Hi Skydog-
The economy hasn't dampened the flying as far as I can tell, but being retired, I don't get around that many of the "still working" folks. Those that are on a fixed income such as myself still fly, and recently fuel prices have dropped quite a bit from what they were. For instance, I paid $4.93 per gallon for a 275 gallon fuel delivery a year ago (for the bulk tank at my hangar) and now the price at a nearby airport has dropped to $3.26 per gallon. Even though it is delivered, the fuel price is always about the same as that at an airport. I also see planes on the market here, but the Sport Pilot ruling that allows older folks, or medically-challenged folks such as myself to fly an LSA (I had a 5-way heart-bypass surgery in 2001, and did not want to try to train for Private Pilot), has made some of the older, lighter aircraft such as J-3 Cubs, certain Ercoupes, certain Aeroncas, etc., eligible for this market, and those planes are now the hot item in the used aircraft market.
I've flown to Oshkosh the last two years, as it is only about 407 Statute miles for me, going around Chicago, and taking 3.6 hours on my return flight last year...I just checked my log book. Four months after I got my Sport Pilot certificate, I built skis for my Kitfox and flew up to Oshkosh for their annual Skiplane Fly-in, then returned home via the northern route which takes you around Lake Michigan...I'm too smart/chicken to fly over the water of Lake Michigan. That return trip took 7.1 hours total, and the outside temperature showed six degrees F. below zero at one point...I took a picture of the OAT reading when it got that low.
Oshkosh is really great. They have a "Homebuilder's Review" each year, in which a person who has built their plane can fly it in front of the huge crowd just before the main Airshow. The planes are spaced about a minute apart so the announcer can tell the crowd a little bit about the plane as it flies a couple hundred feet off the deck as it passes down the flightline. There were two flights last year and I flew in them both. About 17 planes participated in each flight, making two passes each flight. You are only in the air for about 6 minutes, but being able to say that you made a flight in front of the crowd at Oshkosh is a tale worth telling over and over.
Lynn