General Aviation Dead?

General Aviation is in decline mostly because of cost. A large part of the
former middle class is gone in the United States. Anyone wishing to fly must
either have a great deal of money (e.g., the top 1%) or must be willing to
make gigantic sacrifices to raise the money for flying. Most people don't want
to fly enough to make gigantic sacrifices, and most people don't make much
money, so GA is in decline.

If a prosperous middle class were to reappear, this trend would probably
reverse.

Another problem is the massive regulation of aviation, which raises the price
and creates many other barriers, surmountable and sometimes insurmountable, to
flying. But this is mostly a constant rather than a variable, so it does not
push GA into decline so much as it holds it at an artificially low level.

Some aspects of GA are doing much better than others. The top 1% is still very
interested in flying around on private jets, for example.