Don't forget about the experimentals. There are a lot of people spending real time and money to build "new" airplanes. The exact numbers are tricky to come by but it looks like Van's Aircraft is "delivering" more new (finished) airplanes than Cirrus.

About 450 RV’s are completed and flown each year..

About 450 RV’s are completed and flown each year..

I have a similar story. I contacted a local Platinum CSIP who owns 3 or 4 Cirrus planes he rents out for teaching. SR22s and SR20s. I had asked if I could rent one, I wanted to see what it was all about. I said my instructor was not a fan but I finally wanted to see for myself. He said he could do better than that and get me a ride in a new one and they would fly up here and get my wife and I at our local airport. I was having tough time with that as I would be hard pressed to buy new... I told them...and they did not care which way I went. I bought a G2 and was treated like I had just bought a brand new G6. I came from a 50+ year old 182. I couldn't be more pleased with the entire experience of them teaching me to fly it on their dime...their professional instructors....and all the CSIPs were really wanting to do the training. By the end of day 3 I felt very confident in taking my family with me. Just an overall rewarding experience in both ownership and operation. I am so glad I stepped out on a limb and took a chance. I almost got caught up and didn't buy any of them because I couldn't get the G6....but that G2 I have with only 690 Horus TTNS is a dream....very efficient....flies extremely well and I was shocked at how easy it is to land the thing...way easier than the 150 I learned in and the 182 I owned. Just a fantastic aircraft. We are gonna buy a G5 soon. I want a turbo and the extra seat and useful load. This thread has been refreshing to read, I just now found it. I think I read only 1 negative comment and it really wasn't that negative. I love all airplanes!

I was after an A36 but I wanted all the button pushing stuff....yes...a button pushing pilot I am!! I had enough of non pushing buttons in the 150 and 182. So anyway, the G2 has a lot of value for what you get in a glass cockpit, digital autopilot, speed, useful load, TKS icing, air conditioning etc. I had it narrowed down between a 2006 A36 with glass and a 2005 G2. Both were dressed out the same and had roughly the same time except the A36 had 2,000 airframe hours and 700 hours on engine. Cirrus was 690 since new on airframe and engine. The cirrus had air conditioning and a parachute. The bo didn't. Their useful loads were basically the same, but the bo had 6 seats and the cool big doors......anyway, The bo was $459,000 and the Cirrus was $289,000. Everything else was the same. It costs so much money to take a vintage aircraft and put all the gizmos in them that you might as well just go ahead and buy the plane that already has the gizmos in it...you will get a better deal....

PLEASE, I am NOT saying the cirrus is better.....I am saying for what I wanted (a lot of tech) it was a way better value.

Here are 3 examples of what I am referring to.

The Bo $479K : http://airmart.com/aircraft-for-sale/17 ... anza/n36bz

The Cirrus $259K: http://airmart.com/aircraft-for-sale/17 ... gts/n421cd

Cirri O SMOH Hours $279K - http://airmart.com/aircraft-for-sale/11 ... gts/n372lf

Again, just saying there is a lot of value in the G2s if you want all the fixings.... I LOVE BONANZAS and BARONS....A Baron is on my list!

I went to OSH and had a similar experience at the Textron pavilion; with the exception of the Denali mockup and people there, nobody said boo to me. Diamond was worse. Way worse. The Cirrus pavilion was a nonstop party - of course, I am a former Cirrus owner and knew some of the folks so I stopped by and had a nice visit with them. I’m also a Piper M-Class owner so I was entitled to the free coffee ... and found their M-Class lounge to be a great spot to hang out, but then I am “in the club.” Kind of shocking that they wouldn’t give a Piper owner a cup of java but I’m also not too surprised. But I did think that the sales people out by the M-Class aircraft knew their stuff. I overheard some conversations and also my partner and I had a follow up question about our avionics, and the gent at the M600 was a very knowledgeable guy from Flightline Group in Florida who has a long video on the 600 posted online - he immediately called an avionics person from Flightline to get our question answered. Again, we were owners but I didn’t get the sense that Piper didn’t have knowledgeable or motivated people out by the aircraft.

This was my first OSH so I had no prior expectations, but in general, I found the smaller companies were more active in wanting to talk to anyone who wanted to talk to them. The Tecnam guys were really nice, as were the Sling folks from South Africa. The LX7 guys, Stemme people, and some Italians flogging an experimental helicopter with a built in parachute (?!!) were super fun to chat with. As were the Pratt & Whitney people, Foreflight and Garmin folks. The Pilatus booth - not as friendly, although it seems others had a different experience.

The CubCrafter booth was quite busy and they were all out there selling hard from what I could see, talking to just about anyone who walked up. Like Cirrus, those guys have great marketing chops. Of course, I was taking delivery of my FX3 at OSH so spent a lot of time with them but I was also observing them interact even with all the locals during the last weekend of the show. They were happy to do it.

TBM folks were also very nice as noted above - although having just spent a huge chunk of change on our Piper, I didn’t want to tempt myself unnecessarily... I also surprisingly found the Epic people pretty lackluster ... even after I introduced myself as a SETP owner who could upgrade once they got certified, they weren’t too eager to get me in the mockups, etc.

Loved OSH and will go back. Will still go look at all the planes but I was similarly surprised by the lackluster sales efforts by some big names, but on the whole, I would have to say that the sales efforts at the booths were mixed - some booths were great, some not so great. Still tons of fun! And if you go, don’t miss the night airshow and fireworks!!! Wow!

Quick PS: I don’t post here much but I would be VERY sad if Textron got out of the piston single game ... the Bonanza is such an iconic and amazing plane. I have flown in them and really like them. It’s a crime they don’t seem to care about selling them. I’m guessing they will keep selling Barons (such a sexy plane!) as a King Air entry point and I suspect the 172/182s/206s are likely to stick around. But still, what’s happened to the brands (especially the Beech brand) just seems sad (apart from the King Airs of course).

Cheers

IF I were Textron or Piper, and IF I had any desire to stay in the aviation business ( doesn't matter whether its piston, turboprop, or jet), I would be busy at work trying to raid Cirrus's management and marketing staff. Its painfully obvious that no one does it like they do.

It absolutely does matter what type of aviation business you are selling into. Selling a $4-25M business jet is completely different than selling a piston product or personal jet. Dealing with a CFO, Board, or let's say a large fleet operator (like Netjets or others) is a completely different type of process than an individual buying an aircraft. That is also true in the piston world where making a deal with ER for a fleet of 172s is something that requires a completely different sales approach than the individual sale.

We like OSH because we like airplanes. For some of these other sales, aviation is a tool - there is no passion for aviation and the person making the purchase has no desire to sit up front. Go look at the sales approach at NBAA between the larger companies and someone like Cirrus. No comparison. The static display alone is mind boggling. Let's not confuse our love of aviation for the health of the business.

That being said - I have had several aviation businesses that were started and completely powered by passion for aviation... But, I think I am in the minority.

-Jason