SARA GETTYS / Yakima Herald-Repu
Zeus Wilson welds intake tubes at the newly expanded parts and welding shop at CubCrafters on Wednesday, June 13, 2012. The shop makes parts for both the planes CubCrafters builds and also parts for rebuilds and kits.
Story and photos: http://www.yakima-herald.com
By MAI HOANG
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
YAKIMA, Wash. — In the lobby at CubCrafters headquarters on South 16th Avenue, the company has posted maps of the United States and the world.
Various places on each map have little pins with flags showing sales of CubCrafters. Most of those pins are currently on the U.S. map. But more and more, they’ll be showing up on the world map.
Growing worldwide interest in light sport aircraft, a category of less-expensive planes, has contributed to recent growth for the Yakima manufacturer.
So far this year, the company has increased production by 25 percent and has outgrown its welding and machine shop, which prompted it to lease 15,000 square feet at the former Western Recreational Vehicles facility on West Washington Avenue. Employment has increased from 70 to 80 workers during the economic downtown four years ago to 125 to 130 now, surpassing peak employment levels from early 2008.
CubCrafters, founded in 1980, is on pace to build 60 new planes this year, which would be a 28 percent increase from last year and the most ever in one year, said owner Jim Richmond.
"There’s more optimism" about the market, he said.
Outlook brightens
Nearly all those planes — 90 percent — will be light sport aircraft. The company currently manufacturers two light sport models: the Sport Cub and the Carbon Cub.
The Carbon Cub is the more powerful younger brother of the Sport Cub, the initial light sport model introduced in 2005, shortly after the category was adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Light sport aircraft has become appealing because it’s less pricey: The base price of the Sport Cub, for example, is $163,280, about 32 percent less than the Top Cub, the standard category aircraft that CubCrafters also builds. The Sport Cub is even less expensive, with a $134,950 base price.
Over the last few years, several countries, including those in the European Union, Australia and Brazil, have adopted the light sport aircraft design standard set by the industry, enabling manufacturers like CubCrafters to sell their aircraft without having to make big changes.
Unlike the United States, other countries do not have a large inventory of used planes, so the price point of light sport aircraft is appealing for those looking to buy a new plane, said Dick Knapinski, a spokesman for the Experimental Aircraft Association, a recreational aviation organization based in Oshkosh, Wis.
"CubCrafters, to their credit, are taking advantage of it," he said.
Recently, CubCrafters shipped two Carbon Cubs to the United Kingdom, marking its entrance into the European market.
Dan Johnson, who runs bydanjohnson.com, a website about the light sport and recreational aircraft industry, believes there’s great potential in the world market. He speculates that in 20 years, most light craft will be sold outside the United States.
"(Manufacturers) could end up selling substantially more aircraft outside the U.S.," he said.
Busy with rebuilds
That’s not to say that CubCrafters’ business in the United States has matured, although the company has seen a year-over-year increase in domestic sales of its aircraft, Richmond said.
He said it’s taken a few years for a significant number of U.S. general aviation pilots to experience a light sport aircraft first hand.
And those pilots don’t hesitate to document and share their experiences on social media outlets like Facebook and YouTube. Such posts often prompt more interest from potential buyers.
"The fleet is selling airplanes for us," he said.
Still, CubCrafters faces tough competition — not from other plane manufacturers, but from the thousands of older planes still in operation.
Many pilots are often faced with the decision of either rebuilding an existing plane or buying a new one, and many choose to rebuild. CubCrafters still benefits from this market, as about 20 percent of its business comes from rebuilding old planes, repairs and assembly kits, which provide parts.
This side of the business has kept the company’s parts and welding shop busy. While the company finishes a new plane every four days — about 5.4 planes a month — the shop can generate up to 10 planes’ worth of parts in the same period.
But rebuilds are hard to schedule because they are all different. That is, some planes may have more damage than others, so it’s better to sell a new plane, Richmond said.
That has driven the company to keep innovating on new models. With the parts and welding shop relocated to a new facility, the company now uses space at its main plant for research and development, experimenting with modifications and new features.
