[svarlamov]

G1000s are great, but it's disappointing that just about everything else has remained basically unchanged on GA aircraft for the last 30+ years. I hope that we will see some actual innovation in GA engines, airframes, and fuels soon. Fuels might be the most promising for the near-term.

[V99]

The innovation/future exists, but is not evenly distributed. For example Diamond planes [1] have:

  - The same G1000 (NXi)
  - A composite body
  - Jet-fuel burning engines adapted from recent Mercedes diesels
  - Computer control of that engine through one knob instead of managing the throttle/mixture/prop separately like cavemen
  - Crash testing, like impact absorbing seat structure and separately enclosed fuel tank modules that are unlikely to rupture instead of just filling the wing.

And a new one costs about the same as a new Cessna 172 that's been essentially unchanged since the 60's except for the G1000 like you said.

But "the same" is a pretty nice house in most of the country (~$600k) so everything is hand-built, so costs are high, demand is kept low. Commercial students trying to get their 1500hrs mostly just need the lowest cost, not the nicest or safest.

Another big area of innovation and also lower costs is in experimentals and/or light-sport. LSAs should be getting a lot more capable soon with MOSAIC [2]

[1]: https://www.diamondaircraft.com/en/private-owners/aircraft/d... [2]: https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2023/july/25/mo...

[pqdbr]

Half a year ago I asked around about the price of a DA62 I’m Brazil and it would be in the range of 1.6M USD (8M BRL).

Did the price you quote (600k USD) was for the single engine model? If so, how much would a DA62 cost you in the US?

[dceddia]

Not cheap! Just checking on Trade-A-Plane and they're like $1.3m USD on the low end :/ https://www.trade-a-plane.com/filtered/search?s-type=aircraf...

A 2021 DA40 with Garmin glass is around $625K https://www.trade-a-plane.com/search?category_level1=Single+...

[V99]

Yes a new DA40NG is around $600k, as is a new Cessna 172. A new DA62 is well into $1.5m with the options you'd want if spending that kind of money, and a 2-year wait last I heard.

Meanwhile you could build something like a Velocity V-Twin well-equipped for under half a million. Paying for certified lawyering is expensive.

[ryandrake]

Nearly all the innovation in general aviation, particularly regarding situational awareness and safety, is happening in the Experimental category. Moving maps, synthetic vision/terrain alerts, ADS-B in and out, engine monitoring, airspeed-aware electronic trim control, fuel injection, electronic ignition, FADEC systems... yes, all are available on newer certificated planes for $,$$$,$$$, but much more affordable and accessible in the Experimental world. And, the builder/owner can install and configure everything himself. Garmin's latest G3X update includes the ability to use rudimentary set/clear logic signals to do if-this-and-that type CAS alerts, and configure your gauges to behave differently during different phases of flight. All owner-configurable.