Sport Pilot Talk

Maybe they are cheaper where you live, and indeed I saw ridiculously low prices for 150/152 on websites. But apples to apples in my area a wet rental 150 is $130/hr and an LSA is $99/hr. And anything better than 150 is more expensive. What goes for certified airplanes is avilability. A local FBO even has a pretty Grumman twin (for cool $258/hr), if you want to impress your date.

tu16:

Excellent post. That's yet another way to look at the 3rd class medical issue from a data-related starting point. Out of necessity, there's a bit of Kentucky Windage in your reasoning but your assumptions seem reasonable to me, as does your conclusion.

There's simply no doubt that the SP license (and/or flying under the LSA rule) is going to appeal more to some aging (student) pilots for the simple fact that, unlike younger pilot populations, older pilots & student pilots have to face age-related medical issues. But the overarching question I think we're trying to get at is whether the 3rd class medical is SO much of an issue that it meaningfully suppresses interest in GA. For the student pilot population as a whole, there just doesn't seem to be much proof it does. On an individual basis, it may well have that effect...but at least there's now the 'safety valve' of the SP license & the LSA rule when that's the case.

Jon, it's not just me that understood you to say the 3rd class medical retards GA health and should be eliminated. Look e.g. at Kevin's reply to you - pg 8. Or perhaps it was your recent concluding comment: "I certainly don't think that's the only thing that needs to change to rescue general aviation." But I'm happy to stand corrected: You don't believe the 3rd class medical is having a significant negative influence on the health of GA.

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Jack
RAF Florida State Liaison
Please visit www.theraf.org

Alone.

I think it is relevant. I think it should be eliminated. I don't think and never said that changing that one rule will save GA. It's a part of the log jam, maybe even a key log, but it isn't the only thing keeping the jam in place.

I especially think that, given the general demographic shift in the US (where the average eligible voter is now 45 or older) it will have an increasing impact over the next 25 years or so (until the baby boomers die off).

C'mon, Jack, this "you believe one extreme or another" game is silly. Re-read what I said, it's perfectly clear. Removing the 3rd class is worthwhile as part of a package of reforms, but not enough on its own.

Yeah, Jack... lighten up, and stop picking on medical retards!

FAA doctors are people, too...

I think the 3rd class is overly restrictive, but for the FAA to eliminate it they would have to consider the impact on the LSA industry it created. I really don't see any log jams or big barriers [other than money] to people learning to fly. You walk into a flight school, tell them you want to learn to fly and you are on your way.

Even if the price of new airplanes were reduced in half, flying will be expensive. I've owned an airplane for 25 years and keep a record of every penny I've spent. One time I added up all my expenses and divided it by the number of hours flown. What did I come up with? An hourly cost that was the same as a rental;the aquisition cost of the airplane was not calculated into that number.

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Jon, there is an old addage in aviation. To make a small fortune in aviation start with a large fortune. I don't think your application of a standard business model to aviation, especially the LSA world, works quite as well as you think. Most of these airplanes are designed and built out of love for aviation. These guys are not business men they are just airplane people. They don't have a business degree. They wouldn't have a clue as to what you're talking about. They just love airplanes and took a chance to try and make a living out of it, and they will try until they can't afford to do it any longer. That being said not all airplane companies are the same. The bigger the companies would have to charge more money over cost of supplies, because there are more mouths to feed. I don't think anybody with a finger in the pie is getting the profit you think they are, but I don't have any numbers to prove it. Tom

I'd like to see an LSA-legal replica of the Ryan STA. That airplane just looks soooooo good with the sun gleaming off the polished aluminum skin.

Jmdewitt,

The STA would be a great little airplane to replicate. The hardest part I think would be finding a suitable engine to fit under the sleek cowl!

One could start with a basic Fly Baby airframe and do some mods....

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Mike is chief hangar sweeper at Hansen Air Group, dealers for Sky Arrow, FK, and Peregrine LSAs.