Piper update

[vanHorck]

There have been quite a few rumors going around about Piper.

The company has just been sold from one investor to the next at the same time that it reported sales being down by some 50% in the first quarter:
Piper Aircraft gets new owner - Florida AP - MiamiHerald.com (http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/1028350.html)
Piper Aircraft sales fall 49 percent in first quarter (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2009/05/05/0505piper.html)

Also an interesting article appeared about the company where some more insight is given in their views on the market.
All GA manufacturers are struggling but i guess it is important to us all that companies like Cessna and Piper survive and continue to develop.
Vero Beach 32963 - Vero Beachside Newspaper - Piper: Flying through the ‘Perfect Storm’ (http://www.verobeach32963.com/news/News%20042309/042309_Piper.htm)

I think it makes interesting reading

VH

[IO540]

According to Bass, Piper is selling two to three planes each week (down from six to seven a week a year ago), the company continues to have positive cash flow,

Unless they are all Meridians (which they obviously are not, otherwise the world would be full of them) it is obvious that what is keeping piper afloat is

“One of the things people forget when they talk about Piper – and one of the reasons we have such staying power – is the fact that Piper in its history has built over 144,000 aircraft. Nearly 90,000 of those aircraft are still flying somewhere in the world. Those aircraft all need spare parts.

Piper will go on for ever, because a Type Certificate owner can manufacture parts out of any old material which meets the spec and which comes with a CofC for the bulk quantity purchased, and they generate the 8130-3 or EASA-1 forms from fresh air, multiplying their cost 10x to 100x (or even more for very small parts) to arrive at the selling price.

Same with Mooney.

And Socata. Even if their new owner DAHER shut them down, the spare parts operation would still be worth many millions. The TBM however keeps going.

The margins in making planes are not that great, if they are hand-built, which they all are.

[vanHorck]

The Matrix is what made their last quarter in 2008, i read in one article (not sure if it was this one) that sales of other types averaged only 2

I'm a little surprised that the new investor allowed the old one to make a good return. Guess this must have to do with the Piperjet.

Although slightly behind schedule, it looks like a (proven) Malibu frame and with the name of Piper behind it and having a certified ceiling of FL350 it may well prove to be the winner in single engine jets for private use.

[Rod1]

“Piper will go on for ever”

Not sure I agree. Piper may have made 144,000 aircraft with 90,000 still flying, but the fleet is aging. The old PA38 and PA28’s are becoming very cheap and in Euro land the cost of maintenance must be approaching the hull value. As the new ELA-1 aircraft start to come in the Piper fleet will be scraped in large numbers. Obviously the more modern airframes will continue, but the sales of parts on traditional aircraft will fall sharply over the next 10 years.

Rod1