I understand, the new 2004 Cessna 172 SP airplane is now for sale at
the Cessna dealers throughout the United States.

My question is :
Is there a wait to buy the new 2004 Cessna  172 SP?
If there is a wait, how long is it?
Are the 2004 Cessna  172 SP?s selling fast, slow or what?

---

Request for Question Clarification by byrd-ga on 07 Feb 2004 06:47 PST

Hi clicker,

Nice airplane, the Skyhawk 172S SP!  I flew a 2002 model when it had
only 25 hours on the Hobbs ? what a joy!

I wish I could give you a definite answer to your question, but all
I?ve been able to find is that yes, there?s going to be a wait, but
how long will depend on where, who and how quickly you get your dibs
in.

There is currently no readily available information from either Cessna
or GAMA (General Aircraft Manufacturers Association) on sales figures,
actual or projected, for the 2004 models.  In fact, GAMA hasn?t even
issued their ?04 market forecast yet.  It?s scheduled for Feb. 11 at
its ?Annual Industry Review and 2004 Outlook,? in Washington:
http://www.gama.aero/events/air.php  Since the Skyhawk is an immensely
popular aircraft, I would think they might have something to say about
its projected sales, but until the event it?s hard to know for sure. 
Cessna has nothing on its site about it, either here:
http://skyhawksp.cessna.com/ or her: http://www.cessna.com/
 
Basically the way aircraft sales work (as it was explained to me by a
dealer I know) is that there?s a network of authorized Cessna dealers
around the world (CSTAR = Cessna Sales Team Authorized Representative)
and each of them gets to bid or put in for a certain quota of
aircraft.  After that, aircraft are pretty much custom ordered, and
delivery is contingent on filling prior dealer and other orders.  What
you might need to do is check around and see who?s getting how many in
and when.  For example, Stetson Aircraft in Kenedy, TX is getting two
of these aircraft in April (
http://www.stetsonaviation.com/2004_172s_skyhawk_sp.htm ) and Cessna
Pacific in Sydney, Australia is getting one in August (
http://www.cessnapacific.com.au/cessna/aircraft2.php ) At the moment
at least, it doesn?t appear these aircraft are spoken for, so
presumably they?re available to the first comer.

Here?s a site you can use to find CSTARs:
http://se.cessna.com/cstars/index.chtml I would suggest, if you?re
seriously interested in getting your hands on a new Skyhawk,
contacting them one by one, starting with the one nearest you, and
going from there.

However, it may be that another Researcher could come up with this
info for you.  I?ll be interested myself to see.  In any case, best of
luck, and I hope you enjoy your new airplane if you are indeed
shopping!

Cheers,
Byrd-ga

---

Request for Question Clarification by omnivorous-ga on 07 Feb 2004 07:17 PST

Clicker5 --

Though Byrd didn't mention it specifically, 2003 shipment numbers for
Cessna 172s are available on the GAMA site by quarter -- though Q4
doesn't get reported until next week:
http://www.gama.aero/resources/statistics/dloads/2003ShipmentReport.pdf

Byrd accurately describes the dealer distribution system, which holds
very thin inventories due to the high cost of aircraft (as opposed to
auto dealers in the U.S., who are encouraged to hold a broad
inventory).

This is really outside the scope of what you'd asked but fractional
ownership planes, long popular for business jets, are starting to
become more common for single-engine planes:
Avweb
"Fractional Ownership"
http://www.avweb.com/news/newacft/181604-1.html

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

---

Clarification of Question by clicker5-ga on 07 Feb 2004 10:05 PST

Hello byrd-ga :
I consider your reply a good answer.   Please post it as the answer.
If you also have some additional  information from an actual Cessna
dealer, I would appreciate it, but it is not necessary.
After I send you this clarification, I will be away from my computer
until next monday afternoon.
Kindest regards,        clicker5-ga

Hi clicker5-ga,

Thank you very much for accepting my comments in answer to your
question.  As you requested, I'll be happy to post them here for you.
Also, just to let you know, I am attempting to contact both the local
dealer in my area and Stetson Aviation, referenced in my answer, which
is located in my general region as well. If I hear back from either or
both of them, I'll post a clarification here with any information they
might be able to provide.

