Lowell wrote

…Frankly, I doubt a factory built non certificated complex high 

performance aircraft is in the cards.  It satisfies too few needs in aviation. 

Certainly it is desired by some, but there is always the issue of wants 

vs. needs.  Unlike Light Sport Pilot and Light Sport Aircraft, there just isn't the need.   The EAA might want to help carry the issue, but I suspect if the idea was presented to the EAA membership for a vote, it wouldn't have a prayer as the EAA, despite its name is highly populated by a group of amateur builders who are not particularly eager to see their hobby diluted by a number of high rollers who watch their airplane
 being built through e-mail attachments.

Imagine that we selected 10,000 high performance cars off the highway at random. Count the number that were built by the driver, my guess is less than 10. For those who do build their own, the cost may exceed the cost of a mass produced car of similar performance.

If modern factory built high performance planes were available at competitive pricing, I believe the ratio of commercial to homebuilts would be similar. If I am off by a factor of 10 or even 100 that still leaves a huge untapped market.

We were selling 10,000-15,000 expensive low tech certified GA planes per year in the 70’s. If there was a non-certified category in which manufacturers offered modern high performance personal aircraft at a modest price, the market would be much greater than 15,000 planes per year.

As those new sport pilots move up only a small fraction are going to want to build their next airplane. Given todays environment they will have to;

Bite the bullet and start building, or

Hire a helper wink wink, to build for them, or

Buy a used amature built plane of uncertain quality (did he really remove all of the peal ply from that spar web?).

I would like to see a vote by EAA members on the idea of a new non-certified category. As Lowell points out, it’s a bit like asking the Amish to vote on a new interstate highway, but I think most would recognize that homebuilders have much to gain. A big increase in GA activity would;

Help keep airports open and build new ones.

Fund new sources for engines, instrument, structural materials etc. that homebuilders could tap into.

Take the amateur built experimentals out of the spotlight, reducing the risk of further restrictions on them.

Allow the aging corroding cracking fleet of GA aircraft to move on the recyclers, increasing the supply of used engines and parts for amateur builders.

Most importantly it would provide more political clout to resist overregulation. The greater the number of people who can avoid big airport hassles and watch the earth slide by under their personal plane from 1,000 feet, the better protected our freedom is.