Piper Aircraft Incorporated announced today that they are terminating their distribution relationship with Czech Sport Aircraft (CSA). Piper had an agreement to market and distribute CSA's light sport aircraft as the PiperSport. In the press release, Piper cited differences in business philosophies as the reason for the split.
'After a year working with Czech Sport Aircraft, Piper determined that it is in our company’s best long-term interests to discontinue the business relationship which distributed a Light Sport Aircraft manufactured by the Czech company and distributed under Piper’s brand by a separate distributor network,' said Piper CEO Geoffrey Berger. 'Clearly, the company has a different business perspective and approach to the market than Czech Sport Aircraft,” he added.
There were three versions of the aircraft available for order,the PiperSport, the PiperSport LT, and the PiperSport LTD, with a beginning price of $119,900, $129,900, and $139,900, respectively. Each model was equipped with a 100-hp Rotax 912 engine and a Ballistic Recovery System (BRS) which is a parachute recovery system for the entire airplane.
According to the press release, as Piper built it's distributor network, they stated that they realized that Pipers core strengths and those of CSA were a mismatch. An email to Piper asking for further clarification on what these differences specifically consisted of was not answered as of the time of this writing.
The PiperSport was delivered to it's first customer in June of last year after an April 2010 launch. By August, Piper had stated they already had 38 orders, with 16 deliveries completed. The aviation community seemed to have positive views of the PiperSport with multiple positive reviews and a large social media following. On Facebook, the PiperSport had over 12,500 fans and over 650 on their Twitter account.
'We at Piper have a close affinity with this emerging segment of the marketplace and we have great expectations for the LSA industry. The LSA we were distributing is a good one and we encourage aviation enthusiasts to continue their support of this segment of the market,' Berger added.
'We certainly understand the implications of this development in the Light Sport Aircraft segment and do not take this action carelessly,' he said. 'As we have reiterated, Piper is committed to the company’s line of efficient and reliable personal, training and business aircraft. We also continue to support and strengthen an extraordinary global network of Piper dealers and agents dedicated to marketing and supporting these great Piper aircraft for the long-term.' he said.
Piper is continuing it's development of the PiperJet which is still on track with a redesign and introduction of the 'new' PiperJet Altaire due for first delivery in 2013. Requests for comments on if Piper will plan or pursue an LSA aircraft of their own were also not answered as of the publishing of this article. Updates will be provided when a response is received.
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