Manufacturers "Upbeat" About Near Future

So you say sales are down? The mortgage is due, the wife is griping and the kids need new shoes? Buck up, bucko. Aircraft manufacturers meeting in Wichita (KS) this week say there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Take Cessna CEO Jack Pelton, for example. He says between 2008 and 2011, general aviation sales will rival the records set back in the late 1990s.

The Wichita Eagle reports Pelton told a panel of his fellow honchos that fractional jet ownership, the demise of the Concorde and expected changes in aviation regulation would all feed a growing boom in aircraft manufacturing.

Bombardier Vice President Keith Miller agreed, saying the challenge for bizjet manufacturers would be to provide the latest in amenities -- such as video conferencing, meeting rooms and in-flight email.

Perhaps most interesting was word that a lot of jet manufacturers have become fascinated with the concept of supersonic flight. NASA is currently researching ways to soften the sonic boom, which could lead to supersonic civilian flight over populated areas. That discussion was most recently spurred by the demise of the Concorde.

FMI: www.cessna.com, www.bombardier.com