Effect of Light Sport on General Aviation

"James M. Knox" wrote in message
I asked Phil Boyer what he thought of it, namely would it help attract new
pilots. He said essentially no, he expected pretty close to zero (and
admittedly any is better than none) new pilots.

I don't know. I would think that being able to buy a brand new Zodiac 601
XL, ready-to-fly for $42,500 would be welcome news to flight schools. The
Rotax engine will also burn 90 octane mogas which should be welcome as well.
The Zodiac has aluminum skin and can be tied down, rather than hangared; it
should work almost identically to a Piper Tomahawk for less money. Perhaps
this could translate to more introductory rides and perhaps to a larger
rental fleet.

I think this could compliment local EAA chapters since this same plane can
be assembled from a kit. The really nice part of this is that with Light
Sport, the kit could be more than 49% assembled by the factory. With more
complete assembly and higher volumes, the cost could also drop a bit as
efficiency would increase.