New Aircraft

You know the world has changed when your financial advisor calls gushing about what a great day the market had. It lost only 300 points on moderate trading and hes certain the bottom is near. (Until, that is, investors find a way to tap yet deeper negative stratas.) In days of yore, stock market fluctuations far more benign than what weve seen since August have tended to spook airplane buyers into slamming their wallets shut. It stands to reason, then, that the current blood bath on Wall Street should have sent buyers burrowing deep underground, right? Not really, according to our recent survey of aircraft brokers we know. No one would describe the market as booming, but our interviews with brokers revealed less softness than we would have expected and, more important, there are some surprisingly good opportunities for buyers seeking deals on late-model used aircraft-prices are reasonable, inventory is high and sellers are adapting to this new reality. The world is less rosy for owners trying to sell run-of-the-mill, average airplanes, but these airplanes can still move, if the seller is willing to get the price right. (Thats another way of saying if youve got an average airframe tending toward the beater side of the spectrum, don’t expect to get a price anywhere near Bluebook value.)

Somehow, encoded into the very DNA of many would-be aircraft owners is an utter inability to apply normal standards and cautions when it comes to making money decisions about airplanes. Its undeniable that some airplane people go woozy and weak in the knees when a new aircraft purchase is afoot. Example? One entrepreneur contemplating launching a new jet was confronted by an investor who insisted on writing a six-figure check to be first in line for the new airplane. Never mind that not so much as a cocktail napkin sketch existed of the new airplane-he just wanted to be first in line if the project came to fruition. We cant venture a guess if this is blind faith or unbridled enthusiasm run amuck, but it supports an established trend in the airplane business that lives on to this day: Owners who want a new airplane are often asked to invest in it by writing large deposit checks which, in fact, make them both investors and customers whether they like it or not. The practice is so common that it has become the unquestioned way of doing business. We don’t have a score card on this, but owners have lost bundles of money on position-holder deals and Eclipse Aviations troubles with its EA500 jet have left an unknown number of position holders waiting for refunds. Given this development, does it make sense to continue this practice? Isnt there a better way? What should owners do to protect themselves against companies that don’t deliver on the deposits?

In the world of light airplane manufacturing, Cessna has figured out one thing better than any other single manufacturer: There’s a difference between people who talk about buying airplanes and people who actually buy them. The people who talk gave up the Cessna Skyhawk for dead when it was reintroduced in 1997; the people who buy made it the second best-selling single in 2006 behind the Cirrus SR22. It will occupy the same position when the 2007 sales figures are tallied. Not bad for an airframe conceived in 1956 and still selling against the cutting-edge best from Cirrus, Diamond and others. Incredibly, Cessna isn’t done with the Skyhawk yet, having announced a Thielert-powered diesel version last fall at AOPA Expo in Hartford and, as of press time, it has dropped the 160-HP R-model from the lineup. Given Cessnas confidence in the 172, we wondered how the four variants of the Skyhawk-two versions of the 180-HP gas model and two versions of the new diesel-stack up against each other and against an older Hawk.

Now that Cessna has announced that it too will offer the Thielert diesel in the ever-popular Skyhawk, were moved to wonder if Diamond was too early and Cessnas late to the game. We may never know, but Cessna clearly has one advantage: The diesel Skyhawk will have the new-and-improved Centurion 2.0, not the first-gen 1.7. If the 2.0 corrects the 1.7s nagging maintenance issues, the Skyhawk may be positioned to (again) become an airplane for the global market.

When Diamond pulled the wraps off its proposed DA42 Twin Star at the Berlin Airshow in May 2002, we thought theyd lost touch with reality. A new twin in the current market? And powered by automotive-influenced diesel engines just then at the prototype stage? Surely they were joking.No, they werent. And 350 Twin Stars later, the jokes on us. The Twin Star has been a smash hit, especially in Europe and Australasia, where avgas is $8 a gallon, if you can find it at all. But there’s some tarnish on this bright success story. The Thielert Centurion 1.7 engines that power the Twin Star have accumulated what many owners consider to be a poor service history, with numerous premature replacements, cylinder head cracking and at least 22 inflight stoppages that Thielert confirms.

Buyers who shop a new Mooney Acclaim will inevitably at least consider the Cirrus SR22 and Columbia, too. My perspective is as a CFII-my business is training pilots in technologically advanced aircraft (TAA) with a focus on Cirrus and Columbia. Here are some highlights from the right seat. Garmin vs. Avidyne: Cirrus airplanes are available with only the Avidyne Entegra while Columbias can be ordered with either the keyboard-equipped Garmin G1000 or the Entegra. By far, more owners are specifying the G1000 for the Columbia, but there are still more Avidyne Columbias flying. Which is better is a matter of personal taste. The Avidyne is simpler and easier to use, but the G1000 has more advanced capability, including interface with its own dedicated autopilot, the GFC700. Further, the Garmin has full screen reversion in the event of failures, the Avidyne doesnt.

Columbia claims its turbocharged 400 is the fastest piston single, but Aviation Consumer trials reveal that the Mooney Acclaim may actually be faster. Either way, both companies are using what we consider to be misleading marketing claims.

Although neither AirShares Elite nor OurPLANE are cheap, theyre still the less expensive way to own a new airplane. Owners say they fly more as a result.

Although neither AirShares Elite nor OurPLANE are cheap, theyre still the less expensive way to own a new airplane. Owners say they fly more as a result.

If the light sport aircraft segment promises to explode with choices, most of them may come from Europe. U.S. builders are waiting on the sidelines.

In one of the worst GA sales climates in years, Mooney says it has a backlog of orders as it recovers from bankruptcy.

This composite design is angling for what the company hopes is a two-place touring market. But were not sure if that exists.