My friend, the 2026 Cessna 182 is basically the same airplane as it was in 1975, with digital screens instead of analog gauges, except now it costs about $750,000.

That's a whopping $735,000 increase over its base price of ~$15,000 USD back in 1975 for a brand-new airplane.

I promise, those avionics aren't worth $735,000. We've just gotten much, much poorer.

EDIT: Heck, if this doesn't convince you, here's another set of numbers:

1. $15,000 of 1975 dollars is about ~$95,000 of 2026 dollars

2. A heavily used 1975 Cessna 182 today costs about $150,000

> with a much higher chance of dying in 1975 Cessna 182

Tell me you're not a pilot without telling me...

What improvements in GA since 1975? They are very slow to change from what I understand. There are a ton of airframes from that era still flying today.

I mean, yeah at the top end things have gotten nicer.