How One Category of Airplane Ownership Has Become More Affordable

When adjusted for inflation, research indicates avionics cost a fraction of what they did decades ago.

Jason McDowell

Wednesday, May 07, 2025 at 10:30 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

A vintage Cessna 172 price list. $9,795 is the equivalent of $104,764 today. [Image: Cessna]

Key Takeaways:

General Aviation (GA) aircraft, engines, and propellers have seen costs dramatically outpace inflation since the 1960s-70s, making ownership less affordable, a trend potentially exacerbated by certification costs, litigation, and private equity acquisitions.
Conversely, modern general aviation avionics are significantly more affordable, reliable, and capable than their 1970s counterparts when adjusted for inflation and functionality.
The author is still researching how labor rates and engine overhaul costs have changed over time relative to inflation and other aviation expenses.

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Occasionally, I enjoy looking through old back issues of FLYING to get a feel for what it would have been like to own an airplane in the 1960s and ’70s.

These were the heydays of GA, when it seemed as though everyone and their brother owned a small plane—and many did so on a single, middle-class salary. Bring this up in an online discussion forum or around the table at any small airport’s Saturday morning coffee and donut session, and inevitably, the conversation will eventually turn to inflation and GA affordability—or the lack thereof.