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Well, the reason is that the vast majority of GA pilots could not handle the performance of a WWII fighter and would get themselves and others killed.
by nvy 2y ago
Well, the reason is that the vast majority of GA pilots could not handle the performance of a WWII fighter and would get themselves and others killed.
- jjtheblunt 2y agoWhen i was in ground school in San Diego, the instructor explained that just what you said was the reason so few p51 mustangs still exist. Folks bought them cheap as surplus, rotated (wheels off the ground), would gun the huge engine whose torque at low air speed would counterrotate the fuselage and crash.
- kortilla 2y agoNo, the reason is that GA pilots have to pay for their fuel.
- nvy 2y agoThat too, but GA pilots are notorious for overestimating their competence. The Dunning-Kruger effect is real. Doing touch-and-gos a few times a month in a C172 does not prepare one for handling high-performance fighter aircraft. I used to work in Search and Rescue and the number of GA pilots who do bone-headed things getting themselves or others killed would shock you.
- kortilla 2y agoYes, but there are already higher performance aircraft available beyond a Cessna and pilots still flock to what they can afford. There is no regulation preventing aircraft manufacturers from selling GA performance beasts. There is just not a big enough market to sell into to make it sustain a business.