wrote in message
oups.com...
On 19 Feb., 00:00, "Chris" wrote:
Read the following in the February edition of AOPA magazine by Thomas
Haines
the editor in chief.

"General aviation of the future may look like that in Europe today -
where user fees have existed for years. There only the ultrawealthy fly
anything. The wealthy fly microlights and non of them enjoy the robust
infrastructure that we enjoy in this country."

OK, to add my 2 cents here,
I'm a German PPL-Holder. I have talked to people who went to the US to
build time, have a nice pilot-trip or whatever. They all agreed that
its considerably cheaper in the US and comperatively less buerocratic
(sp?).
It really semms to be cheaper and easier to get access to GA in the
US, and the place is a lot more GA-friendly.
Still it is only that it is more expensive here not completely out of
reach for almost everyone. There are clubs, you can join, get the
license and fly. But because it is more expensive, you have to be
enough of a geek to really do it. Owning planes seems to be a lot more
expensive to, because you see a lot of N-registered planes here
(relatively), and there are really few who go all the way and own a
plane or a share.
I am a software developer and I'm not exactly poor, but certainly not
overly wealthy. If I had a job with less pay, I would still have gone
ahead and obtained my PPL because I really wanted to. When I talk to
people who earn about what I do, most of them tell me its too
expensive, too much hassle, they stick to riding a motor bike. Or
whatever.

The problem is, you can hardly compare the pay between the US and
Germany e.g. and much less between the US and all of Europe.
In the club where I learned to fly and still fly, there are quite a
few people who are not wealthy, even some who are considerably less
wealthy than me. You know, you can always fly gliders or something,
which is cheaper.

So, the bottom line is: no, its not only for the overly wealthy in
Europe. Anyone getting paid for his job should be able to go for a
license. But because its much more expensive and to some extend more
complicated, a whole lot of people just dont do it.
But it is true that you (the US GA pilot community) should stand up
against these fees, because if you dont, your GA will end up just like
ours is today. Maybe even worse.

It is nice to hear that the head of EASA tries to shape the european
GA ike the US one. But from my experience, the buerocrats and
politicians will screw this up. Just as always. I mean, I'm supporting
groups that are trying to make GA more accessible here, but as you all
know, our community is small, getting older and is in the end all but
unheard.

OK, my 2 cents.

Regards,

Peer

Spot on, perhaps European flyers are more dedicated to their passion as it
is tougher and you need to be more flexible and resilient to keep going in
the face of what to you Americans seems impossible odds.

I hope as well you win the battle to avoid user fees for purely selfish
reasons.

I still have a lot of the US to explore by light aircraft which I hope to
get out of my system over the next 10 years.

I have already done E coast to W coast, RI, to Ca and back and now I want to
doing NW to SE and SW to NE and then finish off NE to SE.

The next great adventure in will be to fly a light aircraft to and then
across China which I think will be possible in 10 years time. Now that would
be the ultimate experience.