Sat, Mar 13, 2004
SkyStar Aircraft Powers Up For Sport Pilot
SkyStar Aircraft Corporation says it
is taking the next step in preparing for Sport Pilot. This time,
however, it's more than simple reorganization.
Frank Miller, President and CEO of the SkyStar's Experimental
and Manufacturing Division, says, "SkyStar made important
reorganization commitments in January, and now it is time to
enhance our manufacturing abilities. We know that the first
reaction our potential customers will have when Sport Pilot is
announced will be to start the kit projects that have been on hold
while the rule worked its way through the Federal labyrinth. We
need to be ready for that surge in business."
To that end, SkyStar has increased its production staff by 30%
over the last 60 days, and is working to boost production
efficiencies. "SkyStar wants to be sure that we can deliver product
of high quality in the least amount of time," Miller said, "and
that will not happen if we simply wait until the rule is finalized.
We need to stay on the front side of the power curve."
Ed Downs, now President of SkyStar's Sport Plane Division,
echoes Miller's "power curve" analogy. "The efforts needed to ready
the Kitfox Series 7 for mass production are enormous, and the Sport
Plane Division cannot plan to simply feed off of the existing
homebuilt resources. These moves will, momentarily, increase
operating cost, but will result in an ability to quickly react to
increased sales." As many who watch the homebuilt industry closely
already know, certification of a kit airplane to meet the very
high, industry-defined standards will not be a simple task. It will
take time and financial commitment. And, continues Downs, "SkyStar
is not just talking about commitment to a future Sport Plane. We
are committing to the entire product line, and doing it now. You
can expect to see kits having ever-increasing quality and ease of
assembly as these new resources come on line."
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