Piper Aircraft Press Conference, Sun-n-Fun 2009, April 21, 2009
Speaker: Jim Bass, CEO Piper Aircraft
Good Afternoon Everyone.
Since we last met here a year ago, the world has changed. I know I’m not telling you anything new. What is new, however, is that this economic downturn could well end up being the least of our concerns. For one thing, there are measures you can take to meet economic challenges – provided your underlying business structure is sound.
While we at Piper, for example, are far from risk-free at this point, we are confident that we have taken the steps necessary to keep Piper strong and ready to rebound when the economy does.
The cost-cutting measures we have put in place – while harder than anything we have had to do in recent years – are ensuring the long-term survivability of our company.
As the economy began to deteriorate last year, we moved quickly to get our projections in line with what market demands would be. We ramped back production to about half of what we delivered in 2008 and put in place all the safeguards that will allow us to come back strong and grow once this recession comes to an end.
That said, it’s important to remember that we are still in unchartered territory. Even though we’re seeing and hearing optimistic signs from the government and some financial sectors – including very cautious predictions that the recession may end this year – no one is predicting with any certainty how deep or how long this downturn will go.
What so many seem to forget, however, is that this will end. What might not end, however, is the effect that the government’s assault on aviation is having.
Many people outside of aviation believe our industry is devoted to corporate excess. While there certainly are examples of excess, the trouble is the guilt-by-association to which we have all fallen victim.
Private Aircraft = Corporate Excess … that’s the new equation, and Washington has made it into a sound bite that no politician seems able to resist.
Welcome to General Aviation’s Demonic Age, because that’s what we’re up against. And while we at Piper see less of it than OEMs whose primary business is the manufacturing and sale of business jets, make no mistake about it … much of the world is out to ground those of us who fly personal and private aircraft.
Forget about the millions of people that owe their livelihood to the General Aviation Industry. Forget that we are one of the last U.S. industries to enjoy a leadership position in the world. Forget that it was a love of aviation that took America to new heights – literally.
It’s a culture war. The government is vilifying people in aviation and not looking at the facts. What Washington seems to forget is that a lot of businesses that rely on General Aviation would come to a halt if every company executive, or business owner, or professional who has to be in multiple locations in a limited amount of time had to go through some hub on a commercial airline.
This demonization of our industry could have a lasting effect if things are allowed to go on as is … especially when underscored by the trifecta of pressures our industry always faces: Litigation, Taxation and Regulation.
Each of us has a role to play – whether it’s meeting with our U.S. Representatives and Senators to voice our concern, writing letters to the President, or – in your case – writing the stories that drive home these points. The fact is simple: We need to be diligent against those who would legislate or sue this industry out of existence. And we need to be as passionate in our resolve to save our industry as we are in our passion for aviation.
So … against that backdrop, I‘d like to take a deep breath and move on to what Sun ‘n Fun is usually all about: celebrating what’s good about aviation by talking about planes and flying. For us, the news has been the G1000 in the Piper Meridian.
The Meridian – with the G1000 – is much more than an upgraded aircraft. The truth is the G1000 makes flying the Meridian a completely different experience. It essentially allows the pilot to tap into capabilities that he or she wasn’t able to before we added the G1000. In many ways, it makes the Meridian an all-new aircraft – one that performs more like a business jet than a personal airplane.
Our new G1000 Meridian is a very bright spot in these stark times, and we are excited by how we think the marketplace will respond.
At the same time, we continue to make significant progress with the PiperJet, particularly in flight test.
Over the last few months we've installed landing gear doors, the pressurization system, and a state-of-the art data acquisition system. These modifications have allowed us to fly to 35,000 feet and verify the high altitude performance of the PiperJet. And, by the way, the word is that it’s all good up there.
Our goal over the next several months is to run all the necessary steps that will allow us to lock in – or freeze – the external loft of the production airplane. We’ll do that by thoroughly examining the low speed, high speed, and high altitude portions of the flight envelope.
The gear doors and other drag reducing modifications will allow us to verify the high speed portion of the envelope. After that, we'll install a stall-spin parachute that will allow us to safely evaluate the slow speed handling of the aircraft. We'll then take all of the lessons learned and make the necessary changes to ensure that the PiperJet will meet or exceed all of its stated goals and be a winner in the marketplace.