Gloom

On 2007-06-17 18:33:10 -0700, "Harry" said:


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
So why the gloom?

The general consensus, after too many gin & tonics, was that the entry-
level Cherokee owners were the owners who were barely able to afford
ownership in the first place, and have been most devastated by the
recent 25% increase in fuel costs. In other words, they were the
"canaries in the bird cage", and have died first and quickest, to
serve as a warning to us all...



God almighty, folks, as if the writing wasn't on the wall enough, this
fly-in has proved to me that our beloved GA is teetering at the abyss.
I looked around the ballroom, at all these gray-haired old guys
wearing brightly-colored, aviation themed Hawaiian shirts, and
realized that I was possibly witnessing the end of an era. Between
"User Fees" on one side, fuel costs on the other, and an aging pilot
community, I don't know anymore what to think or do.


Get out there and FLY, people!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"


Jay, I'm one of those "gray-haired old guys" albeit, I don't wear the
"brightly-colored, aviation themed Hawaiian shirts." HAHA

Seriously, I am retired and I now live on what is affectionally called the
"fixed income". When I first started flying several years ago, I could
afford it without any problems. However, with the increase in fuel costs
raising the rental price on the C-172, I rent, I just can't fly as much now
as I want to. You may be right. We may becoming to the end of an era. Oh,
BTW, buying a C-172 for me is absolutely out of the financial equation.

And even if you want one and can afford one you can't have it! Cessna
is down to a single production line for its entire current piston
single fleet. The other lines in the factory have been converted to
production of the Mustang or "experimental" aircraft. Not that I have
anything against the LSA or other new Cessnas, you understand -- it is
just that the resources for the 172, 182, and 206 are no longer there.

--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

Jay Honeck wrote:
That, and recent rumblings about shops' declining to service 18-yr. old
aircraft convinced me to buy a nearly new 182 rather than a 15-yr. old
Bonanza.

Oh, I don't think we'll have to worry too much about spare parts for
planes like Cherokees and Bonanzas for a good, long time, even if
Piper and Beech bailed out. All you have to do is look at the
plethora of interior plastic suppliers to see what happens when the
OEMs price themselves too high in an area that everyone needs/
wants.

Still, it's truly disturbing to see that the CEO of Piper has done the
cold, hard math, and concluded that General Aviation is no longer
worth pursuing. If Bass is really as smart as everyone says he is
(and his reputation at Sony and General Electric is pristine), we're
in for a long, hard road.

The Piper Jet is a general aviation airplane. It is just a different
class of general aviation!

Matt

("Gatt" wrote)
At some point, people have to draw the line and decide that land
developers and the officials they pay off don't always get to dictate what
happens to our communities or we will end up flying on the functional
equivalent of indian reservations. All we have to do is look to American
history to see what happened to the Seminole and the Cherokee (Pun
intended) to see one possible future.


I'm seeing hangar casinos in the near future.


Paul-Mont

Bertie the Bunyip writes:

How would you know?

Friends in the industry.

El Maximo writes:

Do you know this from personal knowledge, or are you extrapolating again?

Extrapolating, like the post to which I responded.

Mxsmanic,

Friends


A good one!

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ps.com...
The problem is, even for some people who are otherwise interested in
aviation,
the idea of flying a tiny plane around the pattern is neither mystical
nor
glorious, it's just boring.

This is not the case, in my experience. I've heard it called all
sorts of things, from "breath-taking" to "terrifying" -- but never
"boring".

I for damned sure can't think of a minute I've spent in (an actual) pattern
that I would describe as "boring."

-c

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 22:00:29 -0700, Jay Honeck
wrote in .com:


Good for our business. Bad for our way of life...

Which is more important?

I put quality of life before business, personally. Otherwise, those of us
here who are not commercial pilots would not continue to engage in aviation.
'Cause it sure as hell isn't about making a profit.

-c

"El Maximo" wrote in message
...
"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
news
So do convicts in prison.

Do you know this from personal knowledge, or are you extrapolating again?

Simulator?

Mxsmanic wrote in
:

Bertie the Bunyip writes:

How would you know?

Friends in the industry.

I don't believe you, fjukktsard.


You don't have any frineds in any industry.


Bertie