Bryan,
Why did you sell the RV and buy a Vtail?

I don't think the experimental market can/ will save GA in the long term. There's NO arguing the fact that dollar for dollar an experimental offers more....unless you need 4 seats. Innovation, performance, customization, cost, AND owner repairs....even annuals IF you built it. The problem lies in the HUGE time commitment to build it, and further gets complicated in the fact that you still need to fly in the interim, which means rental.....which means cost and time.Now, some of this can be circumvented by simply buying a completed homebuilt....and there are many out there. BUT.....the good ones aren't going cheap ( nor should they) and now your back to another problem. YOU didn't build it.......so unless your a mechanic you'll need to pay someone to do it for you, and still pay for an annual. Some savings yes.....but no huge epiphany found there.
GA is going downhill because.......COST, and the world is a different place. Sadly, us airplane "nuts" are a dying breed. We've lost a big frontier that used to make little boys look up at the sky and dream......
I know, because I was one of them.....

To quote Tom Gresham: . . . and paraphrasing his recommendation to buy in 5 pound cans at Spruce, I am just not a very good shopper, because I haven't found the aisle it's on.

As a result I'm not smart enough to tell just where GA is going, but the journey will be much better if we have a Big Tent. (That's for you Nate, we're still buds)

I have NEVER flown an airplane I didn't like, period. Some more than others perhaps, but all were a joy.

If I were to "inherit" a Cirrus, Saratoga, Archer, Mooney, RV, or any Cessna would I fly and enjoy it . . . You bet.

Sitting in a foreign land with my plane a half a world away, reminds me of how much I'd like to go out and just do some slow flight, stalls and approaches.

I keep hoping GA doesn't need "saving" but then I'm short on the omniscient stuff.

BTW Arlen neet thread, 'cuzz it gets people thinking.

No, I don't think so.

Too much hassle to build, too much liability and not enough variety. I'm basically into flying so that I can travel and avoid going by airlines at a time and cost effective way (ok, not cost effective.. ). There are no homebuilt alternatives for me - twin, 6 pass, pressurised, FIKI. The experimental kits that are sold are basically geared for the tinkerer with a two car garage and hence they're limited in their size and capability.

And has anyone tried to fly internationally with an experimental? You need an exception from every country for non-ICAO compliant aircraft, pretty much. My European tour I want to do next summer to visit family and friends would be a logistical nightmare in an experimental.

I'm hoping the rewrite of FAR part 23 will allow more freedom to us with certified aircraft for retrofits and avionics so as to close the gap towards experimentals. I'm very jealous of the avionics and easy retrofits you guys can use. As for the future: I'm actually pretty optimistic. Electric aircraft has the potential to revolutionise aviation and make it a lot cheaper, less complex and better performing. But until that electric PC12 that'll cost $100K new to buy arrives, or the electric fanjet that looks like a Phenom and costs $200K, then I'll stick with the certified for now.

I can't help but be pessimistic about the future of general aviation. The EAA likes to brag about all the thousands of young people they have taken up for rides. I wonder though, how many of them will actually continue flying, as a career or even just for fun? The biggest problem of course is cost but another problem is the general publics perception of what we do and who we are. This year I'm faced with an engine overhaul, an anual inspection, insurance and property tax. On top of that I just found out I'm going to be a GRANDFATHER soon.

Can amateur built experimental aircraft save GA?....I don't think so, but, it certainly won't hurt GA.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but, I believe almost as many experimental aircraft are registered each year as production built aircraft. That certainly is helping.....

Did you get in the back seat? I thjnk it is very comfortable and I'm 6'1" & 220#.... I love the Evolution! What a machine....

In the piston plane realm, Richard VanGrunsven's company (Vans) sees more new (E-AB) planes flying each year than Cirrus, Beech, and Diamond - combined.

I think these big numbers of new planes are helping to keep GA going..

Adam, you make some good points. A couple comments, however...


Some enjoy the build process. That wasn't for me. There are hundreds that come on to the market each year as finished products. If you need pressurized FIKI 6-place, then you're mostly stuck with expensive certified planes.


I don't know about Europe, though there are many RVs that fly there. I do know that it's no big deal to fly to the Bahamas in an E-AB plane.



I agree completely. The cost of avionics for the E-AB is about one-fourth that of certified. I'm not holding my breath, however, while waiting on the Feds.

Gene,

The rules about who can work on an E-AB plane are actually pretty relaxed. I didn't build mine. But, I could do all the work on mine that I want to do; an A&P (no IA needed) must sign off the Annual. That's all.

So, trading money savings for one's own labor is an option. More importantly, at least for me, is that I don't have to buy an FAA-certified starter or alternator or battery or even engine. I had my alternator overhauled at the local auto electric shop: $90.

So, savings on parts is another big player here.

My Glasair is almost out of paint. 215 knots on 14 GPH. Full dual screens with digital autopilot and SVT. Everything new $150k.

Adam makes a good point. If you want a 6-place pressurized twin it won't be an experimental; however, 20 years from now it won't be anything piston driven. Once Dukes, Aerostars, 421s, etc get too old and too expensive to run you will be buying a King Air, Pilatus, or something like it is you want a cabin class airplane. The Lancair Evolution is an absolute screamer and a nice plane. For $1M you get a lot of plane. Might fill in a few gaps of those exiting the pressurized twin arena.

I have owned a lot of planes. They are all really good deals right now. Still tough to beat a Colemill Baron and a Duke is a steal is you don't mind feeding it.

I think the experimental market is going to get stronger every year. On our field alone 20% of the aircraft are experimental or LSA and they are about 30-40% of the planes actually flying.

A guy on my field calls them DBAs: Death by Aviation.
And he flies a Waco.

What are you saying? How does an airplane that uses no gas helping FBO's?

New pilots and charter ops are at an all time high. Where are all these Cirri, Pilatus, TBM and Embrares going? They're selling all they can build.