Paths to Affordability

It’s become almost folklore. The quest for affordability in the world of general aviation has been like trying to see the aurora on a cloudy night, or recalling a dog set loose on a squirrel in the forest, or even encountering Bigfoot. From the crash of the post-WW-II airplane buying frenzy, to the mid-1980s liability-fueled dissolution of the general aviation manufacturing industry, to the relative lack of affordability following what the introduction of LSA promised to be, we’re still here, waiting for a real solution.

Parallel paths toward increased affordability exist. One is hopeful and one is tangible.

On the hopeful side we have MOSAIC, which promises to increase capability and affordability within the LSA category by expanding Sport Pilot privileges and making a range of aircraft available to pilots limited to those privileges. Moreover, the MOSAIC-style LSAs could get a lot heavier and faster and more capable—including potential use at night and in instrument conditions. Finally, “simplified flight controls” provisions may pave the way for personal aircraft with amazing performance characteristics operated via something like an iPad—rapid implementation of such significant automation with the reliability required to move people is likely an expensive endeavor, but production cost decreases due to economies of scale are possible in the long-term.

But here’s the rub:  MOSAIC isn’t real yet and won’t likely be until 2025, perhaps even late in the year. Isn’t there something you could do now, rather than wait? Absolutely—let’s apply some elbow grease, tenacity, and sticktoitiveness:

• Consider buying a reasonably priced used LSA and attending a Repairman course to begin learning the relevant maintenance practices.
• Become a Sport Pilot Instructor with 100 less hours than a traditional CFI, realizing the opportunity to begin flying for an income at 150 hours, lowering the cost to enter the profession and motivating more flight schools to purchase LSAs, reducing training and acquisition costs across the fleet.
• Develop great relationships with mechanics and wield the privileges afforded to you by Part 43, Appendix A, leading to a much more financially fulfilling love affair with Part 23 certified aircraft.
• Support organizations like EAA, that advocate for big wins like VARMA, which reduces parts replacement costs, and, if proven effective on older types, may lead to utilization in later models.
• Show up to have coffee with the old guard at your local airport and connect with someone that has an airplane but doesn’t fly it for various reasons—maybe they’re interested in cost sharing.
• Involve yourself with the local flying club, whether they have a sleek, sexy, nicely equipped LSA, or a ratty (but mechanically sound) Skyhawk.
• Advocate through your preferred organizations for careful and thoughtful revisions to strengthen the liability protections afforded to manufacturers and maintainers.

These paths to affordability actually do converge. Countless intersections join the expansive future potential bound-up in MOSAIC, and the real, tangible, existing world of general aviation. Some important intersections are the result of:

• Individual development efforts associated with growing your ability to contribute to operational and maintenance cost management, notwithstanding your preferred aircraft certification category.
• Volunteerism and financial contributions to general aviation advocacy organizations and an informed awareness of the work being done on your behalf by those entities.
• Meaningful revisions to the liability protections afforded to manufacturers and maintainers who make aviation possible when the NTSB rules something along the lines of “the pilot’s failure to …” in order to maintain an environment of business agility in both the LSA and Part 23 aircraft arenas.

It seems like a tired trope to say “put in some effort,” but that, in conjunction with what MOSAIC hopes to accomplish, inspires in me loads of optimism about future affordability within general aviation.

My concern with leaning too far in the direction of a regulatory cure is our history of reliance on failed regulatory cures, so we must contribute to the outcome, not simply sit waiting for an external solution—all while believing that those folks working so hard to support us with regulation are gonna knock it outta the park.