On Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:23:07 -0800, C J Campbell
wrote:

On 2007-11-17 07:54:38 -0800, "Darkwing" theducksmail"AT"yahoo.com said:

Is Cessna looking at it as a huge shortcut to building (and just adding
overnight) composite aircraft to their piston single lineup? I personally
like the Columbia line, if I had an extra half million laying around I would
love to have a 400.

------------------------------
DW

Cessna likes the Columbia, too, and they will continue producing the
aircraft. The interesting thing is that the Columbia production
facility is bigger than the Cessna piston facility in Independence. Yet
it is producing far below capacity, while the Independence facility has
been almost completely taken over by the Mustang. Cessna has only one
production line left open for piston singles despite the fact that they
have a backlog of several years' worth of orders.

You do the math and see what conclusion you come to. Personally, if I
worked at Cessna building piston singles, I would be house-hunting in
Oregon already, before things become a little tight.


That, and the fact that Cessna needs a fast four place piston airplane
to compete in the market these days. Also, it's much cheaper to buy
into a completed flying aircraft than develop one from scratch.

Ron Kelley