News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on The High-Stakes Race to Build the World’s First Flying Taxi. Parent comment

Re:The High-Stakes Race to Build the World’s First Flying Taxi by FabHK on Tuesday November 05, 2019 @06:34PM (#21458062)
> Fixed wing aircraft are popular

Even so, only about 1000 single engine piston airplanes are sold every year.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The High-Stakes Race to Build the World’s First Flying Taxi by Robotbeat on Tuesday November 05, 2019 @10:11PM (#21459422)
But they last forever. For instance, there are still lots of single engine Piper Cubs (popular in Alaska for STOL capability) from the 1940s maintained, in use, and for sale:

https://www.controller.com/listings/aircraft/for-sale/list/m...

(Additionally, a lot of general aviation aircraft have moved to turboprop in the last few decades.)

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The High-Stakes Race to Build the World’s First Flying Taxi by FabHK on Wednesday November 06, 2019 @08:52AM (#21462540)
It's about 500 single-engine turboprops per year.

You're right, they last forever, and so the market for new aircraft is tiny. Really a vicious circle: high costs lead to low volume leads to high costs.

[ Parent | on HN ]