The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) delivery figures released today for the first three quarters of 2017 show a 4% increase in piston-engine shipments over the same period last year.
For the January-September period, 724 piston-powered aircraft were sent out to customers compared to 696 year-to-date for 2016. According to GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce, the results show cause for restrained optimism
“The third quarter shipment and billing numbers continue a similar pattern for the industry this year: mixed, with some bright spots that continue trending upward ...” Bunce said
“We’ve been very focused on streamlining certification and validation processes around the world, which will help our member companies continue bringing new and safer products to the market and hopefully spur growth in future quarters.”
Cirrus Aircraft's SR22 continues to lead the single-engine piston field by a long way despite a 25% drop in sales compared to last year. The 73 airframes delivered is just over three-times that of the second-placed Cessna C172SP, which also experienced a similar slump in shipments. Against its six-cylinder rivals, the SR22 out-sold the next best, Cessna's C182T Skylane, by a factor of 10 to 1. Cirrus also reported the very first shipments of the SF50 Vision jet, with seven aircraft going to customers.
The battle for twin-engined sales was very close for the quarter, with no single aeroplane selling more than 10 airframes. Tecnam's P2006T led the way with 10, but Diamond's twin stars the DA42 and DA62 were close behind with nine and eight respectively. Added together, the results cement the Austrian manufacturer's claim to lead the light twin-engine market world-wide.
Australasian manufacturers continue to struggle against the might of their European and USA rivals. Both Pacific Aerospace and Mahindra/GippsAero delivered only one airframe each. PAC's P750XL struggled in the single-engine turbine market, in which the Cessna Caravan and Pilatus PC12 continued to dominate. In the piston utiltiy segment, the Airvan 8 was again out-sold by the T206H by a factor of 7 to 1.
Major Aircraft Shipments
| Aircraft | Q3 2017 | Q3 2016 | Change |
| Piper Warrior III | 0 | 0 | - |
| Cessna C172SP | 24 | 33 | -27% |
| Piper Archer III | 22 | 22 | 0% |
| Diamond DA40 | 22 | 5 | 340% |
| Cirrus SR20 | 14 | 9 | 56% |
| Tecnam P2010 | 3 | 5 | -40% |
| Cessna C182T | 7 | 14 | -50% |
| Beech G36 Bonanza | 3 | 6 | -50% |
| Cirrus SR22/T | 73 | 97 | -25% |
| Cessna TTx | 4 | 4 | 0% |
| Piper M350/Matrix | 1 | 4 | -75% |
| Mooney Ovation/Acclaim | 1 | 1 | 0% |
| Beech G58 Baron | 5 | 4 | 25% |
| Piper Seminole | 6 | 0 | - |
| Piper Seneca V | 1 | 0 | - |
| Diamond DA42 | 9 | 9 | 0% |
| Tecnam P2006T | 10 | 8 | 25% |
| Diamond DA62 | 8 | 8 | 0% |
| Cessna Caravan Series | 33 | 26 | 27% |
| Quest Kodiak 100 | 6 | 7 | -14% |
| Pilatus PC12 | 22 | 20 | 10% |
| Socata TBM 900/930 | 13 | 14 | -7% |
| PAC 750XL | 1 | 4 | -75% |
| Piper Meridian/M500/M600 | 12 | 10 | 20% |
| Cessna Mustang & M2 | 10 | 13 | -23% |
| Eclipse 550 | 1 | 1 | 0% |
| Embraer Phenom 100 & 300 | 13 | 13 | 0% |
| Honda HA420 | 6 | 6 | 0% |
| Cirrus SF50 Vision | 7 | - | - |
| Cessna T206H | 7 | 11 | -36% |
| GippsAero Airvan 8 | 1 | 1 | 0% |