AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2022 - 33

MIKE COLLINS
NEWS /
" Demand for general aviation
aircraft continues at a robust
pace. Since the initial setbacks
of the pandemic, we have seen
some segments make strides
with growing backlogs and high
rates of operations, while others
are still diligently working to
navigate the path to recovery. "
-GAMA President and CEO
Pete Bunce
Double-digit increases
New aircraft demand remains 'robust'
BY JIM MOORE
KINKS REMAIN IN the supply chain and a
shortage of skilled workers persists, but
demand for general aviation aircraft led
to many double-digit increases in shipment
and billing tallies for the first half of
2022. The General Aviation Manufacturers
Association's second-quarter release of aircraft
shipment and billing data reported by
member companies marks a continuation
of an upward trend. Comparing the first six
months of 2022 to the same period in 2021,
piston airplane deliveries increased 9.4 percent;
turboprop deliveries rose 11.8 percent;
and business jet deliveries climbed 9.5 percent,
GAMA calculated.
Honda Aircraft Co. and Piper Aircraft
Inc. both posted strong first-half numbers,
with Honda shipping 10 HondaJets
and collecting $57.5 million in revenue,
increases of about 67 percent and 80
percent, respectively. Piper reported 99
aircraft shipments during the first two
quarters of 2022, up nearly 46 percent
from the same period in 2021. Piper's billing
for the period rose to $107.8 million, an
increase of nearly 35 percent.
Textron Aviation also posted double-digit
gains in aircraft shipments and
billing. Textron shipped 98 piston aircraft
in the first half of the year, down from 104
deliveries in the first half of 2021. Textron
also shipped 66 turboprops (including the
first CE-408 SkyCourier), and 87 Cessna
Citation variants in the business jet category.
Sales of the Cessna 172 dipped to 62
aircraft from 74 delivered in the first half
of 2022, offset by upticks in deliveries of
the Cessna 182T (19 aircraft) and Cessna
206 Turbo Stationair (17 aircraft) during
the first half of the year.
No Beechcraft Bonanza or Baron models
were shipped in 2021 or the first half of
2022. Textron Aviation spokesman Duane
Frazier said " both aircraft had their production
paused while upgrades were
integrated into the cockpit and cabin of
the aircraft, " and that new Barons and
Bonanzas were in production with new
interior schemes, a new cockpit layout,
and other upgrades, and that the seventyfifth
anniversary limited edition of the
Bonanza had sold out.
Piper Aircraft Co. posted increased
sales of the Piper Pilot 100i made for training
(23 aircraft in the first half of 2022, up
from nine in the first half of 2021), along
with the Archer III variant of the PA-28
(40 aircraft, up from 33 in the first half of
2021). Sales of Seminole twins also ticked
up, from five in the first half of 2021 to
eight in the first half of 2022.
Cirrus Aircraft held its place as the
leading purveyor of piston airplanes
worldwide, with 181 deliveries of its popular
SR series pistons delivered in 2022
through June 30, and another 30 SF50
Vision Jets. Cirrus posted a 23 percent
increase in total billing for the first half of
2022 compared to the same period in the
prior year, up to $260.6 million.
Business jet market leaders
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. and
Bombardier Inc. both saw some slippage
in the first half of 2022, with Gulfstream's
47 deliveries and $2.6 billion in billing
down 4 percent and less than 1 percent,
respectively, while Bombardier slipped
by about 11 percent in those categories.
Brazilian rival Embraer shipped 29 aircraft
and billed customers $386.9 million
during the first half of 2022, down 12 percent
and 7 percent, respectively, from the
same period in 2021.
james.moore@aopa.org
AOPA PILOT / November 2022
33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2022

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