Piper ditches the PiperSport

[Jabawocky]

....................:hmm:

Piper Aircraft, Inc. - PIPER TO TERMINATE PIPERSPORT DISTRIBUTOR BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP (http://www.piper.com/pages/PipertoTerminatePipersportDistributorBusinessRelationship_01 122011.cfm)

J.....The Lunatic Fringe:O

[Ultralights]

wonder how much influence the tanking US$/EU$ exchange rate had on this decision?

[VH-XXX]

That is interesting because didn't the company go under pretty much before Piper called it the PiperSport, when it was labelled the SportCruiser?

[baswell]

didn't the company go under pretty much before Piper called it the PiperSport
Name one light aircraft manufacturer that isn't perpetually at the point of "going under" ;) (Any company not named Cessna!)

I wanted to, but never liked the PiperSport. They put so many luxuries on the SportCruiser that it's got the same anaemic usable load as the Cessna 162.

Plus it was always going to look like a "me too" aircraft rather than a "real" Piper, where the 162, for better or worse, is a real Cessna design.

Torn between saying "it's sad" and "goodbye and good riddance".

[Goat Whisperer]

Name one light aircraft manufacturer that isn't perpetually at the point of "going under" http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/wink2.gif (Any company not named Cessna!)Maule (aiming a little modestly)
Robinson

[VH-XXX]

Name one light aircraft manufacturer that isn't perpetually at the point of "going under" http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/wink2.gif (Any company not named Cessna!)


Gippsland Aeronautics (light?)
Jabiru
Morgan Aeroworks
Pipistrel
Flight Design
Aerokprat
Eurofox

[gassed budgie]

where the 162, for better or worse, is a real Cessna design


Please explain.

[VH-XXX]

Perhaps he means that the Cessna was designed by Cessna themselves, whereas the Pipersport was just an agreement where the pre-existing Czech SportCruiser became the PiperSport. Not unlike how Cirrus bought the Polaris FK-14 and called it the Cirrus SRS LSA. Apologies if the FK-14 number is incorrect.

If you're referring to the "better or worse" part, then beats me...

[baswell]

Please explain
Better: tough, dependable aircraft and this one reasonably priced too.
Worse: Cessna still thinks the average pilot with bags and gear weighs less than 80kg. Other LSA makers, like CT, Jabiru, Evektor and CZAW seem to live in the real world in that regard.

Bummer they don't market a 650 KG version, would be perfect for GA schools.