Excellent TV Piece on GA

You need to find your slowest weeks during the year and hook up with the
local flight schools! If the rental rates are also cheaper a week or
two flying vacation with "discount flying and hotel" for the right and
left coasters might be a good idea.

Cool idea. We've thought of it before, but haven't found an
affordable advertising venue that "hits" the right crowd.

Any ideas?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote

Cool idea. We've thought of it before, but haven't found an
affordable advertising venue that "hits" the right crowd.

How about the little clickable "sponser blurb" adds that appear between
stories on Avweb.

If it had a good "quick read gotcha" you might get people to click on it.

I have no idea if there is cost involved, but I bet there is. At any rate,
I would say I (a sample of one) click on them more than clickable ads in any
other venue.

What are you thinking? Work on advanced, or more ratings? A beginner quick
start?

It does sound interesting, and could be good for the CFI's, and for the
hotel, and those who used it.
--
Jim in NC

Yeah, that could be part of the issue also, the iPods, the
Playstations and even the internet have eaten into a lot of outdoor
activities.. Good to hear that business flying is booming, I think it
would be unfortunate if GA takes a hit in the coming years via user
fees or landing fees.


Aside from business flying (which is booming, BTW), I think much of
GA's decline is directly related to the "wussification" of American
youth rather than any inherent lack of value.

Most American kids -- obese, sedentary, enamored with "Facebook" --
would rather sit in front of the Playstation than actually *do*
anything. Learning to fly takes discipline and a desire to work hard
-- two things that appear to be in short supply nowadays.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Morgans wrote:
"Jay Honeck" wrote


Cool idea. We've thought of it before, but haven't found an
affordable advertising venue that "hits" the right crowd.


How about the little clickable "sponser blurb" adds that appear between
stories on Avweb.

If it had a good "quick read gotcha" you might get people to click on it.

I have no idea if there is cost involved, but I bet there is. At any rate,
I would say I (a sample of one) click on them more than clickable ads in any
other venue.

What are you thinking? Work on advanced, or more ratings? A beginner quick
start?

It does sound interesting, and could be good for the CFI's, and for the
hotel, and those who used it.
I bet all of those would work! Ron did a 10 day PIC instrument rating
(he actually did it in 9 as he got one day off for good behaviour).
While he was doing it I didn't talk to him for the 10 days as I knew he
needed to eat, drink and sleep aviation. I was telling one of my
docents how it really worked for Ron. This guy said he could never do
it with the distractions at home, so he went to PIC instead of having
them send the instructor and at the young age of 70 got his instrument
rating. See if you can hook up with the local PIC guys or someone else
who knows how to do a 10 day instrument.

Get a PP block rate for x hours at an average of 3 hours a day every day
and IF that rate is substantially cheaper than other areas bill it as a
flying vacation where you can get 30 hours of instruction (or 40 or
whatever) at this low rate ...

In addition to ads on AvWeb etc. I'd try local aviation rags in high
rent districts like AutoPilot in the NE, etc. If some of the variation
we've heard about($60 wet v. $110 wet, $50/hr for instruction v. $25)
that could make a $75 and hour difference. At 3 hours a day that's
$225, so a $100 room and you are saving money and getting a flying
vacation. Now for this to really work you have to have instructors who
can gear things to a 1.5 lesson in the relatively early am and another
in the pm and have decent weather, but it could work.

You would have to have activities for the non-flying spouse if one comes
and other stuff for sure.

Margy

Re physicals as a major reason for decline in active pilots: would you
guess fear of failing a physical affects the number of new pilots by
as much as 20%?

I don't know what IS responsible for the decline in GA pilots, but
doubt the physical is a leading cause. I suspect flying is not as
exciting a prospect as other activities for many people. Those of us
who are older went to airports to watch airplanes -- not many do that
anymore.

Then there is the interstate road system. Its completion has extended
the useful radius of auto travel markedly. If one looks at door to
door times, there are many 200 mile trips that are now as almost as
quickly, and more reliably, completed driving as flying. Today's
prospective pilots have grown up with that: those of us a few decades
older might have had the convenience of trips of that length be a
factor. Travel time is no longer as compelling a reason.

Do you think that among those who can afford it -- and cost IS a
factor -- there's the fear, not of flying, but of lawsuits? I've been
told but have not looked at the data, that insurance costs are a
significant part of a new light airplane's cost.

Jay,

the "wussification" of American
youth rather than any inherent lack of value.


One has to wonder who exactly wussifies them. Might it in large part be
gasp their parents?

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Jay,

Cool idea. We've thought of it before, but haven't found an
affordable advertising venue that "hits" the right crowd.


The flying magazines. In fact, if those prices are even half-true and
with the dollar exchange rate being what it is, get together with the
nearest Part 141 school, build a package for overseas pilots and
advertise in the British and German magazines. Hour building, basic
training and advanced training for ME, commercial, instructor or
instrument ratings are all of interest.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Thomas Borchert wrote:
Jay,

the "wussification" of American
youth rather than any inherent lack of value.


One has to wonder who exactly wussifies them. Might it in large part
be gasp their parents?

Parents are to blame but when schools start suspending students for using
the new "N" word it's reached a level of stupidity previously unmatched.

The new N word is Noose.

http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/N...Y&pageId=3.2.1

the "wussification" of American
youth rather than any inherent lack of value.

One has to wonder who exactly wussifies them. Might it in large part be
gasp their parents?

Absolutely! I've got friends who won't let their kids go out for
sports, because they might get hurt. I've got friends who won't let
their kids fly in a small airplane. I've got friends who got angry
when the Boy Scouts made the kids do stuff that was "too dangerous" --
like canoeing.

Of course, these are the same parents that think SOCCER is a real
sport...

ducking!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Nov 23, 11:34 am, "Mike Isaksen" wrote:
"B A R R Y" wrote...



Kingfish wrote:
Here in CT it's closer to $7k
with the run-up in fuel costs.

I'd go even higher, now.

At HVN, HFD, and IJD, Warriors and 172's are renting for $120-125/hr.
wet, with 150's and Traumahawk's hitting $105-$110. Some of the
bigger schools are going $55-60/hr. for instructors. I don't know of
schools charging less than $50/hr. for instruction.

For a 55 hr. PPL, that's over 10 grand. I think it would even run
high8's to low 9's at Meriden or Robertson.

I will echo all those prices on Long Island, NY, except I would add the
hidden fuel surcharge of $8-10 per hour. It's never posted on the rate board
and claimed to change every day, but the few times I rented over the past
year its been consistant.

Yikes. Okay, haven't been keeping up on the costs since '03 or so when
I stopped doing primary instruction. I do recall when working in ops
at Brigeport, students from Farmingdale would fly across the Sound to
burn up our pattern as our airport didn't charge landing fees for
T&Gs. I've seen the avgas prices for L.I. airports on Airnav though.

Scary.