Going to FTO´s and clubs is a good strategy. First of all, they can sell more units to one customer that way. Secondly, still a lot of new owners will buy the first plane they flew at school if they liked it. So going to FTO´s first is one way to build up the private market too.
Peter, don’t forget you have to reach out first to generate a go-forward position with your partners and stakeholders, otherwise organizations holding competence may go in a different strategic direction 
(Its really bad when your most junior engineer tells you he just “reached out to a vendor for information.” Mine let that one slip yesterday, but when I gave him a dirty look he back peddled quickly, knowing that I don’t tolerate business-BS very well)
No Peter. Today it’s called building an ecosystem….. works a treat for Apple.
That will have to be considerably more. The Thielert conversion costs that much already.
What might the OEM price be?
I see no indication any of the diesel companies give a damn for private owners. The retrofit prices are just silly.
As I wrote before, they all seem to aim at the training business, where you can make a good financial case to the customer. I would bet on list minus 30%.
Private owners are too emotional about what they buy, and very picky. And a lot of them are never happy, and quite a few end up suing the supplier. When I was buying my TB20, there was a number of other customers preparing to sue Air Touring and/or Socata, over various issues. It’s a hard business to be in, unless you have a fashionable product.
I think Redbird have some ulterior motives here. A little bit like Apple, if you may. They make Sims of various descriptions which they sell to FTOs for instrument and in some cases part of the ab-initio training (there’s one where I fly from in KSMO). Now, they come with the ‘real article’ and slowly, but surely, build an integrated package. Redbird Sim to Redbird C172 to, perhaps Redbird MCC Sim, etc. Clever.
In US management speak it is called “leveraging” 
I am not sure what exactly one would be leveraging… maybe the “relationship” “going forward” with your “partners”
I suspected that as well but at the end of the day the training industry needs some new metal thats cheaper to operate. These upgraded airframes may be the answer or they may force companies like Cessna to come up with something. Either way would be a step in the right direction.
I think Redbird have some ulterior motives here. A little bit like Apple, if you may. They make Sims of various descriptions which they sell to FTOs for instrument and in some cases part of the ab-initio training (there’s one where I fly from in KSMO). Now, they come with the ‘real article’ and slowly, but surely, build an integrated package. Redbird Sim to Redbird C172 to, perhaps Redbird MCC Sim, etc. Clever.
What really needed is this airframes to get into the flight training environment a busy school would put 700 hours on an airframe in a year. That would prove it.
The problem they have at the moment is that schools don’t have the capital to take the risk to my knowledge it has bankrupted two schools in the past. I do however know of one operator who swears by the theirlet and another school has recently acquired (bought or leased I don’t know – multiflight) three diseal PA28 and I hope they get on well with them. The bit I can’t however understand is the hire price is more than the AVGAS machines that they replaced.
Leasing diseal powered aircraft is an option in the UK but the company that does it (or did do it) is based in Bournemouth. But I would be reluctant to lease an aircraft from a maintenance base more than say 30 miles away.
<This $250k airplane is significantly better than the $400k new offering from Cessna. It has to have an impact. We see quite a bit of activity in the airframe refurbishment area, it might become a big thing.>
Knowing Cessna who from a piston point of view appear to be a very conservative company will simply wait and see if its a success and if it is then they will simply produce one
From the article
We’ve already been down this road. When I suggested it I heard no takers. What happened in the meantime?
I would bet Redbird are snapping up shagged but not airframe corroded C172s for something like $30k, throwing $100-130k at them, and doing well out of it.
That will have to be considerably more. The Thielert conversion costs that much already.
Plus they get a kickback from the bank. Somebody in Europe could do that, too.
I think critical mass is important and airplanes can be flown from the US to Europe. Don’t see any competitive advantage a European outfit would have. Maybe that Thielert is around the corner but that’s probably it. The transport costs will be more than compensated for by the economy of scale.
However, it is a great market and should be applied to more than the 172. Next should be the 182 with SMA, it can be done for much less than Cessna’s new price. Then a PA28 with Thielert 2.0s. Not just offering conversions but like new airplanes with warranty is what I think would sell.
