Boston Globe GA Article

[garf12]

What the hell is this lady thinking??

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/05/01/planes_for_all_inches_closer_to_reality/

"You can literally read a book up there," said Neibauer, who sold Huntsman her first four-seater plane for $326,000 three years ago.

And read is exactly what she does.

"Last year, we got through Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn," Huntsman said.

BEND, Ore. -- Nancy Huntsman uses her small plane the way some mothers use their Volvos. She straps in her two children, yells at the dog to hop in the back, pops in a DVD for the kids to watch and then takes off to fly over soaring mountains and parched deserts. Three hours later, they land at an airstrip near grandmother's house in northern California.

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/File-Based_Image_Resource/spacer.gif While owning a private plane remains a dream few can realize, creative financing options and advances in technology have helped manufacturers inch closer to their far-off dream of putting a plane in every garage.

"It used to be that you had to do a geometry exercise to navigate a plane," said Lance Neibauer, the founder of Lancair Co. of Bend, one of a handful of airplane manufacturers helping to transform the way Americans use private planes.

Today's small planes, however, have a "glass cockpit," the system of computerized displays and controls that makes pilots' lives much easier.

"You can literally read a book up there," said Neibauer, who sold Huntsman her first four-seater plane for $326,000 three years ago.

And read is exactly what she does.

"Last year, we got through Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn," Huntsman said.

Huntsman, 50, lives in Salt Lake City and uses the plane in the summer to take her children to her parents' home in Crescent City, Calif. -- a 3 1/2-hour trip which would suck up an entire day if she were to fly commercially.

Because of the new technology, Lancair's sales have been growing exponentially. This year, the company expects to ship upwards of 180 planes, more than twice as many as last year.

The company's sales mirror the industry trend for piston-engine, propeller planes. In 1994, the industry's worst year, just 455 piston-engine planes were shipped in the United States. Last year, the total was up to 1,758, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.

Like many other plane owners, Huntsman keeps her costs down by sharing it with another pilot who flies it on different weekends. Two-seaters are being sold for as little as $160,000, and new financing laws allow buyers to get 20-year loans rather than paying the balance up front.

"I think flight is much more accessible than ever," said Lee Brinley, 47, a financial analyst from Carol Stream, Ill., who recently fulfilled a lifelong dream by buying a $300,000 Lancair kit plane.

People who can afford small planes are able to avoid the lines, inconvenient schedules and increased security checks of flying on commercial airlines.

"That's why people are buying their own planes -- they found a way to take command of their lives," said Bruce Holmes, who founded NASA's Advanced General Aviation Transportation Experiment, which is trying to widen the use of private planes.

The growth is also partially a result of a 1994 change in legislation that created an 18-year statute of limitation on lawsuits against makers of small airplanes. Until then, investors scared off by the prospect of unlimited liability had stopped backing these small manufacturers.

James Fallows, whose book "Free Flight" explores the future of private aviation, thinks there will come a time when it "will no longer be the playground of the super rich." As more people fly and more planes are built, the price will come down, said Dale Klapmeier, the co-founder of Cirrus Design in Duluth, Minn., a company that like Lancair and Wichita, Kan.-based Cessna Aircraft Co. has helped bring the glass cockpit to small, singe-engine aircrafts in the last decade.

"The next big challenge is to get the cost to the Ford Taurus or Honda Accord level. It's years away, but it can happen," Holmes said.

Still, the idea of a plane of every garage is one that some experts think is farfetched.

"It's a charming fantasy," said aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia, a vice president of the Teal Group in Fairfax, Va.

"It's just like driving a car," he said sarcastically, "except that you have to be a pilot."

And then there's the cost. Huntsman spends around $8,000 a year just to insure the plane for herself and a co-pilot. That doesn't count the cost of gas, hangar rental and maintenance.

Still, manufacturers argue that the industry has turned a corner that could allow private aviation to expand sooner rather than later.

"It's really easier to use than a car -- plus there's no other cars coming at you," said Bing Lantis, CEO of Lancair Certified.

It's certainly no big deal for Huntsman's children.

"They've flown so much that they think it's boring. Taking a road trip -- that's an adventure," she said.

 

[Resume Writer]

Anyone wanna take bets on when we will see the demise of this woman? Sad that she will take her kids and dog with her. What is really scary is that all the professional pilots are flying around the skies with people like this.


Equally scary is the guy they quote in the article that is selling the planes. Very irresponsible. I think every pilot on this board should write a response to the Editor of this paper for irresponsible journalism.

