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How will general aviation survive?

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Joined
Dec 8, 2012
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I am becoming more concerned about the state of general aviation and have had three recent experiences that just heighten that concern,
  1. The crippling property taxes in South Carolina on aircraft, paying over 100 percent of the value of the aircraft in property taxes in retirement. Yes I know it is not that way everywhere and SC is the most unfriendly state in the U.S. to general aviation due to the highest taxes in the nation, but it still stings.
  2. I am coming up on needing a BFR and rather than fly a distance away to get it as I have done for a few years, I decided that since Eagle Aviation at my local airport advertises a flight school, I would reach out to them. After a number of tries, I did reach the instructor who told me for his schedule he could not fit in a BFR until late January of 2023. So they are 4 months out to schedule a BFR. He said he may have another instructor who could do it a little earlier and he would have him call me. The other instructor never did. I followed up and he told me the other instructor was on a few days vacation and would call me when he returned, still no contact. With such a shortage of instructors to do basic flight reviews and mechanics for aircraft maintainance, I am worried about overall aircraft ownership.
  3. I was working with a local avionics shop and was considering installing a new autopilot and a couple of G5s. The estimate for all the work was $30,000 which was reasonable for everything being done. However the shop indicated they were 6 to 8 months out for new projects and in order to secure a spot 6 to 8 months out, they needed $22,500 now. So work will not start for 6 to 8 months but I am supposed to tie up $22,500 now. This is a small shop that is basically just the owner and he does all the work. If that shop were to close or the owner got sick, what are the odds of getting that $22,500 back? I did check with some larger avionics shops who were 12 to 18 months, but could be 2 years, before they could start and while they did not require as large of a deposit, you would still be putting a great deal of money down for a project with an unknown start time that could be up to 2 years out. It just seems like this model is not workable for long term general aviation survival.
I am just beginning to wonder if it may be time to sell the plane and find a more sustainable hobby. 😢 Just wondering if this is just my area or are others experiencing some of these issues?
 

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