I've been reading down through the comments, and decided to day-dream a
little. I'm 84, lost my medical in 1980. So I'm behind the curve to a large
extent when it comes to the cost of flying.

In the mid- '50's, 6 of us started a flying club with a 1949 7AC Champ. Paid
$1200 for it, 700 hour engine and 2-year fabric. Flew it for $4/hour, wet.
Eventually added a 150HP Tripacer and a 110HP Citabria and membership went
up to 20. Two flight instructors in the membership, so a student could join
and get a private ticket for less than $400 total investment.

There were about 40 aircraft hangered at the grass strip.Up 'til the
mid-70's, any saturday or sunday there were planes constantly in the air -
coming and going, shooting landings, and occasionally an arial exibition
going on. Most of the club members stayed current in all three planes. A
whole lot of the flying was just for fun.

At the demise of an old pilot friend, after a long absense, I visited the
field in 2005 on a sunday afternoon. The old club was still in existance,
and still had the old Champ. No planes in the air, a 170 sitting by the gas
pump. Talked to several fellows shooting the bull in the shack. One middle
aged fellow who got his ticket thru the club, instructed by an old friend of
mine, lamented about the lack of activity, compared to when I left the club.
He said he thought it had a lot to do with the cost of flying - that folks
didn't just jump in a plane on a whim and loaf in the skies like we once
did. I didn't ask what membership currently cost (It was $1400 when I left,
with monthly dues of $12), but they were charging $15/hr for the old Champ
to cover expenses.

I don't know how this relates to the discussion the decrease of
activity, but we had blue-collar workers, book-keepers, folks from all walks
of life flying in the club. I'd venture that the ratio of wages vs. cost of
flying on a regular basis is a whole lot higher now than it was then. At any
rate, when you start throwing out numbers like $50K and $100K for an
airplane, and look at the maintenance costs and licensing fees, you're
taking flying our of the realm of the common family man.

By the way, I'm told that an old Champ, comparable to ours, recently sold
for $34,000.