Cessna Greenlights LSA

Eric Bartsch wrote:
On Jul 10, 5:55 pm, Jay Beckman wrote:
On Jul 10, 2:23 pm, Dallas wrote:

On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 14:00:13 -0700, Jay Beckman wrote:
Just got an AvWeb flash announcing same...
Are you getting your loan papers together?
--
Dallas
Not right this minute, but I'm hoping one or two migrate to a FBO here
in the PHX area. I'd love to try it out!

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
Chandler, AZwww.pbase.com/flyingphotog

This should have a pretty significant impact on the cost of people
getting a license. If a brand new 172 goes for $110 to $130/hr then
one of the Cessna LSAs should be able to be rented for maybe $70/hr
with the lower fuel burn, cheaper plane, and lower insurance (2 seats
vs. 4). My guess is that the biggest impact of the new LSA airplanes &
license will be the fact that it provides a new generation of 2 seat
training aircraft that can be more economically used for training, and
that most of the training done in them will actually be people getting
their private rating vs a light sport rating. This will wind up being
the new generation of 152s or Tomahawks.

Unfortunately for Cessna, that plane already exists.
It's called the Evektor SportStar. Oh wait, it's
made in the Chez republic...

http://www.evektoramerica.com/

One of the issues with student starts has to be the fact that you
either wind up flying a relatively economical but old plane like a
20-30 year old 150/152 or you have to step up to a much more expensive
plane like a 172 to get anything new (I know that things like the
Alarus have been available, but not in the numbers that will happen
when Cessna Pilot Centers are required to each buy an LSA to keep
their affiliation). People have to really love planes to want to go
learn in a plane that looks worse than any car you would be willing to
rent (didn't stop me, but it probably stops a lot of people). The
combination of Cessna Pilot centers everywhere and a new trainer that
students won't be scared off by (either in pricing or appearance)
should lead to a lot more student starts for all ratings.

Anyway, I'll be interested to see where the Cessna LSA starts showing
up for rent, and for how much.

Eric Bartsch
1959 Pilatus P-3-05 A-848