Cessna Officially Junks Skycatchers

[Oscar]

I see that Cessna are now 'officially' junking their remaining inventory of unsold Skycatchers - stuffing them into garbage skips, without even (it appears) stripping them of useful parts. Cessna had earlier stated that they would be using their unsold inventory (about 80 of the apparently around 280 produced) as spares to support the poor bloody 200 or so actual owners.)

 

Cessna says there is no future position for them in the LSA-class market. Since they now own both Piper and Beechcraft, that's it for the three major players in the world market for smaller aircraft. Piper rapidly abandoned their 'aftermarket badging' sales of the Czech Sportcruiser (??) thing, and Beechcraft never even tried.

 

SO: the world's largest and most successful light aircraft company cannot make a decent LSA-class aircraft... yet a small Australian company has produced almost 10 times that number of LSA-class aircraft.. Sold world-wide, and with a superb reputation for the safety (in particular) of the airframe, but also admirable for being an honest, competitively-performing, no-vices for flying, cheap to buy and maintain, all-around decent-thing, aircraft.

 

Jabirus aren't 'sexy', and the performance figures for their advertising are rock-solid honest (you can cruise at a decent speed in Australian rough-air conditions at usually better than a heap of the Euro stuff). . If you own a Jabiru, you don't get people in the Clubhouse drooling over the looks. BUT: they do the job. A Jab. 430 will haul a load equivalent to a C172 as well, or better, than a C172 - at a price of 1/3rd a new C172 if you are willing to build a 430, and WAY lower running cost. And it will tolerate rough strips and take a bulky load easily.

 

In the strictly LSA class, the Jab. 230 has NO competition for overall utility. No, it isn't STOL, nor does it cruise at 125 kts (in smooth air.. flying off and onto bitumen strips). But you CAN chuck the camping gear contents of the back of your Prado into it and head off around Australia..

 

SO: can anyone answer me this: why does it seem that so many Australians want to tear down Jabiru, when no other company world-wide can match its basically good features?

 

Cessna could not build a decent competitor. Are there any other competitors out there that I have missed?

 

 

[cooperplace]

I'm with you Oscar, I love jabs.

 

 

[PapaFox]

Cessna owns Piper??? Cessna and Beech both under Textron Aviation, but Piper is still out there by itself, under the ownership of the government of Brunei

 

 

[Oscar]

Cessna owns Piper??? Cessna and Beech both under Textron Aviation, but Piper is still out there by itself, under the ownership of the government of Brunei

It is? Then I apologise to all, I thought Textron had assumed it. Mea Culpa.

 

 

[Yenn]

Cessna would love to own Beech and Piper, then they could mandate that some stupid, expensive work needs to be performed and CASA will go along with them to hopefully ground the whole fleet. Cessna will then sell more new aircraft, or that is their thinking. Lets just hope that they never get their way.

 

 

[Marty_d]

I see that Cessna are now 'officially' junking their remaining inventory of unsold Skycatchers - stuffing them into garbage skips, without even (it appears) stripping them of useful parts.

If true, this is an absolute crime.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

I did a rego search on the numbers and they are all ex flying school planes. From Cessna's pov it makes sense, do they really want to be supplying parts to these planes 15 years from now?

 

 

[Stearman]

In the strictly LSA class, the Jab. 230 has NO competition for overall utility. No, it isn't STOL, nor does it cruise at 125 kts (in smooth air.. flying off and onto bitumen strips). But you CAN chuck the camping gear contents of the back of your Prado into it and head off around Australia..

It always amuses me when people talk about how much an RAAus registered J230 can carry.

 

At an empty weight of 370kg ( without options ) you are only left with 230kg usable load.

 

Full fuel is 135 litres which weighs about 95kg.

 

If you & your passenger combined weigh any more than 135kg ( which would be a very common scenario ), you can't even fill up the tanks & that is with no baggage.

 

 

[old man emu]

SO: can anyone answer me this: why does it seem that so many Australians want to tear down Jabiru, when no other company world-wide can match its basically good features?

