Mahindra leaving Australia.
Thread Starter
Mahindra leaving Australia.
Looks like Gippsland will be out of the aircraft manufacturing loop sometime soon...
OSHKOSH: Mahindra floats US assembly for rebranded Airvan
By: STEPHEN TRIMBLEMILWAUKEE Source: Flightglobal.com 13 hours ago
Mahindra Aerospace showed up at EAA Airventure with a new brand for the GA8 and GA10 Airvan utility aircraft, new amphibious floats and new interest in finding a US-based assembly site.
The GA-8 and GA-10 brands were inherited by Mahindra by its acquisition of Australia’s Gippsland Aeronautics. Mahindra has now dropped the GA designation, rebranding the single-engined pistons as the Airvan 8 and Airvan 10.
Mahindra has already delivered nearly 300 Airvan 8s from a factory in Australia. As the Airvan 10 nears certification later this year, Mahindra is considering a new manufacturing plan for the Airvan 8, says Arvind Mehra, executive director and global chief executive.
About 90% of the Airvan 8 are made in the USA, pre-assembled at a Mahindra facility in Seattle and then shipped to Australia for final assembly, so it would be possible to reduce the price by moving production to the USA.
“That’s our long-term strategy,” Mehra says.
Mehra adds that the location should be within an existing aviation cluster.
By: STEPHEN TRIMBLEMILWAUKEE Source: Flightglobal.com 13 hours ago
Mahindra Aerospace showed up at EAA Airventure with a new brand for the GA8 and GA10 Airvan utility aircraft, new amphibious floats and new interest in finding a US-based assembly site.
The GA-8 and GA-10 brands were inherited by Mahindra by its acquisition of Australia’s Gippsland Aeronautics. Mahindra has now dropped the GA designation, rebranding the single-engined pistons as the Airvan 8 and Airvan 10.
Mahindra has already delivered nearly 300 Airvan 8s from a factory in Australia. As the Airvan 10 nears certification later this year, Mahindra is considering a new manufacturing plan for the Airvan 8, says Arvind Mehra, executive director and global chief executive.
About 90% of the Airvan 8 are made in the USA, pre-assembled at a Mahindra facility in Seattle and then shipped to Australia for final assembly, so it would be possible to reduce the price by moving production to the USA.
“That’s our long-term strategy,” Mehra says.
Mehra adds that the location should be within an existing aviation cluster.
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I can't see how this relates to CASA.
Never underestimate the ability of Indians to screw something up. If it's not incompetence it's corruption. Maybe both. Doing business with Indians invariably ends in tears.
Never underestimate the ability of Indians to screw something up. If it's not incompetence it's corruption. Maybe both. Doing business with Indians invariably ends in tears.
Thorn Bird,
More true than you will ever know, the CASA "iron ring" have never forgiven the intervention by John Anderson, when he was Minister, that forced CASA to issue the original type certification and C.of A.
This move to the US is not just Mahindra, much of the production, and most of the development work was moved to US pre. Mahindra.
As the chaps will tell you, development that took years to never in Australia could be completed in months with the FAA.
Petercoss,
That you "can't see" is a problem of your vision, it doesn't alter the facts.
Tootle pip!!
More true than you will ever know, the CASA "iron ring" have never forgiven the intervention by John Anderson, when he was Minister, that forced CASA to issue the original type certification and C.of A.
This move to the US is not just Mahindra, much of the production, and most of the development work was moved to US pre. Mahindra.
As the chaps will tell you, development that took years to never in Australia could be completed in months with the FAA.
I can't see how this relates to CASA.
That you "can't see" is a problem of your vision, it doesn't alter the facts.
Tootle pip!!
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I'm surprised Gipps lasted here as long as they did.
It makes no sense to design or build aircraft (or cars or electronics, or much of anything else) in Australia. No federal government of either persuasion has ever had much of an appreciation for any economic activity other than digging dirt out of the ground and selling it.
It makes no sense to design or build aircraft (or cars or electronics, or much of anything else) in Australia. No federal government of either persuasion has ever had much of an appreciation for any economic activity other than digging dirt out of the ground and selling it.
I suspect the difference between Aus and US labour rates may have more to do with it than CASA. Light aircraft are expensive beasties to move to market as well, with both the Americas and Africa being closer to the US than Aus, it makes sense.
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Sad to see another idea started here head o/s like the Sarich Engine...
Regarding Indian's, this from their own:
New Delhi: Almost one-third of Indians are "utterly corrupt" and half are "borderline", the outgoing head of the country's corruption watchdog has said...
20 percent of Indians were "honest, regardless of the temptations."
Regarding Indian's, this from their own:
New Delhi: Almost one-third of Indians are "utterly corrupt" and half are "borderline", the outgoing head of the country's corruption watchdog has said...
20 percent of Indians were "honest, regardless of the temptations."
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Pete old mate, your comment, a Tad racist?
