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Old 08-07-2006, 12:21 PM
  #10  
FalseData
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Joined APC: Aug 2006
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When I was younger, my main obstacle was cost -- my parents weren't especially interested in aviation, they weren't about to let me build an experimental in the garage, and I couldn't afford to rent.

Other possibilities include complexity (consider the airspace on the U.S. West Coast -- it's very different coming to a complex system for the first time than it is starting with a simple system and growing with it as it becomes more complex) and just plain pain-in-the-patoot factor (you can get on a multi-year waiting list for a hangar out here, or you can get your high-time used airplane running only to tie it down outside for mumble-hundred-dollars a month, or you can park it at the far away airport it'll take you an hour to drive to, or you can fight for a reservation of one of the flying club's planes and make darned sure you have it back before your time slot ends.)

Also, I think security measures at G.A. airports are having an impact. It used to be that you could wander the flight lines and check out the planes. Now that's changed. It really came home to me recently when we were having brunch at the local airport cafe and noticed what looked like a fly-in of classic biplanes. We wanted to head over, talk to the pilots, and find out more, but we were on the wrong side of the "authorized personnel only" gate.

Finally, it wouldn't hurt to do something with our marketing. Here's an interesting exercise. Look through your favorite aviation calendar. Count the number of times the pilot is anyone besides an older white guy who's not smiling. Then, flip through your favorite aviation magazine and pay attention to what fraction of the stories are nostalgic for the yesteryear or the golden age of aviation, and think about what that says to someone deciding between taking up aviation and, say, tricking out and overclocking a hot new game machine.

Last edited by FalseData; 08-07-2006 at 01:35 PM.
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