why was GA bigger (50-80's)?

my typical answer to what I was flying ( when ground speed could be obscene ) was either single engine recip or recip just to bait center... flying a pressurized recip twin would throw center off as well when getting a monster push for obscene ground speeds... my best one every was when I was flying a P-51 with a big push, I asked for higher and IFR they cleared me to FL25 ( from 18 ), did a max climb, called back to say level at 25... there was an affirmative with a big question mark and silence (open mike )... what kind of jet are you ? military ?... no ! single engine recip... followed with a period of "WTF" silence... ( I have mentioned this here before )... the guys in center need a little levity every once in a while... it's bad when the controllers start to recognize your voice

give a controller a ride when it's convenient... they have no cockpit time, it gives them an opportunity to see what is going on... sometime they need to go somewhere other times they will just go along for the oportunity to observe... you can engage them on duty and work out details on the ground... it is encouraged / approved by the FAA

 

In 1997 I was paying less than $1.00 per gal. for Jet A. I remember getting mad when I had to pay $1.02 per gal. Now it is $7.00 + per gal. With taxes, flow fees, and other BS charges I don't understand, it costs $8000.00 to fill the tanks on my little POS Citation. Fuel has gone from the smallest operating cost to the largest. Then you have homeland security and and their flying monkeys,(Commonly referred to as the TSA), breathing down your neck trying to justify their existence with crap like their LASP plans for private operators. I had just got my plane out of the shop after a Phase 5 inspection. During the inspection, I had my leading edges repainted thanks to knuckle head line people who like to rest the fuel nozzle on the wing when you are not looking. I flew into the Chaparral Jet Center in Lubbock, TX. I get to my hotel room and my phone rings. It is the FAA. They informed me that they ramped my plane and grounded it because I did not have the stickers on my wings by the fuel tanks that indicate the quantity of the tanks. This was because the wings were just painted and I was waiting for them to totally cure before applying the stickers. Really? Ground me for a couple of stickers? Then they were going to write me up on some kind of a report that would stay on my record for two years. But, they didn't. They told me Merry Christmas from the FAA. I have been flying for 36 years with no incidents and I was going to get written up for missing stickers?
So why is GA not as large as it was in the 50's thru the 80's?
1: Cost are ridiculous.
2: The BS is so deep you can no longer walk through it, you must swim through it.
3: Flying is just not as fun as it was back then.