GAMA Bouyant as Deliveries recover from COVID

Annual shipment figures released this week by the General Aviation Manufacturers' Association (GAMA) show that demand for new GA aircraft is returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Piston-engined aircraft deliveries were up 5.5% over 2020, with turbo-props experiencing a growth of 19%. Importantly, the figures showed a definite trend back to levels achieved in 2019 before the pandemic started.

GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce attributed the result to the resilience of the GA industry.

“The strength and tenacity of the general aviation industry has provided a strong foundation for the industry to rebound from pandemic-related setbacks with a powerful showing in 2021," he said.

"Total aircraft shipments are converging on figures that were seen before the outset of the pandemic. The industry has been able to weather the storm by strategically managing workforce and supply chain challenges, which unfortunately are still ongoing.

"Despite this adversity, there is robust interest and excitement in our industry as we continue to further our advancements in innovation, technology and environmental sustainability."

The final result for 2021 was encouraging compared to the results for Q1. Supply chain problems restricted the ability for manufacturers to meet demand, with only about 14% of all 2021 shipments occuring in the January-March quarter.

Cirrus SR22/T has been on top of the delivery charts for 20 years, and that dominance continued in 2021, with 361 aircraft rolled out of the factory compared with 291 in 2020; a 24% rise in deliveries. The margin to the second-placed high-speed single, the Cessna C182T was huge, with customers receiving only 38 of the type. No new G36 Bonanzas came out of Wichita for the whole year.

Cessna did finish the year on top of the trainer market, with 166 of the C172SP being delivered. That figure was down on 2020, when 241 aircraft were shipped. Piper's Archer III series was down also, with the 2021 figures 40% lower than 2020. However, that result could have been diluted by the introduction of the Archer-based Pilot 100. Diamond's DA40 bucked the flat trend in trainers, taking second place on the list with 118 of all styles shipped across the year.

GA twin shipments are down 11%, with most of the loss happening with traditional metal aircraft. No G58 Barons or Piper Senecas were delivered, compared with 54 of Diamond's composite DA42, 29 of the larger DA62 and 28 of Tecnam's P2006T. Piper's Seminole held up the old guard, with 15 of the type rolled out.

Both turbo-props and light jets experienced a bumper year, with Pilatus' PC-12 the leading turbo-prop and Cirrus' SF50 Vision heading the jet figures. The PC-12's 88 deliveries were 7% up on 2020 and SF50 18% to the good. Cessna's Caravan series (6%), Daher's Kodiak 100 (55%) and Piper's M500/600 (7%) contributed to the sector growth.

The battle for the jet market saw the Vision come out on top with 88 shipments (up 18%), but Embraer's Phenom series also turned in a good result with 62 deliveries (up 11%). Cessna's M2 scored well with the 34 airframes built representing a 42% growth over the previous year.

One of the best performances came at the bottom of the sheet: Cessna's T206H, which was 92% up on the 2020 figures. The result was the best since the 51 delivered in 2015.

Two new aircraft entered the delivery charts in 2021: Diamond's large single DA50 and the now-certified Epic 1000GX. The market will be watching the performance of these two airframes in the years to come.

Major Aircraft Shipments for 2021 Calendar Year