4 ms·

Isn't it almost impossible to get any significant innovations in private general aviation these days due to FAA regulations?

nopzor 6y ago
regulation is certainly part of it, but i think it's more of a demand thing; ga is kind of dying. i was hopeful for the lsa program, but other than some bright spots it hasn't spurred the ga innovation revolution that its proponents thought it would. the faa missing the mark with basicmed also didn't help.
- sokoloff 6y ago
  How’d they miss the mark with BasicMed? I think it could be expanded somewhat (gross weight over 6000), but overall it seems like a quite good program. (I hold a 2nd class and BasicMed.)
- ryandrake 6y ago
  I thought it was lawsuits that killed certified GA innovation back from about the mid-80s to the mid-90s. As lutorm wrote in the other reply, E-AB kind of took over in the area of modern innovation.
lutorm 6y ago
Not at all, there's plenty of innovation going on, but it's mostly within the Experimental Amateur-Built category.
- taneq 6y ago
  Isn't that category basically unregulated (and un-usable commercially)? There don't seem to be too many new planes coming out in the 2-4 seat GA class. Last I read (might be out of date now) Cessnas still had such modern features as manual air/fuel mix adjustment.
  - redis_mlc 6y ago
    > Isn't that category basically unregulated (and un-usable commercially)? Correct. > There don't seem to be too many new planes coming out in the 2-4 seat GA class. We'll see. China bought about 20 US small mfgs. recently, including Cirrus, Mooney, Superior, etc., so it's up to them what US aviation holds. Yup, we sold our future on the altar of ROI. > Last I read (might be out of date now) Cessnas still had such modern features as manual air/fuel mix adjustment. 172R (1996) was first model with fuel injection. But be careful what you wish for ... 172 2020 price is $398,000.00.

nopzor 6y ago

regulation is certainly part of it, but i think it's more of a demand thing; ga is kind of dying. i was hopeful for the lsa program, but other than some bright spots it hasn't spurred the ga innovation revolution that its proponents thought it would. the faa missing the mark with basicmed also didn't help.

sokoloff 6y ago
How’d they miss the mark with BasicMed? I think it could be expanded somewhat (gross weight over 6000), but overall it seems like a quite good program. (I hold a 2nd class and BasicMed.)
ryandrake 6y ago
I thought it was lawsuits that killed certified GA innovation back from about the mid-80s to the mid-90s. As lutorm wrote in the other reply, E-AB kind of took over in the area of modern innovation.

lutorm 6y ago

Not at all, there's plenty of innovation going on, but it's mostly within the Experimental Amateur-Built category.

taneq 6y ago
Isn't that category basically unregulated (and un-usable commercially)? There don't seem to be too many new planes coming out in the 2-4 seat GA class. Last I read (might be out of date now) Cessnas still had such modern features as manual air/fuel mix adjustment.
- redis_mlc 6y ago
  > Isn't that category basically unregulated (and un-usable commercially)? Correct. > There don't seem to be too many new planes coming out in the 2-4 seat GA class. We'll see. China bought about 20 US small mfgs. recently, including Cirrus, Mooney, Superior, etc., so it's up to them what US aviation holds. Yup, we sold our future on the altar of ROI. > Last I read (might be out of date now) Cessnas still had such modern features as manual air/fuel mix adjustment. 172R (1996) was first model with fuel injection. But be careful what you wish for ... 172 2020 price is $398,000.00.