"The challenge is to come up with something compelling enough to make the choice of buying a new plane rather than to rebuild," Richmond said.
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
YAKIMA, Wash. — In the lobby at CubCrafters headquarters on South 16th Avenue, the company has posted maps of the United States and the world.
Various places on each map have little pins with flags showing sales of CubCrafters. Most of those pins are currently on the U.S. map. But more and more, they’ll be showing up on the world map.
Growing worldwide interest in light sport aircraft, a category of less-expensive planes, has contributed to recent growth for the Yakima manufacturer.
So far this year, the company has increased production by 25 percent and has outgrown its welding and machine shop, which prompted it to lease 15,000 square feet at the former Western Recreational Vehicles facility on West Washington Avenue. Employment has increased from 70 to 80 workers during the economic downtown four years ago to 125 to 130 now, surpassing peak employment levels from early 2008.
CubCrafters, founded in 1980, is on pace to build 60 new planes this year, which would be a 28 percent increase from last year and the most ever in one year, said owner Jim Richmond.
"There’s more optimism" about the market, he said.
Outlook brightens
Nearly all those planes — 90 percent — will be light sport aircraft. The company currently manufacturers two light sport models: the Sport Cub and the Carbon Cub.
The Carbon Cub is the more powerful younger brother of the Sport Cub, the initial light sport model introduced in 2005, shortly after the category was adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Light sport aircraft has become appealing because it’s less pricey: The base price of the Sport Cub, for example, is $163,280, about 32 percent less than the Top Cub, the standard category aircraft that CubCrafters also builds. The Sport Cub is even less expensive, with a $134,950 base price.
Over the last few years, several countries, including those in the European Union, Australia and Brazil, have adopted the light sport aircraft design standard set by the industry, enabling manufacturers like CubCrafters to sell their aircraft without having to make big changes.
Unlike the United States, other countries do not have a large inventory of used planes, so the price point of light sport aircraft is appealing for those looking to buy a new plane, said Dick Knapinski, a spokesman for the Experimental Aircraft Association, a recreational aviation organization based in Oshkosh, Wis.
"CubCrafters, to their credit, are taking advantage of it," he said.
Recently, CubCrafters shipped two Carbon Cubs to the United Kingdom, marking its entrance into the European market.
Dan Johnson, who runs bydanjohnson.com, a website about the light sport and recreational aircraft industry, believes there’s great potential in the world market. He speculates that in 20 years, most light craft will be sold outside the United States.
"(Manufacturers) could end up selling substantially more aircraft outside the U.S.," he said.
Busy with rebuilds
That’s not to say that CubCrafters’ business in the United States has matured, although the company has seen a year-over-year increase in domestic sales of its aircraft, Richmond said.
He said it’s taken a few years for a significant number of U.S. general aviation pilots to experience a light sport aircraft first hand.
And those pilots don’t hesitate to document and share their experiences on social media outlets like Facebook and YouTube. Such posts often prompt more interest from potential buyers.
"The fleet is selling airplanes for us," he said.
Still, CubCrafters faces tough competition — not from other plane manufacturers, but from the thousands of older planes still in operation.
Many pilots are often faced with the decision of either rebuilding an existing plane or buying a new one, and many choose to rebuild. CubCrafters still benefits from this market, as about 20 percent of its business comes from rebuilding old planes, repairs and assembly kits, which provide parts.
This side of the business has kept the company’s parts and welding shop busy. While the company finishes a new plane every four days — about 5.4 planes a month — the shop can generate up to 10 planes’ worth of parts in the same period.
But rebuilds are hard to schedule because they are all different. That is, some planes may have more damage than others, so it’s better to sell a new plane, Richmond said.
That has driven the company to keep innovating on new models. With the parts and welding shop relocated to a new facility, the company now uses space at its main plant for research and development, experimenting with modifications and new features.
"The challenge is to come up with something compelling enough to make the choice of buying a new plane rather than to rebuild," Richmond said.
Story and photos: http://www.yakima-herald.com
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