Taking the temperature

AOPA's Summit has just closed and it is time to take stock. Trade shows often reflect the health of an industry, so I consider Summit as a thermometer temporarily inserted into the backside of GA. The prognosis is that the patient is in need of some regenerative oxygen, and perhaps even a heart transplant.

Unsurprisingly exhibitor and visitor numbers at Summit were down, and GAMA's Q3 shipment figures (which show aeroplanes shipped, not necessarily sold) showed a decline of 58% for piston aircraft.

It may sound everything in Tampa is doom and gloom, but that would not be true. The vast majority of people involved in GA are passionate about flying, and many of the companies involved are running lean of peak, just waiting for things to start to recover, which according to most won't be before 2011 at the earliest.