There was a five per cent increase in general aviation (GA) aircraft shipments in the first six months of calendar 2018, new figures show.
The United States-based General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s (GAMA) latest shipment report showed there were 1,054 piston aircraft, turboprop aircraft and business jet shipments in the six months to June 30 2018, compared with 1,001 aircraft in the prior corresponding period.
While the total number of shipments, or deliveries, was up, total aircraft billings fell five per cent to an estimated US$8.58 billion, the General Aviation Aircraft Shipment Report published on August 6 said.
It was a similar story for the three months to June 30 2018, when total shipments rose seven per cent to 607 aircraft, while total billings fell 10 per cent to US$4.7 billion.
“Though this quarter’s results are mixed, we are glad to see that demands for training aircraft are driving increase in the piston and rotorcraft segments,” GAMA president and chief executive Pete Bunce said in a statement.
“We hope the continued interest in training aircraft as well as in new, safety-enhancing products and technology our member companies are bringing to the market will continue to drive increases in future quarters, and drive increases in people joining the industry’s workforce.”
In terms of aircraft type, there were 498 piston aircraft delivered in the first six months of calendar 2018, compared with 468 in the prior corresponding period.
Single- and multi-engine turboprop shipments increased 12 per cent to 260.
Business jet deliveries were flat at 296.
Looking at the shipments by geographic region, North America was responsible for 803 deliveries, followed by Europe (222), the “Rest of the World” (22) and South America (7).
In a local contest, the GAMA report showed there were three shipments of Mahindra Aerospace’s Airvan 8, which is produced in Australia, in the first half of calendar 2018.
The most shipped aircraft in the first half of 2018 was the Cirrus Aircraft SR22T with 76. The next highest was Cessna’s 172S Skyhawk SP at 54 deliveries.
The full second quarter report can be read here.