Not to worry, what's the old saying? "never give a sucker an even break"?.
The poor Indians bought a pup.
Not because there was something wrong with the product, an incredible amount of Australian ingenuity, engineering excellence, and just "plane" passion went into producing a very saleable product, despite the best attempts of our supposed regulator to destroy it.
Regulatory fatigue defeated any chance of it being viable and remaining in Australian hands.
The Indians knew a good thing when they saw it, it was a very good thing. What they didn't see was a bureaucracy even more corrupt and incompetent than in their own country.
Pennies dropped now, "Oh!! corruption exists in Australia, we didn't realize, sorry, we'll be off now" and once again aviation business departs Australia.
Not to worry, what's the old saying? "never give a sucker an even break"?.
The poor Indians bought a pup.
Not because there was something wrong with the product, an incredible amount of Australian ingenuity, engineering excellence, and just "plane" passion went into producing a very saleable product, despite the best attempts of our supposed regulator to destroy it.
Regulatory fatigue defeated any chance of it being viable and remaining in Australian hands.
The Indians knew a good thing when they saw it, it was a very good thing. What they didn't see was a bureaucracy even more corrupt and incompetent than in their own country.
Pennies dropped now, "Oh!! corruption exists in Australia, we didn't realize, sorry, we'll be off now" and once again aviation business departs Australia.
CASA is in part responsible for Gipps Aeros demise - that is from one of the founders as told to me personally during a tour of the plant.
The issue is time to market and CASA bull**** cost them at least Two years.
The issue is time to market and CASA bull**** cost them at least Two years.
And here I was thinking I could score myself an Engineering job with GippsAero down at Latrobe
I recently found a wealth of information when I browsed the listings for the Melbourne Supreme Court. Perhaps you could too?
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Simple really. Move to the states then congress will allow them to be purchased . Stay here and they won't. Remember the Aussie made troop carrier. They done the exact same thing. Sad really.
Cheers
Cheers
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It was always going to happen.
Production costs (any industry) in this country are far beyond what the cost to market will bear.
Needless bumpf satisfying pen pushers is driving up costs beyond belief. The paying customer is no longer bearing the cost, and sales are suffering.
As stated, much of the Airvan is produced in the US already. It makes sense to assemble and market it from there.
Mahindra have merely maintained the Latrobe facility to meet contractual obligations in the sale.
Times up!
Oh sorry...i forgot everyone should be earning 100k per year for 4 hours per day actual production
Production costs (any industry) in this country are far beyond what the cost to market will bear.
Needless bumpf satisfying pen pushers is driving up costs beyond belief. The paying customer is no longer bearing the cost, and sales are suffering.
As stated, much of the Airvan is produced in the US already. It makes sense to assemble and market it from there.
Mahindra have merely maintained the Latrobe facility to meet contractual obligations in the sale.
Times up!
Oh sorry...i forgot everyone should be earning 100k per year for 4 hours per day actual production
Thread Starter
Building things too far from the real markets is very costly. Australia has become a very expensive place to do business. All inputs from cost of labour, costs of Govt [CASA etc etc], and other issues including shipping and ferrying create a non-competitive financial situation. Even Boeing moved to South Carolina for the B787-10 and other bits to save on labour costs and other taxes from Washington...[non-union too]
Australia cannot compete on a global market [and our domestic market is minuscule] in any manufactured..
Australia cannot compete on a global market [and our domestic market is minuscule] in any manufactured..
...and yet if you want to look at high labour costs look at:
Sweden: Essentially a socialist state yet they have SAAB
Switzerland: Very, very expensive to operate there yet they have Pilatus
Japan: Mitsubishi (the new RJ)
Canada: Bombardier
even New Zealand: Fletcher
In a country as vast and aircraft-reliant as ours, the fact we have no homegrown aircraft industry and have to import the likes of Pilatus' from Switzerland is appalling.
I guess that means the end of the re-emergence of the Nomad? Not that that aircraft was ever a stellar example of what Australia could produce but the concept was sound and there is still a significant requirement for sturdy aircraft in this category (which is why the Twin Otter is back in production).
And the original GA8 was also a sound concept and, if the above is a done deal, will hopefully go on to flourish in its own right.
Sweden: Essentially a socialist state yet they have SAAB
Switzerland: Very, very expensive to operate there yet they have Pilatus
Japan: Mitsubishi (the new RJ)
Canada: Bombardier
even New Zealand: Fletcher
In a country as vast and aircraft-reliant as ours, the fact we have no homegrown aircraft industry and have to import the likes of Pilatus' from Switzerland is appalling.
I guess that means the end of the re-emergence of the Nomad? Not that that aircraft was ever a stellar example of what Australia could produce but the concept was sound and there is still a significant requirement for sturdy aircraft in this category (which is why the Twin Otter is back in production).
And the original GA8 was also a sound concept and, if the above is a done deal, will hopefully go on to flourish in its own right.