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Aviation History
1990
1990 - 3281.PDF
OPERATIONS: GENERAL AVIATION US sales continue to decline... Deliveries of new US general-aviation aircraft continue to decline and the prospect of further deterioration as a result of recession and possible in creased taxation means that the industry must rethink its short- term projections, says the US General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). The association reports ship ments of 273 aircraft in the three months to 30 September, almost 36% down on the equiv alent period last year. Billings of almost $503 million show a fall of more than 3%. Shipments in the year to date stand at 832, some 23.7% down on 1989's figure. Only 1990 billings, $1.46 billion so far, show an increase (18.7%) over last year's performance. GAMA president James Gormley argues that general- aviation aircraft "...save time and money for the operators. Yet there are those in Congress who would impose a luxury tax on these depreciable capital as sets". The proposals are "an other burden to an already struggling industry". He blames declining fortunes on "...the continuing product- liability crisis that has devastated the light [aircraft] market". GAMA is encouraged by the state of the turbine market, but Gormley points out that the good news must be tempered by a realistic perspective. "A dec ade ago we delivered 585 turbo- props...compared to. 201 this year, a decline of 65.5%. [Some] 211 business jets were delivered [compared with] 118, a decline of 44.1%." Gormley also cites the possi ble negative effect of increased taxes. "The almost certain im position of additional aviation fuel taxes, the talk of a possible recession, the recent downturn in the business environment Gutfstream tells corrosion tale Corrosion protection meas ures are' being introduced on the tailfin attachment of the top-of-the-range Gulfstream IV corporate jet. Gulfstream is developing improved access for tailfin inspection and maintenance. The company is also to im plement application of a cor rosion inhibitor at the 18- month inspection in a revision of the maintenance manual dur ing November. Inspections of Gulfstream II tailfin attachments before Au gust 1991 are required under a service bulletin issued following the discovery of corrosion sev eral months ago. Last month Gulfstream told operators of all models that there was potential for Gil corrosion problems to develop with age on GUI and GIV aircraft. Of more than 50 Gils in-' spected under a different service bulletin before July, about a third were recommended for repair before next flight. • Gulfstream II tail under inspection and the proposed luxury taxes on general-aviation aircraft all combine to make us less certain about what we had hoped would be a better year for the industry," he says. "Clearly an upfront luxury tax would have a damaging impact on sales", says Gormley. Deliveries of new aircraft in the third quarter comprised 133 piston singles, 32 piston twins, 70 turboprops and 38 business jets, while for the year the numbers are 436, 77, 201 and 118 respectively. Only piston twins show sig nificant growth, a reflection of the small numbers involved. The additional 13 aircraft shipped in the quarter, com pared with 1989, represents a jump of almost 70%. Over the year, this trend is still evident but is a more sober 37% growth. The only other positive sector is turboprops, which have en joyed an almost 15% rise in the first nine months, although the July-September period lagged the first-half performance. Shipments of new business jets continue to lead last year's first nine months, but only by a single digit percentage. The most recent quarter shows a fall of almost 20%. Piston single sales continue in the doldrums, with deliveries more than 40% down overall, and as much as 55% below 1989's third quarter. US general-aviation exports of new aircraft are down by almost 22% in the year so far, with 315 shipments. o ...Beech acts to reduce output Beech Aircraft is to slow pro duction rates of four major products and has frozen all new employment in response to ris ing fuel prices and the US budget crisis. The manufacturer will slow down production on King Air, Model 1900, Baron and Bonanza lines as a "preliminary action" while it evaluates the apparent market slowdown. The Wichita, Kansas-based company will not elaborate on the numbers of aircraft involved, but says that the Starship and Beechjet pro grammes are not affected. Beech says that market activ ity "... has been slowed by the federal government's inability to resolve the budget, by the ex tended discussion of the so- called 'luxury tax' on light air craft, and by the rapidly acceler ating price of aviation fuel as a result of the Middle East situa tion". The latest version of the FY 1991 US budget contains a "luxury tax" of 10%, which would be applied to light air craft costing more than $250,000. All local employment adver tising in Wichita has been halted, and some training pro grammes put on hold. The com pany is reducing overtime and reconsidering plans to add a significant number of employ ees by the end of the year. Neither of the other Wichita- based general-aviation manufac turers, Cessna and Learjet (which both have narrower product ranges), has announced similar cutbacks. • Northolt wins new business supporter The UK's Adam Smith Insti tute has reinforced calls for a military airfield near London to be opened up for develop ment as "Britain's premier busi ness airport". ^Following a recent Civil Avia tion Authority report on south east England traffic-distribution Dr Eamonn Butler, the director of the Institute, is urging business aviation to work up proposals for using RAF Northolt. "There will always be a heavy demand for scarce space on major runways and it makes no sense for this to be used by small aircraft when they could be accommodated eslsewhere," argues Butler. "The south-east must have an airfield which has good access from central London...seven days a week," he says . Northolt is already widely used, but the pattern of use is wasteful, according to Butler. D FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 31 October - 6 November, 1990 13
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