john smith wrote:

I disagree, George.
It is a choice people make as to how to spend their disposable income.
It may have more to do with level of education and type of employment.
It may also be more difficult now with higher fuel prices absorbing more
of the available disposable income.

You seem to be concentrating on the money. While it may or may not be true that
most Americans can afford the $5,000 or more it takes to keep a 4-seater on
tiedown and fly it a few hours a year, I certainly wouldn't think so. That's
about 10% of the median income for an American family.

As for the other two items, very few can take the time necessary to maintain a
proficiency level good enough for even a few VFR cross-country trips a year.
Fewer still can afford to get an instrument rating and stay current. And even
fewer are able to convince both themselves and their spouses to take the risks
inherent in taking long trips by light aircraft, especially if they're honest
about how marginal their piloting skills have become flying, say, 50 hours a
year. It's also one thing to head for Sun'n Fun solo, knowing that you will have
to call the boss if the weather keeps you from coming back on time. It's quite
another thing to take the family somewhere and risk having to return 3 days late.

And just about the time that the kids are getting big enough to enjoy it, you
can't fit the family in the old Cherokee (or the not-so-old Maule) anymore.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.