k5083 wrote:
I do remember those times and, with all respect, I think you get almost every fact wrong in the above post. Some of it is subjective, but my understanding of the statistics is that there are more operational WWII types and more vintage types flying now, or at least immediately pre-COVID, than at any prior time. There is also not less GA aircraft flying. The Bureau of Aviation Statistics says that there were 211,045 GA active aircraft in 1980, with 96,222 of them classified as "personal." In 1990, those totals were 196,800 overall, 112,600 personal. In 2019, it was 210,981 overall, 141,767 personal. So there are about the same number of GA aircraft active now than in the 80s-90s, and substantially more personal GA aircraft. With the advent of Light Sport and the rise of new GA producers like Cirrus and Diamond, this is not surprising. As far as commemorations, are you forgetting the VJ+70 events in 2015 including the spectacular DC flyover, which I watched, the likes of which nothing ever matched in the 80s-90s? And the VJ+75 one would have been even bigger if the pandemic curtain had not come down. A lot of other big events were planned as well.
Keep in mind, I said "less GA aircraft FLYING". You then quote Bureau of Aviation stats that say there are "more active" GA Aircraft over 1980-2019. Of course there is. They havent stopped making new planes. every year new planes produced are added to the registry. All that means is that more new planes are being added to the registry than the old ones are being crashed, parted out, junked or otherwise deregistered. That doesnt mean that Joe Schmoe who is the registered owner of a plane actually goes out and flies it. Since you like stats, I got one for you. from 2010 to 2020, there was a 30k reduction in certified Private Pilots in the US. less pilots = less flying. Yes there were +75 events planned. Some were "big" yes, but nothing like the shows from '89-'95
k5083 wrote:
BDK is right that there has been a shift in the nature of warbird ownership, especially at the high end, that was already well on its way by the late 80s. Ownership of the high-end warbirds has become more concentrated in fewer, more wealthy hands (just like the ownership of all of the nice stuff in America), and some of these large collections are more private than they were in the past. You may be seeing fewer warbirds at airshows; that's a natural consequence of one guy owning 25 warbirds, and only being able or inclined to bring 1 or 2 of them if any, versus if 25 different guys owned them, and several might be interested in going to a show. For similar reasons, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the average active warbird is flying fewer hours now. If you have a collection of 25 warbirds and aren't paying a staff of pilots to fly them, realistically you're likely to keep 3 or 4 active and annualled any given year. You aren't going to put the hours on all 25 of them that 25 different owners would.
August
so warbirds are flying less hours today than they were 20, 30 years ago? Isnt that what I said originally?