Is General Aviation Dying in the USA?

[wayne]

Not "spin zoney" at all. It's the truth! Most people these days have no clue of how/what to do of what was taken for granted 50 years ago.

Hate to date myself, but I was around 50 years ago. No one on my block worked on their cars, and lots hired guys to cut their grass. Most folks hired out people to work on their houses too. And back then you had to tune your car up once a year or it would self-destruct.

Many of the guys in high school with me (class of '83) worked on their cars. Certainly the basics like an oil change. Now you're knowledgeable in high school if you know how to change a tire. Of course tires and engines are much better now.

Most people mowed their own lawns back when I was young. I mowed a few yards for others, and some just when they were on vacation, but most people did their own or had one of their sons do it. A few people would pay a neighbor kid like me to do it. Now lots of people pay a company to take care of their lawn. Of course, I live in a much more expensive neighborhood now, so maybe someone in a more suburban/rural area still doesn't see as much hiring for lawn care. I still mow our yard, but partly for exercise and partly for the sense of accomplishment; i.e. "it's done".

 

[FormerHangie]

It's all relative. For hang gliding or light sport trike, yeah, it's a lot of money. For a plane capable of regional travel, not so much. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than buying one solo. Cheaper than a lake house.

If you compare the cost of your fractional Cirrus to other expensive things, i suppose it does does sound reasonable, but the only relevant comparison is the one to the prospective owner's disposable income. When you are looking at a $60,000 buy in and then another $10,000 or so per year for operating expenses, you've moved into a pretty small set of the population who could afford this. We're in the top 15% of households, and I can tell you that this would be a budget buster for us.

 

[paflyer]

Hate to date myself, but I was around 50 years ago. No one on my block worked on their cars, and lots hired guys to cut their grass. Most folks hired out people to work on their houses too. And back then you had to tune your car up once a year or it would self-destruct.

I was too and where I grew up in suburban middle class NY everyone (meaning their kids) cut their own grass and someone always had a car up on jackstands to change oil, rotate the non-radial tires, and replace the drum brake pads.

 

[wayne]

If you compare the cost of your fractional Cirrus to other expensive things, i suppose it does does sound reasonable, but the only relevant comparison is the one to the prospective owner's disposable income. When you are looking at a $60,000 buy in and then another $10,000 or so per year for operating expenses, you've moved into a pretty small set of the population who could afford this. We're in the top 15% of households, and I can tell you that this would be a budget buster for us.

Yep, only 16.5 million families in that set. That’s about 40 million people.

 

[denverpilot]

Yep, only 16.5 million families in that set. That’s about 40 million people.

Which really shows how good Cirrus marketing is at hitting a very small target demographic.