More Changes Coming

For almost as long as Ive been flying, the general aviation industry has been in upheaval. By the mid-1980s, product liability concerns and tax law changes helped remove what was propping up things, and the bottom fell out. Among other outcomes, Cessna stopped making piston-powered airplanes altogether while other manufacturers discontinued numerous models, preferring to concentrate on one or two.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Friday, April 21, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The general aviation industry experienced a significant downturn in the mid-1980s but began a resurgence in the mid-1990s following product liability reforms.
Over the past two decades, the industry has embraced numerous innovations, including composite construction, airframe parachutes, advanced avionics like glass panels and WAAS GPS, and electronic flight bags.
Recent FAA initiatives have lowered regulatory hurdles for installing non-certified equipment, streamlined aircraft certification rules (Part 23), and introduced alternative pilot medical certification (BasicMed).
While the full impact of these "reform" and "deregulation" efforts remains uncertain and may lead to unintended consequences, the general aviation sector is undergoing a continuous transformation towards more accessible and reliable technologies.

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For almost as long as I’ve been flying, the general aviation industry has been in upheaval. By the mid-1980s, product liability concerns and tax law changes helped remove what was propping up things, and the bottom fell out. Among other outcomes, Cessna stopped making piston-powered airplanes altogether while other manufacturers discontinued numerous models, preferring to concentrate on one or two. Once legislation reforming product liability law was enacted, Cessna restarted production of revamped 172, 182 and 206 models in 1996, and types like the Cirrus SR series, Lancair certified and offerings from Diamond entered general aviation’s mainstream in the U.S.