Where is everyone?

Jay Honeck wrote:
However, on my recent trips light GA aircraft have seemed mighty scarce on the
frequencies from Florida to Texas.

Interesting -- thank for the input, everyone.

I met the future of aviation yesterday -- a young man who was at the
inn with his new bride. They were celebrating his graduation from
college by spending the night in the Red Baron Suite, and partaking in
Movie Night.

He's an A&P, a CFI, and now a college grad. He loves to teach and
fly, his wife loves to fly with him, and it was wonderful to meet them
both. We spent a few hours together flying the sim and watching the
movie, and if we could only put something in the water that made about
3 million more just like him (and her), we'd be all set.

I agree ... and send a few of them to my area!

Matt

Jay Honeck wrote:
Could be a trend too. I think I heard on CNN a week or so ago, that WalMart
reported the largest single month sales decline in 20 years or so.

Our business is level which, considering the addition of three major,
government-funded hotels in our market, we consider a "victory".

Of course, this comes after four years of double-digit growth, so
suddenly going flat "feels" like losing...

I think gas prices are really, really hurting the "common man". I've
got housekeepers and desk staff who have seen a HUGE increase in their
driving expense, with no compensating increase in wages. This
shortfall has to be made up somewhere -- so I suspect we're seeing Wal-
Mart (and other stores) get hit by the back wash.

IMHO, the big-box restaurant chains ("Applebees" and such) will get
hit the worst in an economic downturn. That's where a lot of
discretionary American income gets ****ed away nowadays, and it'll be
the first thing eliminated.


Yes, but many low income folks that I know (and I live in a low income
area) spend more each week on cigarettes, beer and lottery tickets than
on the increase in gasoline.

I drive 40 miles to work and back each day for roughly 200 miles per
week not counting trips out to lunch. I drive either my Sonata (29 MPG)
or my Chevy truck (17 MPG), but let's use the truck as the worst case.
The truck burns say 12 gallons/week for my commute. When gas was
$2/gallon this was $24/week. Now at $3.14 I pay $38/week. I'm not
saying that the extra $14/week goes unnoticed, but I know people who
spend far more than that each week on cigarettes alone, not counting
beer and lottery tickets. So, there are many places that can be cut
back, but most folks will give up cigarettes last, beer next to last and
lottery tickets right before the beer! :-)

And if I drive the Sonata (which I do when my daughter doesn't need our
other vehicle), the difference is only about $8/week. Hardly enough to
dramatically change my buying habits. And folks that live closer to
work have commensurately less of a change.


Matt

birdog wrote:
Regarding the original question - are we flying less?

I was forced by health and age to stay on the ground for the last 20+ years.
I recently dropped by our local private grass strip where about 25 planes
are hangered. There was a single plane gassing up - no other activity on a
beautiful Sunday afternoon. Ran into a younger fellow I knew in my previous
life who commented that on a similar day back when I was still flying there
would always be several planes in the air, grinding out stop-and-goes or
just puttering around, whereas today the activity has virtually stopped.
There is even a 150 there that has been sitting outside for several years
and is virtually destroyed by the weather.

Why? My opinion, it's the expense. In the '60's and early 70's, our club
used to fly an old Champ for $4 an hour and a 172 for $16 an hour, wet. We
had an instructor in the club, and $300/$400 would get a beginner his
private. You could chug around in the Champ 'til your butt was numb, and
couldn't spend $20. The club was solvent and the hourly rates covered all
annual expenses. Upgrading required assessments - if memory serves, we paid
$1200 for the Champ and $8000 for the 172. We also had a Citabria that we
paid $5000 for. (All used, of course)

I think cost is part of the equation, but aviation has always been
expensive. Just for grins, I pulled up the inflation calculator at the
BLS web site and plugged in $16 for 1970, your number above for a 172.
The 2007 equivalent is $85.23. Guess what? Our local airport rents its
172 wet for ... drum roll please ... $85/hour!

I think it is cost, convenience (there are fewer small airports now),
availability of other activities, etc.


Matt

CNN is famous for saying that the middle class is losing ground. In fact, the income of the middle class increased 18% over the same period, adjusted for inflation. Gee, do you suppose that CNN will now admit they were wrong?

