FRP wings, fuselages and other primary and secondary structures on GA prop, turboprop and jet aircraft help lift this market to unprecedented heights. Buffeted by boom/bust business cycles and some painful shakeouts for most of the past 50 years, the general aviation (GA) market is currently enjoying an upturn. Sales have been on the rise since 1994, despite a slight retraction from 2001 to 2004, and last year they reached an all-time high (see our GA market report on p. 70). What's driving the boom? A significant factor is the exponential increase in the number of (1A planes made with composites. "Of the 2,675 piston-engine-powered aircraft produced in 2007, 1,376 were made with composite air-frames," says Jens Hennig, VP of operations for the General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. (GAMA, Washington, D.C.). That's 51.4 percent. A decade ago, less than 5 percent were fabricated with composites."
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