Captures 20% Market Share in USA and Germany

Echterdingen, GERMANY / 6 March 2008 - According to government records in each country, Flight Design owns approximately 20% of the market in the two largest aviation nations:  the USA and Germany. And, the company says, it has maintained or increased this share over several years.

Elaboration of FAA's aircraft registration database show the German brand has held this dominant portion of the market for the three years that Light-Sport Aircraft have existed, despite a fury of activity to launch 75 new models of Light-Sport Aircraft. Flight Design has more than twice the number of registered LSA of its closest competitor, American Legend, and their Cub replica. Further, Flight Design has more market share than the combined registrations of the 3-, 4-, and 5-ranked companies (Evektor, Tecnam, and CubCrafters).

The big German magazine, Aerokurier, additionally reported that Flight Design has a similar share (19.9%) of the German sport aircraft market based on aircraft registrations. "Continuously leading the market, Flight Design's market share increased from 15,8% in 2006 to 19,9% in 2007. Flight Design congratulates the German dealers for their exceptional result," said Matthias Betsch, CEO of Flight Design GmbH.

Flight Design has logged more sales in Germany than the second and third most popular brands. This statement carries even more impact when you know that sport aircraft outnumber general aviation aircraft in Europe by a 4:1 margin (unlike the USA where the general aviation industry supplies about 80% of all piston aircraft).

The German producer continues to sell its preceding model, the CTSW both in the USA and throughout Europe, where the SW model meets local regulations. The European Union aviation agency, EASA, has a committee working on possible adoption of the ASTM standards in the future. Such accommodation of the international standards (already adopted in several other countries) would allow Flight to sell its new CTLS model nearer to its headquarters.

"Serial production of the CTLS started in mid-November 2007. Augmented not replaced, the CTSW model will be continuously built in the existing configuration. "We especially believe the extremely lightweight CTSW Classic Light model will prove very popular in the future," added Betsch.

Flight Design is a 22-year-old air sport products producer based in Germany. Over 1,000 of its aircraft are flying in 25 countries. One of the first aircraft certified under the American ASTM standards, in 2005, the CT ("composite technology") remains the best-selling LSA in America. CT in several models has been popular in Germany and Europe for more than twelve years.