Sun'n Fun Airshow and convention, Lakeland Florida

[armchair]

Just happened to visit Sun'n Fun in Lakeland, Florida today for the first time and boy oh boy, the GA industry is kicking and screaming hot South of our border. The aircraft on display from enthusiasts and dealers were great.... Oh my Gawd you gotta see the new Daher TBM 930 in real life... what a absolute friggen gem of an aircraft!!! http://www.aviationpros.com/press_relea ... ly-in-expo But besides the endless aircraft on display - so MANY KITS available today - and buzzing above, what struck me most were the sellers booths in the four hangars, overfilled with sellers of all upmarket GA bells and whistles : headsets, 3 to 5 display full sims, engine & parts, fuel caps, avionics up the ying yang, hangar door openers, fly-in living communities ads, floats, external fuel tanks, all survival gear, and never-ending navigation providers such as Garmin etc. Affordable ADBS kits, and tons of other stuff. Unbelievable. My worst realization is how far behind I was myself in the avionics technology and overall GA market. I am still thinking 172 while the GA world is light-years past the old Cessna trainer. Bottom line is that GA is alive and well and moving forward. I went there to see if I would reconnect with my own desire to fly GA, and I am still stunned how much ground I have to cover to make it back. If you ever have a chance to go to Lakeland or OshKosh, do so!

[Shady McSly]

Calm down

[CL-Skadoo!]

Which $500,000 GA aircraft did you end up buying? I haven't picked mine yet.

[mosky]

You're missing the point.

With the proliferation of quality kits and LSAs out there you can build or buy something far more capable in performance than the aforementioned 172 for 1/10th the price. Current offerings by some of the major amatuerbuilt players are many times (pick one or more) faster, more capable, bigger, more economical, cheaper to maintain than a factory built 1/2 million dollar spam can. LSA's and amateur built are going to be the future of GA both here and the US as the cost to replace 40+ year old airframes at $500K a pop pushes flying out of the realm of the average person. Don't even get me started on the capabilities of non certified avionics and accessories that are out there! Same piece of equipment from the same manufacturer for a fraction of the price without the paperwork for a certified unit of the same model. Don't get me wrong, certification standards are a good thing, but in this litigious world you have to wonder how much of the cost of a product is for 'insurance' against future claims where survivors or victims sue everyone and anyone even remotely associated with the manufacture, maintenance or operation of the airplane.
Sun n' Fun or Oshkosh are showing the future of GA. Get out to one of them one of these years and see what's out there. You may be surprised to find out how much airplane you can afford if you just think outside the (Factory built / Certified) box....

[iflyforpie]

Sorry... but none of this is new. The same thing happened in the 60s and 70s with the proliferation of kit planes and ultralights... but the 172 kept chugging on. Why?

Well, the only plane you're realistically going to get for 1/10th of the price of a 172 is a flying lawn chair with a two stroke engine--hardly comparable. Pretty much any turn-key LSA is going to set you back 100K and a kit is 'only' going to set you back 50K if you value your time, facilities, tools, and consumables at $0.

Neither will carry what the 172 carries (three adults with half tanks for a two hour plus reserve endurance) and invariably, the gains it makes in one area will be sacrificed in another area. If it goes faster than the 172, chances are its stall speed is high and field performance isn't as good. If it has better field performance, it probably doesn't cruise as fast. If it is better in both areas... while capable of carrying the same cargo (like a Maule is), it's not going to be cheaper. The 172 has always managed to find the sweet spot of cruise speed, payload, field performance, docility, and economy. Gearboxes and dog clutches and syncing carbs and coolant leaks? How about parking it out in the hot sun? Just a few of the things I never have to worry about on a 172.

Most people who are buying new 172s are flight schools who need a certified commercial aircraft, and need a bigger plane BECAUSE AMERICA. The private guy is going to buy a decades old 172 and a whole pile of fuel and avionics for the same money as a bare bones LSA.

Some planes are just irreplaceable. Like the DC-3, the Piper Cub, the Beaver, the King Air, the Twin Otter, and the 737...

[Bede]

iflyforpie has a good point. I love homebuilts and used to rave about how much better they are than certified planes. Last summer I was at a fly in and watched a guy rip his landing gear off during a landing which I've had far worse as an instructor in a C150/C172. The damaged plane was a homebuilt with a good reputation but a "weak" landing gear. The Cessna singles are near indestructible.

[armchair]

Which $500,000 GA aircraft did you end up buying? I haven't picked mine yet.

Yeah I know, me neither... The reference to the TBM 930 was because in the USA, GA includes business aviation, which explains the presence of TBM and others. Don't fool yourself though, many Americans can and do own such gems privately under a business corporation etc.

A good bracket of Americans seems to have more disposable income when comes the time to fork out for aviation toys, or any toys for that matter. I have peeked at Controller.com for samples and the number of GA aircraft in the 300K USD + is staggering (and sobering...) but there are also plenty older ones in the 30 to 80K USD. I also looked a Canadian aviation classifieds and most aircraft are listed in US funds anyway, because the market is driven by the USA. This should not stop anyone to go out there and enjoy the shows and dream a little. Same as going to a car or boat show.

I recall when Kevin Ptsuka at COPA was defending the Canadian GA owners and pilots over the perception that only rich people can afford to be in GA, and there was no public sympathy in Canada for hikes in avgas prices or landing fees etc. He had a point that in Canada the bulk of the GA industry is made up of average folks of average means, which, in my opinion, is a contrast with the US GA.

[redlaser]

Most kit plane owners that buy a kit plane often results in your marriage ending up on shakey ground, ,

[iflyforpie]

And that's different than any other aspect of aviation..... why?

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