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The Corolla and the Cessna 172 are the world's most manufactured car & aircraft respectively. Toyota makes more Corollas in a month than the total number of Ces
by adingus 6y ago
The Corolla and the Cessna 172 are the world's most manufactured car & aircraft respectively. Toyota makes more Corollas in a month than the total number of Cessna 172s ever made.
- dragontamer 6y agoCessna 172 is one of the cheapest, simplest planes you can buy... a 10 year old used 172S is $150,000++ however. With fewer and fewer planes being made, the remaining planes continue to get more and more expensive. The world of general aviation shrinks each year, and as such the prices continue to climb. Fortunately, there are a number of clubs where people pool their money into collective ownership of airplanes. Its roughly $150/flight hour (more or less, depending on the club's equipment of course). If I were to ever go into GA, I'd probably start with a club to get my earlier licenses. $15,000 and a few months would be all you need to get your pilot's license and start flying (including the price of flight instructors / ground schools). Overall, cheaper than I expected. You wouldn't want to go into this hobby thinking you'd save money... at best you save time inside of a certain range (Cessna only cruise at 160mph, while commercial airlines cruise at 500mph. As such, GA flights need to be within 2 or 3 hours (or ~1 hour commercial flight) to even save time).
- Retric 6y agoI don’t think GA is shrinking so much as it’s segmented so hobbyists do ultralight aviation such as powered paragliding, used aircraft cover most of the classic GA side of things, and new aircraft are for people or companies with money to burn. On top of this, drones and satellite’s are filling in for some stuff at the margins. PS: A new set of paragliding equipment runs 10-15k, but it’s more like a jet pack than a traditional aircraft.
- mc32 6y agoI heard Luscombes are nice planes and J-3s are cheap and were the original trainers for WWII pilots. Trade-a-plane is like the eBay for GA.
- bitwize 6y agoMy grandfather had a Luscombe story. He was flying in one sometime in the 50s or 60s in California, and a stiff breeze came in from the mountains. The Luscombe (8A or 8B) had only a 65 hp motor, and flying into that breeze it actually travelled backward over land. If you get a Luscombe, make sure to fly it in favorable weather conditions only :)
- travisjungroth 6y agoAnd barnstormers.com is like the Craigslist. I wouldn’t especially call Luscombes nice planes. I’m not a fan of their stall characteristics or ground handling. A J-3 is the most expensive airplane in the group for its capabilities. You’re paying a lot for that “Piper Cub” name. I think Taylorcrafts are a good bang-for-your-buck. I’m also partial to Citabrias. I’ve flown about 20 types of small taildraggers, for whatever that’s worth.
- DrScump 6y agoI’ve flown about 20 types of small taildraggers You're the 20X Real Aviator(tm), then.
- travisjungroth 6y agoNot really. I just think it's useful for people to know these opinions were formed by flying the airplanes, not reading Wikipedia.
- DrScump 6y agoI was referring to the classic "Real Aviators Fly Taildraggers" sticker.
- travisjungroth 6y agoOh, gotcha. Well, if you add in biplanes and high performance stuff the number is a bit higher.
- DrScump 6y agoGA flights need to be within 2 or 3 hours (or ~1 hour commercial flight) to even save time). GA can compete in routes that are poorly served (infrequent and/or overpriced). I read a story a couple of years ago where a group of SV execs and engineers live in eastern Oregon and commute by GA, sharing expenses.
- kjs3 6y agoI know of several groups like this in the Southeast US, where a couple of execs live in smaller cities (e.g. Columbus, Augusta), pool on an aircraft (and sometimes a condo) and commute to Atlanta (Peachtree/Dekalb Airport is pretty convenient to downtown) for work. There also used to be a regular small plane service between Peachtree/Dekalb and Birmingham, AL for BellSouth personnel operated by the company. BellSouth split it's HQ between both places.
- stormdennis 6y agoCorolla will get you there and back for years, decades even. You might want to park and walk the last 100 metres sometimes though.