Hi Flying bear,
Spot on about the Boomerangs. they are great, sturdy little trainers and will be around for years to come unlike some of the LSA types that came out around the same time.
My advice is to adapt to the conditions rather than be wistful about the good old days, they are gone, it's a different industry now, a different market. RA Aus dealt a massive blow when they were able to start operating in Class D.
Same as any other business, there is nothing special about a flying school, if you don't keep an eye on your gross margins and lumber yourself with massive overheads you are going to go broke, it's pretty simple.
Spinex I had a stude came from another school yesterday, we did our fuel calcs for the flight as we do each time and also worked out that every time he went flying at the other school they had been about 60kg overweight.
If we have a stude who is more than 95 kg we have to use a four seater to stay within weight limits and carry enough fuel and reserves. The average bod is definately much heavier these days!