 

[mtrv]

Anyone wanna take bets on when we will see the demise of this woman? Sad that she will take her kids and dog with her. What is really scary is that all the professional pilots are flying around the skies with people like this.


Equally scary is the guy they quote in the article that is selling the planes. Very irresponsible. I think every pilot on this board should write a response to the Editor of this paper for irresponsible journalism.

Are we not possibly jumping to conclusions here? First off, at age 50, I'm quite sure that some of Nancy's kids are plenty old enough, and are quite capable of reading the book "out loud" while Nancy performs her duties.

As to the "guy" selling the plane, that's Lance Neibauer who designed and owns Lancair, which is a highly innovative and reputable airplane manufacturer.........these days.

 

[garf12]

You maybe and actually probably are right, the author just makes it sound bad. Like we can just take off push a few buttons sit back read a book, watch a movie, then land the plane when we get there.

"And read is exactly what SHE does."

 

[Resume Writer]

Nancy Huntsman uses her small plane the way some mothers use their Volvos. She straps in her two children, yells at the dog to hop in the back, pops in a DVD for the kids to watch..

"You can literally read a book up there," said Neibauer, who sold Huntsman her first four-seater plane for $326,000 three years ago.

And read is exactly what she does.

"Last year, we got through Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn," Huntsman said.

"It's really easier to use than a car -- plus there's no other cars coming at you," said Bing Lantis, CEO of Lancair Certified. [\quote]

Sorry, MTRV, I am going to have to disagree with you. She pops in "dvd's" for her kids and reads books?? I come from a GA family and never once do I remember my parents reading a book or paying attention to anything but the instruments, weather, etc. True, the airplane did not have a "glass cockpit," but that to me is no excuse for not paying attention.

The aircraft manufacturer is trying to sell airplanes, plain and simple. Gotta love the last quote, "easier to use than a car -- plus there are no other cars coming at you." Nevermind about the terrain, other airplanes, weather, etc.

Maybe I just grew up with really safety conscious parents that are pilots.

 

[C425Driver]

"It's really easier to use than a car -- plus there's no other cars coming at you," said Bing Lantis, CEO of Lancair Certified.

Well, Mr. Bing, please tell that to my friend Jeff's parents. Jeff was overrun by another "car" coming at him from behind. He was 19.

It amazes me how a CEO could make such a stupid comment.

C425Driver

 

[BD King]

"And read is exactly what SHE does."[/QUOTE]

She is allowed to read. The dog is a specially trained seeing eye dog. With its goggles, it looks like FnFal's avatar.

 

[Resume Writer]

"And read is exactly what SHE does."

She is allowed to read. The dog is a specially trained seeing eye dog. With its goggles, it looks like FnFal's avatar.[/QUOTE]

Now THAT is classic!

 

[mtrv]

"It's really easier to use than a car -- plus there's no other cars coming at you," said Bing Lantis, CEO of Lancair Certified. [\quote]

Sorry, MTRV, I am going to have to disagree with you. She pops in "dvd's" for her kids and reads books?? I come from a GA family and never once do I remember my parents reading a book or paying attention to anything but the instruments, weather, etc. True, the airplane did not have a "glass cockpit," but that to me is no excuse for not paying attention.

Notice the quote says " WE got through Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn". Not the kids watching DVD's for 3 1/2 hours while she reads a book that whole time.

And, how many trips are we talking here? How much time to a book is devoted to each trip? How much to DVD's? What's the weather like when any book reading is going on?

And yes, things have changed since your parents, or my father hauling us kids around. No GPS's that could be programmed at home for an auto-pilot to precisely follow. No onboard aircraft alert system for the common GA airplane, let alone the new weather systems available.

What I see here is a conclusion based on many flights condensed into just a few, by perhaps a few over active minds. There was NO timetable, no time line, and no way of knowing what is actually going on, from the limited info in the article. For all I know, perhaps a licensed pilot rode along in the right seat for some of these trips.

edit: OH,oh ----- Just re-read the article

Another quote: And then there's the cost. Huntsman spends around $8,000 a year just to insure the plane for herself and a co-pilot . That doesn't count the cost of gas, hangar rental and maintenance.

I see "co-pilot" mentioned

 

[Resume Writer]

The co-pilot could have meant the "co-owner." I guess we will never know. When the article starts off, it says nothing about her, the co-pilot, the kids and the dog.


When I am talking about irresponsible journalism, I am talking about writing about flying a plane like it is riding a tri-cycle. As a pilot, you should know that you have had to put quite a few hours into your profession. Frankly, I am kind of surprised that you are defending this woman's actions and the quote from two people that flying is "so easy."

But, no worries. I guess I just air on the side of caution.