I think you missed one of the biggest components of the perfect storm. The
act that helped resurrect GA limits the liability of manufacturers depending
upon the age of the aircraft. So enterprising plaintiff lawyers will have
to find someone else to sue besides manufacturers. That means mechanics,
since someone with deep pockets has to be responsible for all GA accidents.
So many shops will not work on older aircraft, since if something happens,
they will be the only defendants in the suit, and their carrier will be the
only one on the risk. So not only are the airframes aging, the mechanics
are aging, and the mechanics and shops have a strong financial disincentive
to work on older aircraft. Plus, everything else you said...

"Mike Isaksen" wrote in message
news:Lmg_h.8534$f17.4923@trndny05...

"nrp" wrote...

Itinerant traffic at KSSQ has gone to about zero, even with the
excellent VFR WX this spring.

There's a perfect storm working against us prop pounding GA guys:
1. The age of the average flyer/owner is transitioning from the peak
earning years into the fixed income period. A scary phase to own a 30+
year old money hole.
2. Avgas costs are up at around $4/gal, that's almost a 100% increase in
10 years. Makes forward looking projections very difficult.
3. Administrative, operational and insurance hurdles have risen to a point
where they seem to dominate every hanger/coffee discussion. This involves
everything from changing the 4ft high airport fence to one 8ft barb wire
topped with coded security gates. Airport authorites increasing insurance
minimums for aircraft in hanger and tiedowns. And limiting access rules
for personal cars and family tours.