There are several possible answers:

 

1. A severe case of Tallpoppyitis.
    
    
   
2. No politician has a grubby finger in the company, so there is no chance that the company will receive R&D support money, operating grants or export assistance.
    
    
   
3. Private aviation of the type that a Jabiru fulfills requires allocation of infrastructure which could otherwise be converted for short term financial gain by organisations and individuals who are prepared to fill the coffers of political parties and members of the politician class.
    
    
   

 

 

OME

 

 

[rmorton]

There are several possible answers:

1. A severe case of Tallpoppyitis.
    
    
   
2. No politician has a grubby finger in the company, so there is no chance that the company will receive R&D support money, operating grants or export assistance.
    
    
   
3. Private aviation of the type that a Jabiru fulfills requires allocation of infrastructure which could otherwise be converted for short term financial gain by organisations and individuals who are prepared to fill the coffers of political parties and members of the politician class.
    
    
   

 

 

OME

I see that Cessna are now 'officially' junking their remaining inventory of unsold Skycatchers - stuffing them into garbage skips, without even (it appears) stripping them of useful parts. Cessna had earlier stated that they would be using their unsold inventory (about 80 of the apparently around 280 produced) as spares to support the poor bloody 200 or so actual owners.)Cessna says there is no future position for them in the LSA-class market. Since they now own both Piper and Beechcraft, that's it for the three major players in the world market for smaller aircraft. Piper rapidly abandoned their 'aftermarket badging' sales of the Czech Sportcruiser (??) thing, and Beechcraft never even tried.

 

SO: the world's largest and most successful light aircraft company cannot make a decent LSA-class aircraft... yet a small Australian company has produced almost 10 times that number of LSA-class aircraft.. Sold world-wide, and with a superb reputation for the safety (in particular) of the airframe, but also admirable for being an honest, competitively-performing, no-vices for flying, cheap to buy and maintain, all-around decent-thing, aircraft.

 

Jabirus aren't 'sexy', and the performance figures for their advertising are rock-solid honest (you can cruise at a decent speed in Australian rough-air conditions at usually better than a heap of the Euro stuff). . If you own a Jabiru, you don't get people in the Clubhouse drooling over the looks. BUT: they do the job. A Jab. 430 will haul a load equivalent to a C172 as well, or better, than a C172 - at a price of 1/3rd a new C172 if you are willing to build a 430, and WAY lower running cost. And it will tolerate rough strips and take a bulky load easily.

 

In the strictly LSA class, the Jab. 230 has NO competition for overall utility. No, it isn't STOL, nor does it cruise at 125 kts (in smooth air.. flying off and onto bitumen strips). But you CAN chuck the camping gear contents of the back of your Prado into it and head off around Australia..

 

SO: can anyone answer me this: why does it seem that so many Australians want to tear down Jabiru, when no other company world-wide can match its basically good features?

 

Cessna could not build a decent competitor. Are there any other competitors out there that I have missed?

I don't want to upset anyone in Australia but I think the answer is that you have kept the self deprecating gene from you British ancestors. We have a tendency to love all things foreign and slag off anything home grown, no matter how good it is. Jab have a poor reputation in Europe but that is more to do with the logistics of maintaining the supplies for spares and service, added to which is an abundance of home (noticeably non British) grown equipment. I hope Jabiru will survive and develop it is always a good thing to have alternatives and choice, and Australians should be mightily proud that have such a company and are the only country I know that still produces a radial engine! Keep it up.

 

 

[Yenn]

Jabs have a very good reputation in the USA and that is where the most pilots live and work and the home of aviation.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

...Australians should be mightily proud that have such a company and are the only country I know that still produces a radial engine! Keep it up.

...now there's a thought: a Rotec radial on the front of a Jab. Just install longer legs (only 2 required). A few more tweaks and we'd have a good bush plane.

Photoshop anyone?