Depends what you are measuring with respect to.

Jose
--
There are two kinds of people in the world. Those that just want to
know what button to push, and those that want to know what happens when
they push the button.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

"Matt Whiting" wrote:

If you want a helicopter, I suggest the Robinsons. I honestly don't
believe you'll get any utility whatsoever out of an Exec of any flavor...

That is interesting as your assessment is quite different than what I've
heard and read elsewhere. If they are really this bad, then their current
effort to certify the design should be a real problem.

There's an owners' group; might be wortwhile checking with them:

http://www.rotorwayownersgroup.com/index.php?page=ntsb


--
Dan
C-172RG at BFM

At this point I'd take the $3.14 a gallon... I just filled up today for
$3.59 for 87 unleaded. I still gave a wink to the Hummer guy next to me
as I topped off my Accord. :-)

I sold my partner my share of our Mooney a few months ago and I honestly
haven't missed it a bit. I gave aviation a fiar shot for over 6 years
and came to the conclusion that the expense wasn't worth the reward.
Then again it has only been a few months without flying. I am reserving
the right to change my mind at any time.

I do know that if I do go back to flying that renting will be the way to
go for me. I sure can do a lot with the 15 AMU's a year I was spending
on owning. YMMV

Jon

Matt Whiting wrote:
Now at $3.14 I pay $38/week.

Originally Posted by Matt Whiting

Kyle Boatright wrote:
"Dan Luke" wrote in message
...
"Matt Whiting" wrote:

For me, time and convenience trump the cost, but cost certainly matters.

Being able to walk out in your backyard and flying wherever you want
would be priceless. And building it would be as much fun as flying it!
Exec's are waaayyyy cool. Every year at OSH, I make it a point to stop by
the tent and drool over the display.

One of these days....

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

4 different Exec's have been housed in the hangar next to mine over the
years. Two were converted to the Jet Exec configuration. The conventional
Exec's seemed to have a very bad ratio of flying time to maintenance time,
and the Jet Exec's were at least as bad, and both had serious powertrain
failures in the few hours they flew.

I never saw any of them leave the traffic pattern other than on a trailer.

If you want a helicopter, I suggest the Robinsons. I honestly don't believe
you'll get any utility whatsoever out of an Exec of any flavor...

That is interesting as your assessment is quite different than what I've
heard and read elsewhere. If they are really this bad, then their
current effort to certify the design should be a real problem.

Matt

rule for flying a rotorway: Never hover any higher than you're willing to fall.

Jon Kraus wrote:
At this point I'd take the $3.14 a gallon... I just filled up today for
$3.59 for 87 unleaded. I still gave a wink to the Hummer guy next to me
as I topped off my Accord. :-)

I sold my partner my share of our Mooney a few months ago and I honestly
haven't missed it a bit. I gave aviation a fiar shot for over 6 years
and came to the conclusion that the expense wasn't worth the reward.
Then again it has only been a few months without flying. I am reserving
the right to change my mind at any time.

I do know that if I do go back to flying that renting will be the way to
go for me. I sure can do a lot with the 15 AMU's a year I was spending
on owning. YMMV

I would agree if renting was an option. However, of the three airports
within 35 miles of my house, none currently have aircraft available for
rent. The one sold its last rental 172 to a friend of mine and the
owner hasn't replaced it yet. I believe he will, but at the moment
renting isn't even an option. Sigh...

Matt

Mxsmanic wrote in
:

BDS writes:

In the mid-60s and early 70s people also did not have multiple cell
phones (one for each family member), cable/satellite TV, satellite
radio, "starter" homes the size of small castles, home entertainment
centers, or 2 brand new cars (one an SUV) in the driveway. Today
these are all looked at as "necessities", and they consume what would
otherwise be disposable income.

The real disposable income for equivalent lifestyle has significantly
diminished for the dwindling middle class.

IOW you haven't got enough to buy twinkies and coke


bertie

Then again it has only been a few months without flying. I am reserving
the right to change my mind at any time.

If you can go "a few months" without flying, you were never addicted.

Probably a good thing, with prices rising. At some point, we addicts
will have to make some hard choices.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"