FD Insolvency Notice

[tfdixon]

Last summer I received the notice regarding FD filing for insolvency.  Does anybody know who the two large accounts that have cut FD's cash flow and capital needs? Now it has been reported in all the alphabet magazines.  The notice is very positive.  BUT, most are to help the new controlling agency pursue all avenues of recovery.  Any inside info out there?

[FlyingMonkey]

13 hours ago, tfdixon said:

Last summer I received the notice regarding FD filing for insolvency.  Does anybody know who the two large accounts that have cut FD's cash flow and capital needs? Now it has been reported in all the alphabet magazines.  The notice is very positive.  BUT, most are to help the new controlling agency pursue all avenues of recovery.  Any inside info out there?

Ugh...FD seems to have been on the ragged edge of financial viability since 2015 or so, and has gone through a lot of re-orgs and insolvency shenanigans off and on almost as long as I've owned my airplane.  I hope this helps them get things nailed down, but building airplanes is a really hard business.

[Madhatter]

I think insolvency is an issue for most LSA manufacturers, it is a very difficult business affected by not just domestic economic conditions but global. These aircraft are not being built  in the US. With MOSAIC rules coming up the competition is getting worse as a lot of manufacturers need to redesign their aircraft to remain competitive. To make things worse, US manufacturers like Cessna, Piper, Beechcraft,  etc do not like MOSAIC. This doesn't come from me but from someone I know who is very much involved in the process. We can only hope that things work out.

[FlyingMonkey]

28 minutes ago, Madhatter said:

To make things worse, US manufacturers like Cessna, Piper, Beechcraft,  etc do not like MOSAIC. This doesn't come from me but from someone I know who is very much involved in the process. We can only hope that things work out.

Not at all surprising...The established, certified manufacturers don't want to have to redesign to compete with more innovative designs that cost less.

[Madhatter]

We in the US have not built a new design certified GA aircraft other than Cirrus in over 30 years. Of course Cirrus is owned by China. With our current FAA its almost impossible. In my opinion we have lost the entire industry for GA, and even Boeing seems to be struggling. Who wants to pay $500,000 for a new, old technology 172 these days?

That's why experimental is flourishing.

[FlyingMonkey]

33 minutes ago, Madhatter said:

We in the US have not built a new design certified GA aircraft other than Cirrus in over 30 years. Of course Cirrus is owned by China. With our current FAA its almost impossible. In my opinion we have lost the entire industry for GA, and even Boeing seems to be struggling. Who wants to pay $500,000 for a new, old technology 172 these days?

That's why experimental is flourishing.

100%.  It's also why the pilot population is aging into extinction.  Young people can't afford to fly as recreation, even if they are highly motivated.  It's just too damn expensive.

[Eddie Cesnalis]

1 hour ago, FlyingMonkey said:

the pilot population is aging into extinction.  Young people can't afford to fly as recreation, even if they are highly motivated.  It's just too damn expensive.

When I started flying we looked at the cost of owning a nice skyhawk as similar to owning a pickup truck (pickup trucks 40 years ago where at quite a different price point). Vehicles, housing, food and insurance costs have put the American dream out of reach for the middleclass at least going forward.  Aviation moreso.

As we change lanes with a new government I can see reason for optimism. Less optistic about our niche in Aviation.