Originally Posted by
Sunfish
43 inches;
I think a little engineering advice might help you.
1) In terms of the actual aerodynamic design of subsonic piston engined aircraft, the science is cut and dried, meaning the trade - offs are known. In other words, no one is likely to come up with an aerodynamic design that ticks all existing performance boxes and has twice the performance. Materials, Engines and avionics are a different matter. The changes in Avionics are amazing, Carbon fibre is here and there is steady incremental progress in engines. So in terms of pure technology, we are stuck with incremental improvements. I am told for example that the performance of a thirty year old Bonanza design is not too different from a Cirrus. The laws of physics don’t change much
2) The cost of certifying a new design is simply horrendous.
3) Some technological advances are not applicable to small piston engined aircraft, like variable valve timing etc. because the aircraft engine duty cycle is very different to an automobile. New battery technology, enabling greater performance and a better power to weight ratio and greater range would be a game changing stimulant for new designs.
Therefore the tendency is to leave things alone.
Engine and luxury quality of aircraft is what has caused the problem. The people that can afford to invest in GA type aircraft are not interested, as the technology is only just coming to terms with the modern world, at a time fixed wing types are being overhauled by the up and coming easy to fly drone style vehicles. In all seriousness GA needed to have car level technology and lots of automation by the late 90s to be relevant. Instead it was barely two years out of the 1950s in engine tech, comfort levels and ease of flying.
Selling luxury vehicles is not all about performance, its about styling, status, comfort and a many other things. GA aircraft are firmly in the luxury market due to cost, otherwise the only other market is training. GA lost complete touch with the elitist market it needed to maintain to have reliable sales, so its now a dying hobby or training industry. Both with not much interest in touring to make the airport network viable outside of regional airline ports bar a few lucky locations that have bucked the trends with LSA/RAA or whatever its called these days.
On point 2 that is just unfortunately lack of market problems, again as the industry died back in about 1979. It's just been rotting away since waiting for someone to finally bin it. Cirrus is a good example that there was a continued market for GA types, but too late to push the others into real competition to produce anything of substance.