PiperSport!!! What Happened?

[3Dreaming]

"The SportCruiser product...still has the largest market share (most sold) for all-metal low wing LSA aircraft, and is still near the very top of the LSA market share list."

Let's not overlook all of the LSA market when monitoring sales, even tho that is commonly done by sources like bydanjohnson.com (who seem to be more LSA 'promoters' than objective analysts of the LSA marketplace).

RV-12 E-LSA kits - another low wing metal a/c - have only been selling for 2+ years now and I believe they have now registered over 500 builders (altho' not all these kits have been completed, obviously). This compares with 108 Sport Cruisers being sold in 2009 and 148 being sold in 2010 (thru Oct). So both before & after Piper's name was added to the existing Sport Cruiser product, those S-LSA's were selling at a slower rate than RV-12 kits coming from Vans in Oregon.

Jack, your numbers a kind of misleading. The 108 and 148 numbers you quote are totals at the ends of those periods an not totals for the peroids. At the end of October they have sold 148 total airplanes, and not 148 for 2010.

[EppyGA]

AOPA reports that the 13 PiperSport dealers in the United States have agreed to form the U.S. SportCruiser Dealers Association, and will continue selling and supporting the aircraft.

[Jack Tyler]

"Jack, your numbers a kind of misleading."

Not kind of - they're really misleading! Sorry about that, as I read 'total' in the 'thru Oct 2010' market report to mean 'total for 2010' (geez, that seemed logical...) which it was not. The accurate stat is:
"With 83% of the year (10 months) accounted for, Piper's legacy brand is convincingly leading the market. At 43 airplanes registered in 2010 (24% of all registrations), the Vero Beach, Florida company is rising rapidly."
http://www.bydanjohnson.com/Sidebar.cfm?Article_ID=1383

So...these numbers make my point even clearer. If Piper was considered to be doing well with 43 planes sold, imagine how successful Vans is by selling 130+/- kits during that same period (my guesstimate based on builder #s being reported at the VAF Forum).

Thanks for the correction, 3D.

[roger lee]

Your numbers of register A.K.A "sold Piper Sport" for last year is very misleading. Just like Remos.

There is only 56 Piper Sports in the US. Of those 26 of those were registered last year and are still sitting at the distributor. That supposedly leaves 30 that have been sold over the last few years. So bottom line Piper Sport didn't sell that many last year, they only sold 22.

Some other numbers here didn't add up either.
Someone stated that Piper Sport registered 54 aircraft last year. FAA doesn't have, but only 48 registered for the year. 22 were sold to private people while the 26 sit at the distributors. I looked at the entire FAA registry file for Piper Sport.

Just because an Mfg gets them into the country and they sit at a dealer doesn't mean sold. Remos had almost 50 some odd aircraft supposedly sold, but 50 were sitting at the distributor, not sold, but reported as sold.