 

 

[David Isaac]

Ya just got to get rid of that pesky lil wheel up the front and put descent rudder on her ... LOL

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Ya just got to get rid of that pesky lil wheel up the front and put descent rudder on her ... LOL

...and an elevator which moves more than a poofteenth from horizontal.

 

 

[Frankus1aust]

Just another Aussie manufacturer story. The government pays "innovation nation" lip service but try getting any real help or support from them. With the exception of Aus-Trade who are great, the rest is a painful process (with a few exceptions). Took out a Jab today with a GA senior instructor relation as passenger. He was impressed with its performance and low fuel burn. Got him thinking.

 

 

[Frankus1aust]

And yes..... Do the weight and balance. I know the performance is impressive but don't push your luck. Accident stats do none of us any favors.

 

 

[Hargraves]

I was lucky enough to be able to sit in a skycatcher to get a feel of the control movement (albeit static and parked) when they first came out. My impresion then and now was, what a roundabout way it was to try and make a yoke operate like a control stick. I was not very impressed with it at all.

 

The jabaru airframe is a proven preformer and a good choice for cessna fans. The answer i believe is Jabarax on the principle of if in doubt fix it.

 

 

[Head in the clouds]

... and Australians should be mightily proud that have such a company and are the only country I know that still produces a radial engine! Keep it up.

Don't tell the Czech Republic that - with their lovely 3, 5 and 7 cylinder Scarlett radials from Vernermotor ...

 

137hp at 2200rpm, 83kg, no reduction gearing required, magnesium crankcase ...

 

And their 69kg 83hp 5cyl version might suit the Jabby well perhaps?

 

 

[rmorton]

Don't tell the Czech Republic that - with their lovely 3, 5 and 7 cylinder Scarlett radials from Vernermotor ...137hp at 2200rpm, 83kg, no reduction gearing required, magnesium crankcase ...

 

And their 69kg 83hp 5cyl version might suit the Jabby well perhaps?

OOOooohhh that is nice. The Czechs make some amazing stuff!

 

 

[facthunter]

They probably run all right, but they look terrible. Part of the radial thing is how it looks (and sounds). Nev

 

 

[Hargraves]

Got to disagree their sir. They look wonderfully symmetrical and harmonic, and how it should be, despite the natural harmonics of horizontally opposed flat designs for streamlining.

 

 

[Head in the clouds]

Heehee, I don't think FH dislikes the look of radials, I think he dislikes the look of those particular ones. Methinks Nev is a triple row Wasp sorta fella.

 

 

[Oscar]

Well, if you DID drop in a five-cylinder, and go to tailwheel (thus picking up 5 knots cruise or so), it could be interesting. But with the centre shaft, you'd need long, long legs, so it'd end up looking like a mini-Wilga (sort of). a rather limited field of forward vision... Mind you, forward vision is a much-over-rated concept: look at the Laird Super Solution: http://www.skytamer.com/1.2/2003/3184.jpg. The fuselage for this one was built at Toowoomba by Barry Manktelow, to his usual uber-fine standard..

 

 

[facthunter]

Bit like an Americanised Comper Swift. A plane I like. The Pobjoy Nagari/ Cataract( I forget which) is a very light single layshaft geared radial. Higher thrust line. All Alloy. I don't know a lot about the quality or reliability. Someone I know used to say A lot of Popping and not much Joy. If someone gave me one I would polish it up and get it going. I promise. Complete with Plane, please. Nev

 

 

[kasper]

Bit like an Americanised Comper Swift. A plane I like. The Pobjoy Nagari/ Cataract( I forget which) is a very light single layshaft geared radial. Higher thrust line. All Alloy. I don't know a lot about the quality or reliability. Someone I know used to say A lot of Popping and not much Joy. If someone gave me one I would polish it up and get it going. I promise. Complete with Plane, please. Nev

pobjoy Niagara- geared 7 cyl radial. Comper swift with the dehaviland straight engine beats the radial engines ones on looks.