Maxwell—I’m an airline pilot that came up in the general aviation private sector in the 1970’s and 80’s. I agree with your conclusions but some of the facts you cite are incorrect. I’d be happy to talk to you about this.
There was a civil aviation insurance crisis in the 1970s. Legal settlements got much more expensive, and aircraft makers were sued more frequently and for bigger sums. There were changing consumer attitudes towards liability and the court system accepted the new standards. A manufacturer could no longer argue that the FAA approval was sufficient to avoid liability.
The oil crises of the decade didn't help with avgas prices going through the roof and fuel sometimes not being available. Even if you already owned a plane, flying got a lot more expensive.
It wasn't about the FAA.
Modern "flying cars" had to wait for new battery and control technologies. The FAA has been pretty open to experimentation with these, but manufacturers have to work within the modern liability framework. If the dearth of flying cars was about the FAA, we'd be seeing all sorts of flying cars at Oshkosh.
This is an important observation, that unfortunately characterizes the direction technological progress has taken in the past few decades. The best way to describe what we are seeing is digital involution.
Maxwell—I’m an airline pilot that came up in the general aviation private sector in the 1970’s and 80’s. I agree with your conclusions but some of the facts you cite are incorrect. I’d be happy to talk to you about this.
Glad you liked the piece and I'm definitely eager to learn more! you can shoot me an email at maxwell.tabarrok@gmail.com
Not to mention planning & construction, energy & nuclear etc!
There was a civil aviation insurance crisis in the 1970s. Legal settlements got much more expensive, and aircraft makers were sued more frequently and for bigger sums. There were changing consumer attitudes towards liability and the court system accepted the new standards. A manufacturer could no longer argue that the FAA approval was sufficient to avoid liability.
The oil crises of the decade didn't help with avgas prices going through the roof and fuel sometimes not being available. Even if you already owned a plane, flying got a lot more expensive.
It wasn't about the FAA.
Modern "flying cars" had to wait for new battery and control technologies. The FAA has been pretty open to experimentation with these, but manufacturers have to work within the modern liability framework. If the dearth of flying cars was about the FAA, we'd be seeing all sorts of flying cars at Oshkosh.
Great article.
One note, though the difference in regulatory framework could be because flying is inherently much riskier than driving
There's a big difference between your airplane engine stopping running and your car engine.
This is an important observation, that unfortunately characterizes the direction technological progress has taken in the past few decades. The best way to describe what we are seeing is digital involution.
Read more here:
https://swiftenterprises.substack.com/p/digital-involution
https://swiftenterprises.substack.com/p/why-read-tom-swift