Diamond and Piper lead Piston Delivery Charge

Stellar performances from Ddiamond and Piper have boosted piston-engine delivery growth for the second quarter of 2019.

Combined with strong results also from the Cirrus SR22/T, shipments for April-June 2019 were over 15% higher than the same period in 2018.

Piper delivered 42 Archer IIIs for the quarter, which was 91% up on the previous year and continues an upward trend for the model, which has now firmly usurped the Warrior as Piper's primary trainer offering. The strength of the Archer can be attributed almost directly to academy sales.

The Archer took the crown for the most delivered small four-place piston from Diamond's DA40, of which 31 airframes were shipped for the quarter. The result was the best for the DA40 since Q2 2014 and represented a growth of 158% over the Q2 2018 numbers. Cessna's C172SP was relegated into third place in the category with 24 aeroplanes delivered.

Cirrus' market-leading SR22 and SR22T continued to be the largest selling GA aeroplane in the world, increasing their growth by 15%. The 83 airframes delivered supported the sector, with Beechcraft contributing only two G36 Bonanzas to the result and Cessna moving only one C182T for the quarter.

Diamond's performance was repeated in the twin piston sector with the DA42 having a bumper quarter. The 30 aircraft shipped to customers represented a 500% increase over 2018 and is the best quarterly result going back to Q1 2013, and may perhaps be the best quarter for the model ever. It was the only piston twin to see growth over the same time last year, with the G58 Baron, Piper Seminole and Seneca, Tecnam P2006T and Diamond DA62 showing soft delivery numbers.

Countering the pistons, the usually-robust single-engined turbo-prop (SETP) returned one of the softest delivery quarters for several years. Other than Pilatus' PC-12, which recorded the same quarterly shipments as last year, all models showed a decrease in deliveries over Q2 2018. Piper's M500/M600 result of five aircraft is a poor result for a model that has been averaging 12 airframes per quarter since the start of 2017. The SETP was the sustaining aircraft for the company during some very tough times in Vero Beach.

Pilatus also established itself in the jet market this quarter with the 11 PC-24s delivered leap-frogging both the Cessna M2 and Honda HA420 to take third position in the battle for supremacy in the single-pilot jet market. Embraer and Cirrus continue to show growth and the most popular aircraft in the sector.

Major Shipment Figures