One session at the Gilder Telecosm had three aviation entrepreneurs who are involved in the production of small planes suitable for individual ownership or air taxi service, Cirrus, Eclipse, and Adam. For decades, the U.S. small plane market has stagnated, but new materials and improved avionics have cut small plane prices in half over the past half-decade, and are increasing the ease and safety of personal piloting. (Glenn Reynolds discusses the issue in a recent TCS.)

Think of the effect on living patterns when one can commute 500 miles easily and cheaply, or fly a long distance at a price comparable to current coach airfare, only in half the time. Small cities that are now remote become short hops away. And imagine the effect when piloting becomes easy enoiugh and safe enough so that a rental plane market develops, akin to the current rental car market.

This is not pie-in-the-sky stuff. The nation has at least 10,000 existing airports that can handle small planes, but fewer than 500 have any sort of regular service now. The plane makers say that venture money is already flowing into the air taxi business. Eclipse, for example, has 1600 planes on order from aspiring air taxi operators.

The Red Lodge, MT, field office of PFF may soon be a reality.

posted by James DeLong @ 7:15 AM | General

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