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> But it seems to have a very large component of taxpayers footing the bill for rich guys' toys/playgrounds Eh, most are not that rich. There's a wide range of
by outworlder 4y ago
> But it seems to have a very large component of taxpayers footing the bill for rich guys' toys/playgrounds
Eh, most are not that rich. There's a wide range of plane prices. From Honda Civic money, to millions of dollars.
GA encompasses a whole bunch of activities. You do have the rich doctors flying in twins, yes. You also have Angel Flights, Pilots N Paws providing volunteer assistance for people and animals. You have flight training (we are going through a pilot shortage). Aero(photography/grammetry). Sightseeing flights (tourism industry). Transportation of people and cargo to remote areas. Etc.
In some cases the revenue generated doesn't pay for the infrastructure. That's why so many airports have closed in the last couple of decades.
There are also people just flying for fun. Usually in very cheap and economical planes burning single digit gallons per hour. Their gallon/mile figure can be pretty good even compared to cars (let alone SUVs).
- mschuster91 4y agoLot of the aerophotography stuff is switching to UAVs these days though, it's easier to obtain pilots and the capability of modern UAV platforms is just amazing.
- snowwrestler 4y agoAFAIK no privately available UAV system can match the range and flexibility for GA aircraft. For example photographing things that are dozens of miles from any road or airport. If I’m wrong I’d be interested to learn more.
- mschuster91 4y agoA DJI Matrice 300 can fly for an hour, at a distance of up to 15km [1]. Agreed, it's not going to be useful in the extreme outback, but enough to cover a lot of use cases in areas near civilization. [1] https://www.dji.com/uk/matrice-300/specs https://www.dji.com/uk/matrice-300/specs
- p_l 4y agoGenerally there are different classes of aerophoto ops and most UAVs so far seem about opening up markets that were previously closed due to high prices