Textron is a biz jet company, FedEx supplier etc. That’s why they have the money to buy Pipistrel, the purpose of which is likely to spend a relatively small sum to get some instant experience in electric aircraft certification. I’m not sure the Pipistrel product in itself would be the driver for Textron, just as their existing private light aircraft business is just a way to milk a little extra cash from the business, not a major factor in their business plan.
Re composites. I spent quite a bit of time flying around in a Hawker 4000, they have been there and done that.
I’m not sure the Pipistrel product in itself would be the driver for Textron, just as their existing private light aircraft business is just a way to milk a little extra cash from the business, not a major factor in their business plan.
Pipistrel was a fresh wind with aircraft that are way beyond anything else. It’s just sad to see this happening. But who knows, maybe something good will come out of it. I just cannot see anything at the moment except cost cuts and improved efficiency in production and all the profit disappearing. A proud eagle turned into a cow.
It will depend on how Textron will exercise their ownership over Pipistrel. If they own it, support it with their network, help them with i.e. the Panthera certification e.t.c. but leave it to be it’s own company with much of the current management in place, it may be a good thing. If they do it the way they did it with the Columbia and press it onto somebody who doesn’t want it (Cessna) then it may well be the end of Pipistrel. I doubt the latter but it is of course possible.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
It will depend on how Textron will exercise their ownership over Pipistrel. If they own it, support it with their network, help them with i.e. the Panthera certification e.t.c. but leave it to be it’s own company with much of the current management in place, it may be a good thing
That doesn’t sound like US corporate thinking. As Silvaire said, Textron is a biz jet/cargo company. SEPs are OK as long as they generate money. The Panthera is a bottomless pit of costs any way you look at it. The Alpha/Velis/Sinus/Virus/-Electro line sell well on the other hand. They are extremely versatile and highly developed. It’s one of the few lines of GA aircraft that actually do sell in quantities today.
Perhaps someone at Textron has a fancy for the Panthera, but only the Alpha-line creates a positive cash flow, and it’s future proof. If I were at Textron I would definitely isolate the Panthera ASAP. Then take a (token) look at it, and most probably bury it or sell it. Perhaps with a small TP it would be cool, a TP/hybrid? It’s just that it requires massive development, and for what? Textron would get orders of magnitude more profit back by putting that money into biz jets and cargo planes.
LeSving wrote:
The Panthera is a bottomless pit of costs any way you look at it.
LeSving, unless the company insiders know that the development and certification are practically complete and all ready to go.
Or Textron was lead to believe that. :)
Silvaire wrote:
Textron is a biz jet company, FedEx supplier etc.
For sure. Their latest “design” for FedEx is a DHC-6 Twin Otter look-alike …. interesting that they couldn’t bring something new to market that wasn’t a copy-cat of a 1965 aircraft that is still in production today.
Peter wrote:
Apart from Cirrus … The SR22 could not have been sold to the traditional US GA SEP buyer (in the numbers achieved).
I See a much simpler story without slicing and dicing the market in a way that it looks like how it should look like: More than half of the SEP sold in US in 2020 have been designs that were type certified Around 2020 (not only Cirrus, DA-40 is surprisingly popular int he US as well) and Textron is selling none of them.
The “Cirrus is also a design from the 60ies and only pushed into the market by clever marketing” to me sounds like the “Tesla will never be a serious car manufacturer…”
No, because the former is looking back at history and the latter is forecasting the future.
Apart from known existing cash flow, the Textron move is forecasting the future.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. –
Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT), home to the Cessna, Beechcraft, and Bell aviation brands, today announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase Pipistrel, an award-winning pioneer and global leader in electrically powered aircraft, based in Slovenia and Italy.
With Textron, Pipistrel will have access to greater resources, technical and regulatory expertise and a global aircraft sales and support network, enabling it to accelerate its development and certification of electric and hybrid electric aircraft. Upon closing of the transaction, Textron plans to form a new business segment, Textron eAviation, focused on the development of sustainable aircraft, which will include Pipistrel.
“Pipistrel puts Textron in a uniquely strong position to develop technologies for the sustainable aviation market and develop a variety of new aircraft to meet a wide range of customer missions,” said Textron Chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly. “Today’s announcement supports Textron’s long-term strategy to offer a family of sustainable aircraft for urban air mobility, general aviation, cargo and special mission roles.”
“Pipistrel has been celebrated as one of the world’s most important and successful manufacturers of electric aircraft,” continued Donnelly. “Textron is committed to maintaining Pipistrel’s brand, headquarters, research and development, and manufacturing in Slovenia and Italy, while making additional investments in Pipistrel for the development and production of future products.”
Pipistrel founder and CEO Ivo Boscarol will remain a minority shareholder as well as Chairman Emeritus, consulting on future product plans and strategies for a two-year period.
“Under my 30-year leadership, Pipistrel’s team has achieved a unique prime position in personal, affordable, environmentally friendly and electric aviation. The trend and foundation for future projects has clearly been set,” said Boscarol. “To drive Pipistrel’s ambitious goals and to continue its story of success, the joining of Textron and Pipistrel provides deep expertise and resources which would otherwise be inaccessible to Pipistrel alone. With Textron, we are together geared to strive for future growth and look forward to announcing exciting new products and projects. I am delighted to continue witnessing my vision become a reality by being actively engaged with the company for the future.”
The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
So it’s greenwashing. I saw the Pipistrel electric plane, whatever it’s called, at Cannes a few weeks ago. Neat, but the poor thing has so little autonomy that they couldn’t fly it to Nice, 12 nautical miles away! It had to stop twice to get here from Avignon, a 45 minute flight away.
