Numbers Still Look Good
After a year of steady increases, sales of GA aircraft leveled off in the third quarter of 2005. According to stats released by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, sales in Q3 were even with or down slightly from the second quarter of 2005 but they’re still up considerably over the same period last year. Worldwide, a total of 573 light singles were sold between July and September, down slightly from the 605 sold in the previous three months, but the year-to-date total is up more than 25 percent over last year, to 1,685. “Our industry is very satisfied with the positive numbers so far this year,” said GAMA President Pete Bunce. The piston twin market continues to be weak, with 30 aircraft delivered worldwide in Q3, down from 43 in the previous three months. There were 185 business jets sold, the same as the previous quarter, and turboprop sales totaled 87, up slightly from the 84 sold in Q2. Stats for U.S. manufacturers mirrored the worldwide totals, with U.S. companies selling 700 of the 875 GA aircraft sold in the world in the third quarter.
