Biggest Barrier to Entry for Becoming a Pilot?

What do you think is the biggest barrier to entry for becoming a pilot?

  • Time

    Votes: 25 12.8%

  • Money

    Votes: 177 90.3%

  • Ability to Pass a Medical

    Votes: 10 5.1%
  • Total voters
    196
N918KT

N918KT

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What do you think is the biggest barrier to entry for becoming a pilot?

Time?

Money?

Passing the Medical?

I think these are the three barriers to entry for becoming a pilot. You may have two of these elements needed to become a pilot but not the third element at any point of time in your life. I believe the best chances of becoming a pilot is when you have all 3 elements on your side: time, money, and the ability to pass a medical.

For example, when you are a teenager, you may have time and the ability to pass a medical on your side, but not enough money as you may not have a job or may be working minimum wage part-time jobs at the time.

When you are an adult in your 30s or 40s you may still have the ability to pass the medical and money but no time since you may be busy with your full time job.

When you retire and are a senior citizen, you may have the time and money on your side, but as you age, your health deteriorates, unless you continue to exercise and eat right. So the ability to pass a medical decreases.
 
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Being an old guy,I'm not worried about the medical,can always go light sport. Time and money could be a problem,it's hard to have both.
 
Misinformation about the danger associated with flying. Then money........
 
None of the above. People are cowards, if they aren't their wives are, well they are still cowards then. There was a gselevator tweet recently about starting to watch one of the popular tv series on netflix starting with episode 1 or spending less time and getting a pilots license. Second reason is most people don't find regular GA all that much fun.
 
I listed time and money. Most of the people I talk to who want to become a pilot are lacing one of the two.
 
Money, if you have money and the medical, you can make the time if it's a priority. The other you missed is "spouse/significant other", that probably keeps more people out of aviation than the others.
 
Money!!! When you tell someone that wants to learn how to fly that it will cost around $10,000, they lose interest rather quickly.
 
Limited transportation utility of light aircraft, and that most of us don't need to travel that often.
 
Tried to start a flying club at my University of 6,000 people. I received about 12-15 messages from people who were interested. I told them how much it cost, and never heard from any of them again. MONEY!
 
FormerHangie said:
Limited transportation utility of light aircraft, and that most of us don't need to travel that often.
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I don't think that's the main barrier to becoming a pilot, I think that's the main reason for attrition of active pilots. The cost/utility benefit ratio of GA is extremely low except for a small group of pilots.
 
Limited transportation utility of light aircraft, and that most of us don't need to travel that often.
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I don't think that is the primary impediment to entry either.

I think that's the main reason for attrition of active pilots. The cost/utility benefit ratio of GA is extremely low except for a small group of pilots.
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I agree with Henning. People overestimate the time and money they will have available to run down to the beach on the weekend, etc. Life gets in the way and suddenly the airplane has sat in the hangar 3 (or 6) months or longer without being flown. I see a lot of those at my airport.
 
Henning said:
I don't think that's the main barrier to becoming a pilot, I think that's the main reason for attrition of active pilots. The cost/utility benefit ratio of GA is extremely low except for a small group of pilots.
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You're probably right. Learning to fly is a great experience, but if you don't have anywhere to go, you eventually lose the motivation to fly.
 
You're probably right. Learning to fly is a great experience, but if you don't have anywhere to go, you eventually lose the motivation to fly.
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That's probably why so many very experienced aviators, when they slow down or retire, get Cubs or Champs, etc. They don't really want to go anywhere anyway, but still want to experience the joy of aviating.
 
I have all kinds of places to go and GA will get you there, but commercial can only get you within about 100 miles.
I just don't have the funds anymore to go there.
 
somorris said:
I agree with Henning. People overestimate the time and money they will have available to run down to the beach on the weekend, etc. Life gets in the way and suddenly the airplane has sat in the hangar 3 (or 6) months or longer without being flown. I see a lot of those at my airport.
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I agree with that. There are two other components of the cost question. First, is that the spouse says "You spend XX,XXX on that airplane every year, I can spend that much on [insert other activity here]." Or else you find that while you can afford the airplane and the trips to the beach on the weekends, what you cannot afford is the addition of the hotel bills, restaurant tabs and shopping trips that coincide with those trips to the beach.
 
Time and money are minor barriers, but I think many wanna-be pilots lose it when they realize how "serious-business" flying is. They begin to realize the responsibility for their life and the lives of others. They realize flying is way more than being a free bird, with more regulations and technical issues than they were prepared for....
 
CT4ME said:
Time and money are minor barriers, but I think many wanna-be pilots lose it when they realize how "serious-business" flying is. They begin to realize the responsibility for their life and the lives of others. They realize flying is way more than being a free bird, with more regulations and technical issues than they were prepared for....
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In my experience there are lots of people who talk the talk, but are unwilling to walk the walk. Which brings us back to the cowardice mentioned by an earlier poster.

For reasons that escape me, our society has evolved into a system that openly postulates that eternal life is possible for everyone, but ONLY if we eliminate all risks.

This attitude can be seen everywhere, every day. It is personified by the "let's ban {fill in the blank}" crowd, because, after all, it's for the children. For some reason, these folks seem to believe that no one will ever die, if only they can get everyone to quit drinking, smoking, driving fast cars, eating fatty foods, diving off diving boards, playing football, drinking 64 ounce pops, having sex, hiking where ticks may live, laying in the sun, hunting, swimming in the ocean, using MEK to clean parts, shooting guns -- and a jillion other things that they have deemed to be too "dangerous" to be allowed.

