US piston single manufacturer forced to pull the plug blaming 'global recession'
Commander Aircraft, manufacturer of high-performance piston singles, has ceased operations following the move by a US bankruptcy court to place the company in liquidation.
The Delaware-based court has appointed a trustee to preside over the preservation, disposition, and sale of the company's assets, says Wirt Walker, chief executive of Commander's parent company Aviation General. Commander has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for two years, during which time two attempts to secure new investors have failed.
Commander's assets include its US Federal Aviation Administration type certificates, tooling and equipment, inventory, work in process, furniture and fixtures, trademarks and goodwill, says Walker. "Essentially, these assets constitute the necessary elements to manufacture, service and support the single-engined Commander product line," he says. "We believe there will be parties interested in purchasing Commander's assets and would expect this process to be less fettered and to occur more quickly than the Chapter 11 process."
Commander Aircraft was established in 1988 after the acquisition of the Commander line of single-engined aircraft from Gulfstream, which acquired former owner Rockwell International in 1981.
During Commander's stewardship, the company improved and expanded the product line that now boasts the Commander 114B, 114 AT all-purpose trainer, the turbocharged 114 TC and the 115 series of high-performance singles.
Walker says revenues doubled from roughly $8.1 million in 1997 to $16.8 million in 2000, when it became profitable. He says, however, that "the ensuing stock market crash, global recession, 11 September terrorist attacks and subsequent march to wars" led Commander in 2002 to file for Chapter 11. Production of new aircraft was suspended shortly after.
KATE SARSFIELD / LONDON
Source: Flight International
