
basically mopping up a lot of niches with all sorts of training a/c and
Mooney, well, they've been through bankruptcy more times than Donald Trump.
Cirrus and Lancair are going to duke it out for high-performance. These are
separate market segments just like cars and trucks, and two players does not
make a competitive market. As it is now, prices are high and you've got to
wait in line to get your plane. Perfect situation for manufacturers.

-cwk.