"C J Campbell" wrote:

I have had just about enough of the idea that aviation is somehow
different
than other businesses, that ordinary business principles don't apply
to
aviation, that the only reason to get into aviation is that you love
it,
etc.

But that's why Pattillo's book is so fascinating. Those are the
people who have formed the GA companies from day one, and when they
brought in talented nonflyer execs to try to turn things around, it
generally failed. Business principles do apply, namely a low
unit-demand, handmade product in a fickle market, where customer
demand can't be predicted until you've spent enormous money to show
them what it will be like is a big gamble. The fact that there's a
historical shortage of less romantic investors who may otherwise
determine that toilet plungers will be more profitable tells me there
have been many such people reaching an objective conclusion for a long
time now. To argue otherwise means GA is uniquely a profit
opportunity going unnoticed by nonflying investors and executives who
do know what they're doing.

Fred F.