Hope you have a great weekend - and thanks again!

Very best wishes,
Byrd-ga

================================================================================

Nice airplane, the Skyhawk 172S SP!  I flew a 2002 model when it had
only 25 hours on the Hobbs ? what a joy!

I wish I could give you a definite answer to your question, but all
I?ve been able to find is that yes, there?s going to be a wait, but
how long will depend on where, who and how quickly you get your dibs
in.

There is currently no readily available information from either Cessna
or GAMA (General Aircraft Manufacturers Association) on sales figures,
actual or projected, for the 2004 models.  In fact, GAMA hasn?t even
issued their ?04 market forecast yet.  It?s scheduled for Feb. 11 at
its ?Annual Industry Review and 2004 Outlook,? in Washington:
http://www.gama.aero/events/air.php  Since the Skyhawk is an immensely
popular aircraft, I would think they might have something to say about
its projected sales, but until the event it?s hard to know for sure. 
Cessna has nothing on its site about it, either here:
http://skyhawksp.cessna.com/ or here: http://www.cessna.com/
 
Basically the way aircraft sales work (as it was explained to me by a
dealer I know) is that there?s a network of authorized Cessna dealers
around the world (CSTAR = Cessna Sales Team Authorized Representative)
and each of them gets to bid or put in for a certain quota of
aircraft.  After that, aircraft are pretty much custom ordered, and
delivery is contingent on filling prior dealer and other orders.  What
you might need to do is check around and see who?s getting how many in
and when.  For example, Stetson Aircraft in Kenedy, TX is getting two
of these aircraft in April (
http://www.stetsonaviation.com/2004_172s_skyhawk_sp.htm ) and Cessna
Pacific in Sydney, Australia is getting one in August (
http://www.cessnapacific.com.au/cessna/aircraft2.php ) At the moment
at least, it doesn?t appear these aircraft are spoken for, so
presumably they?re available to the first comer.

Here?s a site you can use to find CSTARs:
http://se.cessna.com/cstars/index.chtml I would suggest, if you?re
seriously interested in getting your hands on a new Skyhawk,
contacting them one by one, starting with the one nearest you, and
going from there.

However, it may be that another Researcher could come up with this
info for you.  I?ll be interested myself to see.  In any case, best of
luck, and I hope you enjoy your new airplane if you are indeed
shopping!

---

Clarification of Answer by byrd-ga on 09 Feb 2004 15:23 PST

Hi clicker5-ga, 

I did receive a reply this afternoon from Lynn Thomas, the general
sales manager at Stetson Aviation in Kenedy, TX, (which I referenced
in my answer). Here's what he said (in part, with permission):

"We do have the two 172SPs coming in April. One has a purchaser
already, and we are discussing the sale of the second with two other
folks.  According to Cessna, availability this year is very tight. We
have a number of customers looking for Turbo 182s and they are simply
not available until late in the year or early in 05!  Now having said
all that, we can search through out the Cessna system for one if your
interested party needs one on a specific date. I guess that's both
good news and bad news!  If you'd like, I'd be happy to spend some
time talking about this further ... call me at the office at
830-583-9884."

If you'd prefer to email directly, his address is: lynn@stetsonaviation.com       
What I infer from that is that a dealer has avenues of information not
available to the general public, so it might be a good idea to get in
touch as he seems quite willing to be of help.

Good luck - and thanks again!
Byrd-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by byrd-ga on 09 Feb 2004 15:45 PST

I'm sorry, I forgot to add one comment, which is that if you do decide
to contact Mr. Thomas, I think it might be a good idea to mention
where you got his name and information. I will also reply to him and
let him know he might expect to hear from someone on this matter.

Thank you byrd-ga :  
I give you 5 stars for 5 star research.  
clicker5.ga

Thank you so much, Clicker5, for the nice comments and 5-star rating!
I'm very glad you were pleased. Just to keep you updated, I haven't
yet heard back from either of the dealers I contacted, but since it
was over the weekend, I'm hoping they may return messages this week. 
I'll plan to follow up if I don't hear in a few days.  Thanks again!

Byrd-ga