You should be in no doubt GA in the UK is a financially marginal occupation.
I doubt whether there are any FBOs which make a reasonable profit. The same is true of licensed airfields, unless they have a significant level of commercial operations.
Moreover, over the least few years FBOs have seen their costs increase at a record level starving them of the capital to reinvest in a fleet already far beyond its best. Moreover the current credit squeeze will make it even more difficult to fall back on lease and hire purchase funding in a market place that will be hardest hit by recession given that the majority of punters consider flying a luxury.
Strip flyers are far from immune. How many strips are there with fuel or maintenance? The majority of strip flyers rely on these services being available form near by licensed fields.
FBO of course provide the majority of the income to licensed operators. Their operations are sufficiently marginal already that if you remove a layer of their training it may well make the difference between them surviving or not.
Private ownership will continue to fall as relative costs increase and owners are not prepared to “invest” in old aircraft with their associated unreliability and high cost of maintenance. Buy a new basic Cessna and fly the aircraft yourself around 50 hours a year and the hourly cost will already be nearly £500.
Contrast the UK with France and a very different picture emerges. FBO and local airports receive significant subsidies from local government. They are considered to provide a focal point for the local community. Whilst costs are high the need to realise profits is not as pronounced as in the UK.
It is a gloomy picture. Sad to say I wonder how much GA will exist in this country in ten years time.
There will be a pronounced shift to ULs operating on MOGAS, without the same demanding service regimes as GA. In the mean time we have to work together to preserve the income FBOs so vitally need to maintain their businesses whether we ourselves operate form a grass strip, have a share in a group owned aircraft or rent because each is dependant on the other.
So the IMC rating, the NPPL, a relaxation of the overly regulated fly training market and of maintenace are all vital components to the survival of GA in the UK. Each is as important as the other.