Sorry to hijack the thread but it seems that General Aviation is totally screwed! Designated Examiners are charging between $500 and $1000 a check-ride. Yeah, they really have "aviation safety" in mind! The cost of a flight instructor is between $40 to $80 and hour. They better be Chuck Yeager for that price! Airplane rentals at "$175" an hour...common guys your airplane doesn't need to have a G1000 cockpit! Consider an older Piper or Cessna! Couple this with a major downturn in the airline industry and I only see a disaster for General Aviation sector.