Phil wrote:
Recent discussions about whether or not general aviation is dying
prompted me to start thinking about why it doesn't seem to be possible
to build a really cheap airplane. I know that you can buy a trike or
an ultralight for around $20,000. But you can't really go cross
country in one of those, and you would probably have a hard time
convincing most wives to even consider going up in one at all.

I assume that the reason an airplane like a trike is so cheap is that
it is structurally simple and easy to manufacture. If that is the
case, then to make a cheap airplane that can cruise fast enough to go
somewhere, and do so in reasonable comfort, you need to simplify the
structure.

Which made me remember the article I read about the Facetmobile. For
those of you unfamiliar with this airplane, here is a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facetmobile

Wow, thats an innovative concept. I don't think to many wifes would agree to
go up in one, though :-)

As far as "cheap aircraft to go places" are concerned, there is quite a
number of planes around in the european "ultralight" class (max MTOW 470 kg)
that could well do this. Most of them even look like planes and cruise
speeds of 100 kts are not uncommon. Most of them could be registered in
the LSA class with a somewhat higher MTOW which means they could even carry
two people AND some fuel...

regards,
Friedrich