I got my private flying certificate 40 years ago, from Epps at Atlanta’s PDK. Pat Epps and I were both a lot younger then, and his FBO/flight school even younger. Some 18,000 airplanes were built in the U.S. that year, far more than are built today. Sectional charts were printed on both sides for the first time, and navigation by VOR was relatively new. Many of the aircraft we flew then are still popular today, including the Cessna Skylane and Beechcraft Bonanza (which was already 20 years old).
Jets were fast replacing piston airliners, but DC-3s still flew some routes. Lear busily sold his corporate jet, although FORTUNE magazine said businesses wouldn’t buy it. The first Cessna Citation started test flights in 1969. Many laughed at it, calling it the Slowtation and the NearJet. Today, Citations are the world’s most popular jets, and one of them is the fastest civilian production jet in the world.
Federal market regulation of airlines ceased in 1978, and some people (many not then yet born) still claim that it ruined the airlines. In 1981, 13,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization went out on strike. I watched as one of them stood in the lobby of Huntsville Aviation and announced that they were “going to bring this country to its knees.” President Ronald Reagan fired them all.
Perhaps more earth-shaking, the prime interest rate climbed to over 20 percent in 1981, and new general aviation aircraft sales dropped 87.5 percent in five years. With unit sales down, manufacturers’ insurance rates per unit climbed like long-range bottle rockets. The feds finally limited liability on older aircraft.
When this magazine was first published in 1986, general aviation was in the doldrums. “Learn to Fly” programs abounded to build student starts, and I participated in several of them. GA continued to struggle into the 1990s, but several new manufacturers — Cirrus comes to mind — arrived on the scene with success.
The very light jet (VLJ) was invented by Vern Raburn/Eclipse, and created quite a stir. Everyone was going to buy small jets, and a “fleet” of VLJs would be available at every airport, waiting to take “Joe Sixpack and family” on their vacation. It hasn’t happened yet, but it does appear that VLJs will be a factor in the market.
The future? Who can say? All bets are off if the guvmint ends up owning, managing, or eliminating much of the aviation industry. It does seem probable that much change will result from the “greening” of the industry — not because it will be mandatory, but because it will be profitable as we run out of fossil fuels. Aircraft will be lighter, more fuel efficient, and cleaner. This is happening even now.
We will finally move the air traffic control system into a NEXTGEN, satellite-based system. There will be great strides in technology and great breakthroughs in equipment. The world of aviation will be the better for it, but many will bemoan the progress.
