Skycatcher economics
Here's another possible reason the Skycatcher has an O-200 instead of a Rotax. In 1999, the Euro was 80 US cents, so the 10,000 Euro Rotax cost $8,000. Currently, the Euro is at about $1.50, so the SAME engine now costs $15,000, almost double. If this keeps up, people will be refitting Rotax engined airplanes with O-200s because the O-200 will be much less expensive.
Incidentally, the O-200 is far from a "bad, antique, inefficient" engine. If you've ever had one apart, you'd see that quite a bit of engineering talent went into it, and it is quite carefully made. Just because it wasn't designed on a computer doesn't mean it is junk - there's an awful lot of very good equipment running around that was originally designed with slide rules.
Dual magnetos, while an "old fashioned" solution to the problem are quite dependable. Carburetors work, too. One of the big advantages of these "archaic" systems is that you can get them fixed almost anywhere your airplane will take you. When electronic ignitions and fuel injection systems stop working, you are STUCK.
Certification by the FAA (or CAA or whoever) is the guarantee that this aircraft is "safe" to ride in. Cost is not part of the equation here, no one is offering "half safe" airplanes for lower cost. The old technology is proven to be safe. Eventually, newer stuff will be certified, proven as safe, but remember that "new" cuts no mustard - it is "safe" that is the goal here.
Aluminum panels and rivets are also a more cost effective system for airplanes of this type. Sure, plastic airplanes go faster because they are smoother, but do you buy a trainer to go fast? Why spend extra money for features not needed? In addition, trainers often have hard lives - any shop can fix crinkled aluminum, but composites are not as easy yet.
Cessna isn't stupid, they have been around a long time by carefully defining their market and providing products as needed. The Skycatcher is alleged to have 700 orders to date - if that's correct, please consider that the entire population of certified aircraft in the whole UK - according to FTN - is only about 10,000! Cessna has orders in hand equaling almost 10% of the entire UK fleet, and the Skycatcher isn't even available for delivery yet.
Cessna could build a plastic-fantastic-glass-panel turbo-wankel-diesel if they wanted to - but they don't because there's no REAL market for it other than wannabes. In the real world, the people who actually BUY AIRPLANES keep Cessna (and everyone else) in business. They have to sell what people will actually buy, not what enthusiasts like to endlessly talk about but never manage to stump up the cash to place an order.
Get used to the Skycatcher, you'll be seeing a lot of them.
Best Regards,
Echo Mike
(with an antique aluminum and rivets C150, with a paleolithic O-200 and steam gauges, but it is PAID FOR and it is MINE and it FLIES.)