When our kids are bombarded with this pansy-ass attitude every day, since birth, is it any wonder that so few wish to launch themselves bodily through the sky? They live in constant fear of...everything.
 
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That extends to vegans as well, "if I don't kill anything, I won't die..."
 
I didn't vote because it comes down to a matter of just how bad someone wants it. If they want to become a pilot bad enough, they will find a way. They will sacrifice things that otherwise take up their time and their money. If they are unable to work their way through the medical process, then they truly should not become a pilot. Otherwise, if there is a will, there is a way.... so I think the biggest thing preventing someone from becoming a pilot is the lack of will and prioritization.
 
FormerHangie said:
Limited transportation utility of light aircraft.
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Bull****. Last month did 7,000 mile trip in 5 days involving 8 time zone changes, north/south and east/west, lots of weather, crossing the Rockies, in a naturally aspirated piston twin.

And I did it all on schedule.
 
The people I know who have expressed interested but did not go ahead, both time and money were the reasons.
 
Money is everybodies go to excuse. Turn to the closest person, ask them if they want to go skydiving tomorrow. Now ask why not. Now offer to pay. Are they going skydiving tomorrow?
 
I would say it's money and lack of understanding of the risks associated with flying.

When people find out I'm a private pilot, 90% of the time they look at me like I'm some kind of base jumpers go daredevil or something. Then they ask how I could afford it. I explain that instead of buying a new Civic, I bought a 10 year old BMW and got my private pilot certificate.

It's not about winning the lottery, you just need to get your priorities strait.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
I guess I will answer my own thread.

For me, as much as I wanted to say the ability to pass a medical as the biggest barrier to entry, it is not the biggest barrier, since there is always sport pilot, gliders, and ultralights, all which of do not require medicals. There are ways to get your flying fix without passing a medical.

Right now, at this point in my life, time and money are my biggest barriers.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Bull****. Last month did 7,000 mile trip in 5 days involving 8 time zone changes, north/south and east/west, lots of weather, crossing the Rockies, in a naturally aspirated piston twin.

And I did it all on schedule.
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I'm glad that it's worked out for you, but as a VFR pilot flying light singles in the Southeast US, I've found that the only trips worth making are from 250- 500 miles, and my successful dispatch rate on those ran around 60 percent. Anything shorter was better done by car, anything longer by commercial airliner, and if you are wanting to fly November through March, the odds are you won't be able to make both of the legs without a weather delay.
 
I think for the vast majority of the population that have the spirit and the desire to learn to fly, the primary impediments are amoney and time, in that order.
 
FormerHangie said:
I'm glad that it's worked out for you, but as a VFR pilot flying light singles in the Southeast US, I've found that the only trips worth making are from 250- 500 miles, and my successful dispatch rate on those ran around 60 percent. Anything shorter was better done by car, anything longer by commercial airliner, and if you are wanting to fly November through March, the odds are you won't be able to make both of the legs without a weather delay.
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I've completed two very long cross country trips in the last few years. One from the deep southwest to Maine and return, one from the deep southwest to Alaska and return. I had zero weather delays on the trip to Alaska, although I did file IFR for one leg through heavy smoke in Montana, Idaho and northern Utah. I could have found a VFR path farther east at a lower altitude.

I had two delays for weather on my return from Maine. One I delayed until later in the day, the other I landed early for the day.

You can learn to deal with VFR travel and weather requirements. Granted my trip to Maine was in May, and to Alaska in August.
 
I found the biggest barrier to be a spouse (and likely kids if I had them). Got rid of the wife, freed up some time and money, and now living my dream.

That said, everyone knows learning to fly is expensive. What I didn't realize when I started was truly how much time it would take to get my license and stay proficient. If this wasn't a labor of love, I wouldn't have made it very far.
 
John Baker said:
Flying is a lot like sex, if you want it bad enough, you'll find a way.

-John
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Said the rapist?

Kind of a dangerous road to hoe with this particular analogy. ;)

Money, money, money. And a disbelieving spouse.
 
I think my iPhone ate my response.

Fear. Fear of all that crap. Being broke, ticking off the spouse, the dangers of flying, you name it.

It's all about fear. Fear is the barrier.
 
Tmpendergrass said:
I would say it's money and lack of understanding of the risks associated with flying.

When people find out I'm a private pilot, 90% of the time they look at me like I'm some kind of base jumpers go daredevil or something. Then they ask how I could afford it. I explain that instead of buying a new Civic, I bought a 10 year old BMW and got my private pilot certificate.

It's not about winning the lottery, you just need to get your priorities strait.
.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
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Truer words have rarely been spoken. People do what they want and make up excuses for why they can't. I am keeping my 1998 Civic and buying an airplane instead.
 
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Pappy said:
I found the biggest barrier to be a spouse (and likely kids if I had them). Got rid of the wife, freed up some time and money, and now living my dream.



That said, everyone knows learning to fly is expensive. What I didn't realize when I started was truly how much time it would take to get my license and stay proficient. If this wasn't a labor of love, I wouldn't have made it very far.
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Proof that aviation does't cause divorce, but divorce does cause aviation.
 
After the marriage ceremony, my wife looked at my flight bag and said "now that we're married, you should put that flight gear in the attic."

I looked at her with a shocked and horrified expression and said "oh my God, for a minute there, you sounded like my ex-wife!"

She said "I didn't know you were married before!!!"

I said "I wasn't".
 
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