Average Ages of Common GA Aircraft

[rwanttaja]

Ran through the FAA registry and computed the average ages of some common GA aircraft, including homebuilts.

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Was surprised at how "young" some of the older designs, like the Kitfox and the Pietenpol, came out. Think these are getting de-registred at a higher rate, at which point they disappear from the plot.

Ron Wanttaja

[CarlOrton]

Ron; always enjoy your analyses. Any info on Zenith?

[rwanttaja]

Ron; always enjoy your analyses. Any info on Zenith?

Here's the same basic diagram, only with more homebuilts (including Zenith):
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Ron Wanttaja

[Dana]

Here's the same basic diagram, only with more homebuilts (including Zenith):
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Ron Wanttaja

How 'bout a scatter chart of the ages (or build date) for each aircraft?

[Aviatrexx]

Ron, from what source are you getting your info on Experimentals? An awful lot of them are registered under the builder's name, with no reference to the provider of the design/plans/kit.

[rwanttaja]

Ron, from what source are you getting your info on Experimentals? An awful lot of them are registered under the builder's name, with no reference to the provider of the design/plans/kit.

I use the downloadable FAA registration database. Most builders tend to use some sort of variation in the "common" name for the aircraft, and I search on that. For instance, I search for "RV-8" , "RV8", "RV 8", etc.

There are outlyers, of course. When developing my filters, I make them pretty general and narrow them down as needed to exclude other types.

Favorite case was a "BEDE-Four".....

Ron Wanttaja

[gmatejcek]

Hi Ron- Interesting stuff, as always. It's pretty telling that the Pitts and Stolps have such staying power, but I'm curious about the absence of the Steens. Any insights?

[rwanttaja]

Hi Ron- Interesting stuff, as always. It's pretty telling that the Pitts and Stolps have such staying power, but I'm curious about the absence of the Steens. Any insights?

Just didn't run them at the time...the process is not automatic. Skybolt average age is about 35 years.

Ron Wanttaja