I don’t find that unusual. 10+ hours per month for 2 years, then puts it up for sale. But it won’t have been an economical ownership compared to buying a 50 year old C/Pa.
Maoraigh wrote:
I don’t find that unusual. 10+ hours per month for 2 years, then puts it up for sale.
Yep, that is the same thing lots of Cirrus owners do. Fly them for 2 years and then get the next Generation plane or move to the jet. And the G1,G2, e.t.c. game is on there as well with lovely bliking little bait for people to fall for.
I guess the main problem of the Panthera for now is that it is still a very restricted airframe with no development in sight and which in the end will produce an airplane like many others out there, 1 million or more per exemplar for a SEP. That does not work. They can ask Mooney and most others other than Cirrus, who have a huge PR organisation and a religious user base behind them.
What am I missing?
There are 2 panteras for sale at Planecheck for prices bellow 400,000 euros. At least one had a price reduction around 100,000 euros and its there for at least one year.
Permitting my bank account, I would by one as they are IFR equipped, almost 200 kt cruise, over 1,000 NM range with a acceptable (for the speed) fuel consumption and ready for MOGAS.
So, what am I missing?
Not certified.
Not proven.
No service network.
Poor visibility.
They look super-ugly.
boscomantico wrote:
They look super-ugly
Well, there are some other popular airplanes we talk about here which I find even more super-ugly. Which ones I sure will not mention, no intention of hurting the beholder(s) 
The service options can’t be that terrible since the company has sold a lot of their other stuff, to business customers.
I observe, with sadness, that not much money is being directed at this project, but they have obviously decided to not kill it off (yet). They know their markets and they play where the return is faster.
The non-certified product for 400k or whatever is too expensive in Europe where the operation and long term parking is too limited. In the US these issues do not exist and I am sure Pipistrel know that the US is the market they need to penetrate. But that’s not easy – as e.g. Socata found out.
As for beauty, that is, as the saying goes, in the eye of the beholder 
Cirrus went for a very conservative shape, for the US market, with fixed gear being all a part of the whole concept. And with 300HP+ they don’t need a lot of efficiency. Non US designs have gone for a different shape for more efficiency.
Peter wrote:
I observe, with sadness, that not much money is being directed at this project, but they have obviously decided to not kill it off (yet).
There was no need to kill it, it’s been dead since the IO390 and 200 kt bubble burst. While the idea was brilliant, it collided with reality. Like so many great designs with came to nothing commercially, such as the Mooney Mustang, Beech Starship, Cessna 162, Prescott Pusher, Piper Jet and many more.
I hope that maybe Pipistrel will use the lessons learnt from the Panthera and turn that failure into a viable project called differently but based on the few things that worked on this one. Maybe take a book out of Dassault and sell the project to someone who will turn their Mercure into a world best seller. But as it’s GA we are talking about my hope is about zero that there are any takers who might do better.
There is a french turbine manufacturer that is now equiping the Robin with a 160 HO turboprop. I read somewhere that they are developing a 250HP turboprop engine. With the pantera would be fantastic.
Peter wrote:
The non-certified product for 400k or whatever is too expensive in Europe where the operation and long term parking is too limited. In the US these issues do not exist
You cannot manufacture and sell a new, non-certified factory built aircraft to the public in the US, unless it is LSA eligible. The only exception is Experimental Exhibition and even with foreign manufacture I think once the number of units shipped rises above approximately one, or maybe two the game is up, it’s no longer eligible. The foremost issue with the plane must therefore be that Textron (which owns Pipistrel) does not see a sufficient worldwide market to complete certification, which likely would also involve some design updates.
The very limited forward visibility strikes me personally as unacceptable, but maybe the market would differ.
There is a french turbine manufacturer that is now equiping the Robin with a 160 HO turboprop. I read somewhere that they are developing a 250HP turboprop engine. With the pantera would be fantastic.
Would be, yes.
Robin is gone. The plane shown during Aero23 with the turbine was a mock up.
The next marketing stunt is the turbine VL3.
Pipistrel made a great exit to Textron. If you ask me, it was for their efficient line of two seaters and to prepare for electrification, not for bolting a turbine to an experimental.
