Jet deliveries surged 39 percent to 663 in the first half of 2008 while turboprops jumped 19 percent to 222 aircraft, but piston deliveries fell 16 percent to 1,034.
The latest numbers from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) show total billings reached $12.1 billion for the first half of the year, up 24 percent from $9.8 billion during the same period last year.
“Expanding worldwide markets are having a very positive affect on the turbine segments of our industry,” said Pete Bunce, GAMA president and chief executive.
Second-quarter deliveries rose to 1,138 aircraft from 1,044 during the same three months in 2007. Of those, 926 went to customers in North America, 175 went to Europe, nine went to South America, and 28 were delivered elsewhere.
Piper bucks the trend
At Piper Aircraft the piston engine sales were actually up 18 percent in the first six months of 2008. That equates to 98 aircraft.
Forty-eight of those were deliveries of the new single-engine Piper Matrix luxury aircraft. Another 10 deliveries came from the Piper Mirage that uses the same 350-horsepower Lycoming engine.
While 12 multiengine Piper Seminole and 11 Seneca V models were delivered, there were no Piper Arrows or Piper 6X aircraft delivered so far this year. Six Piper Warriors and five Piper Archers were delivered by the end of June.
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