The military helicopter market is shrinking and will continue to shrink. The civil market is recovering from a devastating recession, but shows few signs of real growth. The big issue in this difficult market is rationalization. There are too many players to survive in a world of conglomerations and savage defense cuts. The problem will be acute in the U.S. as military programs wind down. STUBBORNLY INDEPENDENT COMPANIES

The turbine engine market is slowly rebounding from the worst recession in over a decade. Competition between engine makers is threatening profitability, and in the recent past led to the development of new products for any emerging application, no matter how dubious. Still, promising new engines are entering the market, which is already returning to health in several key sectors. And manufacturers are forging unprecedented new alliances, hoping to cut costs while increasing sales. BIG FAN MAKERS FACE REALITY

Trainer and light attack aircraft are the easiest military aircraft to build. There are few barriers to market entry. Many countries have their own trainer design. Trainers are to fighters as regional transports are to large jet transports. Almost any company can design, build and lose money on trainers or regional aircraft; it's much harder to make the jump to more capable (and profitable) fighters and jet transports.