"Andrew Sarangan" wrote in message
ups.com...
This is a follow-on to the various discussions on the future of GA.

Why aren't the kids who grew up with cell phones and iPods not
interested in aviation?

One key factor is the antiquated airplanes we fly. If we could only
drive a1975 Chevy Nova or something similar, with bolted down wooden
panels and foggy instruments, I doubt many teenagers would be earger
to get their drivers license.

The second aspect is the fascination pilots seem to have with war
equipment, and the yearning for the 'good ol days'. Many pilots look
at a WW2 airplane like a B17 as if it were a technological marvel.
That may be true, but it just doesn't connect with the new generation.
Even though I am not from the iPod generation, I too found this
fascination with war equipment rather strange. Perhaps it is because
no one in my anscestry participated in the war.

How many kids do you see hanging around at antique car shows? Airports
are not too far from being an antique museum.

Aviation technology has marched on in great strides in the past 50
years. But almost all of the modernization has occured due to the
advancement in electronics. This is the only aspect that keeps some of
us still interested in aviation. That includes VOR, GPS, satellite
weather, flight planning tools, electronic charts, glass panels etc..
The mechanical aspects have been stagnant. All these modern
electronics are still housed in ancient aluminum panels that are
riveted togother. They creak and vibrate, and the engines consume
leaded fuel and puff out smoke and oil, and have frightening gas
mileage.

In order to appeal to the next generation, this is what I think we
need:
- a small turbine engine suitable for GA aircraft with fewer moving
parts and smoother operation
- gas mileage comparable to an SUV
- a fully composite airframe
- molded aesthetic interiors
- cost about 2-3x the price of a luxury car

The list is very ambitious, but we are on the right path with LSA.
What is still seriously lacking is the powerplant.
I would really like to see is a small turbine engine. I don't mean
salvaged APUs. It has to be something that is designed from the bottom
up as a GA powerplant.

Any comments?


If all that was available for my 16 year old and his friends was a 75 Nova
there would be lots of them in the driveways of homes today. A drivers
license for a 16 year old isn't about the car as much as it is about
freedom. Sure kids are spoiled now and a 75 Nova would be tough to sell but
if there was nothing else and the other kids only had 75 Novas, don't kid
yourself they would be all over them.

While I agree that we need a modern aircraft at a "reasonable price" let's
keep in mind that the vast majority of youngsters that you think are
choosing not to fly because of the technology have never been close enough
to the current airplanes to even see the technology. I have little doubt
that the average 17 year old kid thinks the inside of the average GA plane
looks like the cockpit of a 777.

Point by point...

Small Turbine: I'd love it but the volume just isn't there for a clean sheet
design. Our best bet is an APU that has been reworked. And don't think
turbines are the end all be all of simplicity. I watched a while back hot
start his new Jet Ranger. That was a $80K error on his part.

Gas Mileage: Lots of aircraft approach that. The only problem is once you
get where you are going you still need the SUV.

Composites: All depends on the aircraft you design. If you design it without
complex curves good old aluminum will often be just as light. Add to that
you can let an AL aircraft live outside a hanger.

Interiors: Weight, and weight. It will always be an issue.

Cost: 3 x $50,000= $150K. We're there if you count the LSA planes. and for
$150K you can by a pretty damn nice certified aircraft.

There's something else there and I'm not sure what it is. In WWII how many
pilots were trained by the US? We've been in a war in Iraq since 2003 how
many pilots has the US Military trained in that time?

Let's face it in the post WWII USA airline pilots were considered at the
high end of the cool scale. Now, not so much.