650 operations per day at the public airport where I'm based. Almost the same at another airport 5 miles away, and about half as many per day at a third airport 15 miles away. A lot of those operations are training Asian and Euro ATP-track pilots.
It's entirely correct that the post-war GI Bill generation is retiring from flying, but with lower aircraft prices and kitbuilts the private ownership scene is fine in the US - the kind of low grade paranoia you read here isn't a factor. The world is not ending, nor will it
I like optimists, but unfortunately, Silvaire, I think you are not really paying attention to what happenens in the US.
First of all however, the US and Europe have not much in common anymore politically. Those days are gone. Europe is moving to the Left at a frightening rate and success is something politicians here see as evil. People who fly airplanes are treated the same whether they fly a Gulfstream 5 or a Cessna 152: The class enemy which needs to be fought and shot out of the skies. That is how Italy for starters justify their randsom tax they charge, but that is the very opinion of quite a few governments these days.
These people will do anything they can to destroy GA as a symbol of capitalist evil. it is safe for them to do and it means they can show they accomplish something for the socialist and environmental good. The way people react today to news of a biz jet crash sais it all: "Good riddance, one bloody capitalist less." That was the general consensus in the European press after the Citation X crash at Egelsbach. Co-workers told me to my face that they loved the idea I had an airplane now because they hoped I would crash and die in it! That, my friend, is what the European general mob thinks of General Aviation.
You can not expect A N Y help of such people, any understanding or even reason. Hatred is not rational, look at the way people these days are manipulated into even killing themselfs for causes some political morons deem worthy. People are sheep. And we, to them, are the wulfs who eat the sheep if the hero politicians don't see that we are killed first.
In the US, do not be sure of anything unless you get a change in administration. The current administration thinks quite similar to some European leaders and even looks adoringly towards some of the EU burocommunist achievements. Therefore, unless somehting drastic happens, I would not be surprised if Obama overrules the FAA on this and will, for the sake of the environment and his socialist background, help decimate GA to even more insignificant numbers. You still have a good lobby there, which is the major difference to Europe where GA has NO lobby. Yet, most of the recent battles in the US were lost despite vocal outcries of AOPA anyhow.