"Big Mess o' Fun" UCAP #228

[jackhodgson]

Don't Panic.

For the record... I just posted UCAP228. It's the "pre Sun 'n Fun" episode.

But I realize that I haven't posted UCAP227 yet. It's coming shortly.

// Jack

[randyc]

Whew...I was having withdrawal symptoms on the drive back and forth to work!

[Soccer-Jock]

Whew...I was having withdrawal symptoms on the drive back and forth to work!

I second that!

[ruckin]

I simply called work and told them I couldn't come in until there was a new podcast for me to listen to

[gmarshall]

I was listening to you guys on my late night (11pm) walk home from work.

Dave and Jeb laid into Jack about his apparent disinterest in the type of airplane he was in just as I walked past an idling cop car on the opposite side of the street.

I tried (and failed) to stifle my laughter. Fortunately I apparently didn't attract any undue attention from the constabulary.

Thanks for another great episode guys. Too bad that Dave Shallbetter's connection was the pits. Hopefully you'll have an easier time understanding him at Sun'N'Fun.

[Greg Bockelman]

What do Al Haynes, Dennis Fitch, Bill Records and Dudley, Dvorak have in common?

[Greg Bockelman]

It kind of irritates me when people make comments to the effect that the copilot cannot operate an airplane as smooth as the captain can. In a lot of cases, the copilot will have much more experience in a given plane than the captain will.

I made that mistake ONCE a long time ago. No more.

[RigaRunner]

I enjoyed the discussion with Brian Foley. You guys may get around to this in a later podcast (I'm a little behind in my listening), but it is worth noting that Cirrus is already owned by a foreign company.

Arcapita, a company based in Bahrain, is the major stakeholder in Cirrus. Arcapita is financed by wealthy investors in Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Arcapita says that it acquired a stake in “Cirrus Design Corporation” in 2001, but does not say how big the stake is. A 2007 report on AVweb put Arcapita’s stake at a controlling 58 percent. If that's true, Cirrus is not selling itself to the Chinese company; Arcapita is selling Cirrus to the Chinese company.

Some people say Arcapita was seeking to divest from Cirrus, but in fact it has become more deeply involved. An April 2009 press release from Cirrus reported that Arcapita had put even more money into the company during the global financial crisis. Somewhere I read or heard that Arcapita simply wants to sell and invest in something else.

Cirrus salespeople claim that Cirrus represents 45% of all single engine piston airplanes registered annually in the United States in recent years. That would imply that this firm could be a good investment, if the price is right and if the buyer has money to spend. The Chinese most certainly have the latter issue covered.