jbeech
Ex rrAdvertiser
Location: Sanford, FL (Orlando area)
| As Marty mentioned the soft US economy dictates I work smarter. Since the Pantera tank fits the Tiger perfectly via the addition of the Pantera mounting grommets, I decided to consolidate inventory. Marty is in manufacturing and understands perfectly my reasons, and frankly, I hate it but can't loose sight of the most important thing, i.e. coming out on the other side of this recession so we may continue to service our customers long term. Yes, in the short term it makes for some tough calls, and this was one of them.
Ultimately, I recognize these are decisions which aren't always making sense to my customers but I have to look out for the greater good and that, simply put, is survival. If you look around at the general economy, banking is down 40%, automobile sales are at a 15 year low, let's not even speak of housing and construction, which are in the toilet and may yet lead us into depression as people have trouble in many parts of the country with just meeting their mortgage obligations. Add to this the inflation brought on by rising energy costs, and of course sky high gasoline, which we feel every week and is breaking the back of many folks as they spend 60 dollars in the car that once took $35 to top off. Consequently, we have a situation where gas costs more than milk, which is also at all time high prices, and there's seemingly no end in sight.
This all means people are pulling in their horns with respect to discretionary spending, and frankly we're in this category. Is it the end of the world? No, of course not because business is cyclical and this too shall pass. In fact, we're even benefiting to some degree as some people reconsider spending 500-600 bucks for a 50-class helicopter and decide it makes more sense to spend a mere 300 bucks for a Pantera instead!
Nonetheless, the economic uncertainty means I have to watch costs and spending with an eagle eye, and sometimes it leads to situations like this one. I apologize to one and all but please realize we do offer a solution via the Pantera fuel tank, which quite frankly is a rather nice upgrade to the Tiger airframe. Upgrade? Sure, because along with ribbed sides, which withstand pressure from YS engines better, it also has a little more capacity, plus it features the Pantera's more secure mounting system and consequently, you're ending up with a better fuel tank as well.
Regards,
John Beech - GM (and janitor)
Audacity Models |
