Exactly. Yet another brilliant "buy high sell low" asset flip by the no talent Mullin/Reid pump and dump machine.

 

I've got a student who almost went to ATP. He keeps getting emails from them advertising their program and said that the latest email said their cost has increased by $5000. $65,000 and goes up to $70,000 after September 1st.

 

The cheapest answer for everyone is to allow flight training for profit in an experimental aircraft with a MOgas approval. The reality is MOgas is a much more quality controlled than in the 60's and the Rotax engines are just a safe or safer as an O-200. Flight training would fall to the cost of ITT, ITI tech curriculum and not one minute of insructional value lost.

 

. Have you guys seen this? http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PvEfDmldrIM. Seems like a good idea, but a person or school is still getting a used 152 for almost 100k. I wonder if these "new" 152s will qualify for the mogas STC. I am with you on the mogas issue. That would save so much money. It is a shame getting more headway on mogas wasn't done in the past. I also like the Rotax engines, but their throttle response is insane!! I'm OK with the Rotax as long as a friction lock is included to physically slow down the throttle input. As far as sport planes themselves.... has anyone flown in one much less given instruction to primary students in them? Good lord!! No bueno!! I'll take a Cessna or Piper any day--these are MUCH more forgiving airplanes.

With all that said I'm surprised the regionals haven't bought a few Cessna 150s with the auto fuel STC. They could use them to help pilots finish off their hours, and probably even double them up by doing safety pilot flying. Pay a flight school to supervise the program.

 

I've done quite a bit of instructing in LSAs. I think they are a great training platform. Yes, much more responsive, but isn't that a good thing? The student is able to see right away the result of their control inputs. I would even venture to say learning in a more responsive airplane makes for a better learning experience.

 

Heck, motorgliders...

 

More souls on board a 737 though. More litigious families. It's all about the insurance companies these days which is why u need 1200 hrs to fly a caravan cargo master 135 with no pax!

 

Not intending to be rude and start fights, but to me its like teaching people drive in a Ford Focus or in a sports car. I'll take the the Ford any day and twice on Sunday.

"Of course, increasing special light-sport activity has also brought increasing numbers of LSA accidents. What might not have been anticipated is how quickly they’ve increased. There have been 133 in the five years since 2006, when significant numbers of LSAs first began to appear in the accident record. Although the numbers remain too small to bear a great deal of weight, the trend is not entirely encouraging. The 35 that occurred in 2009 made up a little more than 3 percent of that year’s accidents in single-engine piston airplanes, and more than 4 percent of those in fixed-gear piston singles. The estimated accident rate for LSAs in 2009 was likewise about triple that for piston singles in general. The rate estimate is fairly soft; however, the discrepancy is still wide enough to warrant some attention from the airplanes’ operators—not to mention students and instructors."

Also,

"Sport pilot instructors must have 5 hours of PIC in each make and model set before they can teach in that aircraft."

For these supposedly simple airplane that are meant for 20 hour wonders, that rule sounds a lot like this,

"(f) Training received in a multiengine airplane, a helicopter, or a powered-lift. A flight instructor may not give training required for the issuance of a certificate or rating in a multiengine airplane, a helicopter, or a powered-lift unless that flight instructor has at least 5 flight hours of pilot-in-command time in the specific make and model of multiengine airplane, helicopter, or powered-lift, as appropriate."

So now light sports are on the order of multis, helicopters, and powered lift. Yikes. So much for simpler, easier flying.

Yes, absolutely gliders!

 

Pretty sure I'll be chomping at the bit to get in a BBJ or Falcon by age 65.

 

Bigger isn't always better.