lnuss Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2023/november/17/switchblade-roadable-aircraft-makes-first-flight Larry N. As Skylab would say: Remember: Aviation is NOT an exact Science! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhrogPhlyer Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 Interesting, $170,000 to $770,000. Wouldn't it be great to see ANY GA aircraft offered at a price point intended for us mere mortals. I've grown so tried of being told it CAN'T be done. Always Aviate, then Navigate, then Communicate. And never be low on Fuel, Altitude, Airspeed, or Ideas. Laptop, Intel Core i7 CPU 1.80GHz 2.30 GHz, 8GB RAM, 64-bit, NVIDIA GeoForce MX 130, Extra large coffee-black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lnuss Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 2 hours ago, PhrogPhlyer said: Wouldn't it be great to see ANY GA aircraft offered at a price point intended for us mere mortals. It would indeed. But the low volume, sometimes almost hand built aircraft, certification costs, etc. make that difficult. I recall Cessna had that in mind when they offered the C-162 Skycatcher, but that didn't pan out. Light sport aircraft are, of course, closer to being affordable, but even they are mostly well north of 100K. Ultralights can be affordable but it's not quite the same thing unless you just want to hop around the patch. I recall around 1970, when I was a fresh Private pilot, a Bonanza was around $44,000, and I thought that as my pay increased it might become affordable, but I'd not yet understood inflation, and it just kept getting further and further away, pushing a Megabuck today. But an old Champ or T-Craft comes close to affordable, and for a few years I was in a partnership with a Super Cub (eight of us), and it was affordable like that. But new aircraft? Ha... Larry N. As Skylab would say: Remember: Aviation is NOT an exact Science! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Founder Nels_Anderson Posted November 22, 2023 Founder Share Posted November 22, 2023 A roadable airplane...the eternal dream of aviation that always seems to be just out of reach! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonesome Cowboy Burt Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Why do investors still get suckered in to this? It was a silly idea in the 50s and it's still a silly idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 How safe would you feel in a "cheap" aircraft? I'm reminded of Alan Shepard's comment on his first flight, "I'm sitting on top of a half million pounds of high explosive, with the knowledge that each component was built by the lowest bidder". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Probably the closest a "roadable airplane" got to production was the Waterman Aerobile, it "flew safely but generated little customer interest, and only five were produced". There is an FS version, which flies like a generic light plane. The Moller Skycar has been in and out of the news for ages but has yet to fly. "After forty years and $100,000,000 in expenditure the Skycar demonstrated tethered hovering capability in 2003. It has been extensively marketed for pre-order sale since the 1990s as Moller attempted to raise more money for development." The company is "now dormant". There is an FS version of this also, but I believe it uses a helicopter flight model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViperPilot2 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Reminds me of an old George Carlin quote: "You put together two things that haven't been put together before, and some schmuck out there will buy it." "I created the Little Black Book to keep myself from getting killed..." -- Captain Elrey Borge Jeppesen AMD 1.9GB/8GB RAM/AMD VISION 1GB GPU/500 GB HDD/WIN 7 PRO 64/FS9 CFS CFS2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 "No one has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people." H. L. Mencken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViperPilot2 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 1 hour ago, jgf said: How safe would you feel in a "cheap" aircraft? I'm reminded of Alan Shepard's comment on his first flight, "I'm sitting on top of a half million pounds of high explosive, with the knowledge that each component was built by the lowest bidder". When Apollo 11 launched in 1969, it was estimated that there were over a million individual Parts that had the potential to fail. No matter how extensive and intricate the Process is, there are always random Intangibles that can bollox up the entire endeavour. "I created the Little Black Book to keep myself from getting killed..." -- Captain Elrey Borge Jeppesen AMD 1.9GB/8GB RAM/AMD VISION 1GB GPU/500 GB HDD/WIN 7 PRO 64/FS9 CFS CFS2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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