Sport Pilot Talk

I found the artical below in the July 10th Prague Monitor. 2009 may turn out to be a different market with totally different players.

Czech small aircraft manufacturers' sales fall in USA
By ČTK / Published 10 July 2008
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Prague, July 9 (CTK) - The Czech small aircraft manufacturers will sell considerably less products on the key US market this year than a year ago, server iHned.cz says.

The reason for the declining demand are prices of the aircraft growing by up to one third chiefly due to the strong Czech crown and the US economic recession, the server says.

One of the biggest companies on the market, Evektor Aerotechnik, which is based in Kunovice in south Moravia, has not renewed fixed-term contracts with a number of its employees and laid off many of them as a result.

"The situation considerably affects the US demand for our aircraft putting the local competitors at an advantage. This year's sales to the USA will hardly reach 50 percent of last year's level, and other companies face similar problems," Evektor Aerotechnik commercial director Milan Mach told the server.

The company management also considers relocation of the production of the main components to a country with lower production costs, the server writes.

"Twelve light sport aircraft (LSA) manufacturers sold only two machines to the USA in June. In the past, however, sales to the USA were twenty machines a month on average. The issue is how many manufacturers can survive such a situation," vice-president of the Czech Light Aircraft Association Jan Fridrich says.

Smaller companies are affected by the sales problems even more heavily, according to the server.

The manufacturers would like to become more involved in the European market, but its unclear legislation makes this impossible and so they are seeking new markets, the server said.

"I've got a contract for four aircraft to Iran. However, due to the local instability I am no sure if the risk will pay off," the server quotes Jiri Vahalik of Dova Aircraft as saying.

Around 500 small aircraft were produced in the Czech Republic last year. The majority of the domestic production of ultralight aircraft is exported.

Evektor Aerotechnik produced a record 190 LSA aircraft last year. Roughly half of the exports was sold on the US market.