Getting more young people into flying (and why SPL is really great)

jpower

jpower

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James
Hello everyone! New member here.

First of all, a little bit of background on my flying experience and on why, contrary to what I have heard from many people, SPL actually does fill a niche other than for people who can't obtain a medical. First things first: I'm 18 and have always loved anything that flies, especially airplanes. [Note: upon rereading, is actually quite a lot of background. Feel free to skip.] For those who are familiar with the Dulles Day / Plane Pull event, that's what first got me hooked about 11 years ago. For those who aren't from the DC area, Dulles sponsors an event each year to raise money for the Virginia Special Olympics. Basically, teams compete to see who can pull a FedEx cargo plane (usually a 727) 12 feet in the shortest amount of time. In addition to raising money, this event lets the public on the tarmac so they can experience aviation (including GA) firsthand.

Anyway, ever since then, I've been hooked. I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I knew I was going to get a pilot's license (*cough* certificate) at some point. The trouble was that my parents weren't about to shell out thousands of dollars for their kid to go flying. They did, however, keep my interest fueled by letting me fly a 172 at Dulles Aviation at Manassas Regional Airport once a year (this was my major birthday present). This was always a highlight of my year.

Flash forward to the summer of 2010, when I got a job through my school at Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, VA. I didn't know that they would pay me, but surprise! When the offer letter came, I learned that I would indeed be paid for my work there over the summer. I OBVIOUSLY knew what I was going to do with it--fly! Only trouble--the PPL is waaayyyy too expensive. I started looking into the SPL, and found that I would have just enough to finish. I did a little poking around and found Chesapeake Sport Pilot at Bay Bridge Airport (W29) on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It's a serious drive for me to get out there, but I was able to do it! While I'm on the subject, I should definitely mention that they're a really fantastic outfit over there--all the instructors at CSP are absolutely top notch. My instructor had 25,000 hours of experience--not something you find at most flight schools to my knowledge. The instructor I flew with a few times when mine was out of town had 18,000 hours and Navy experience to boot. This sort of experience is not out of the ordinary for CSP.

The summer I was working, I could only fly on the weekends and didn't have enough time to finish up. I got within one lesson of soloing before the senior year of high school took over my life. At the end of senior year, my school allows students to take off the last month of school to complete a "senior project" of their choosing, so long as it has some educational merit. Guess what I chose.... [Extremely] long story short[er], I ended up finishing up at the end of this past summer due to weather, airplanes being down for maintenance, etc., and am now a freshman at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor studying aerospace engineering. None of this would have been possible without the SPL, so if any of those SPL naysayers lurk here (I don't know if they do), I wouldn't be flying without it, and that is proof enough for me that it is in fact a fantastic advancement in the regs.


Phew. End of background.


Now on to what I really intended to post about. Getting young (under 20 or so) people into flying. There are no young people training at Chesapeake Sport Pilot right now, and I know of only one other person my age who flies (he's soloed, but not taken a ride yet), and he lives on my hall. When I get home for summer break in April, I'll be going into a high school aviation class to talk to kids who are getting all their ground school done for free, because from what I understand, it is surprisingly difficult to get them to take that next step and actually get into an airplane.

So my question for for you all is this: how can we get more young people into aviation? I've been pondering this for a while, and if I was able to get a SPL, there's no reason at all other decently motivated people of my age shouldn't be able to. Money was my biggest problem, because my parents wouldn't finance my flying. Solution? I got a job. Time was also a problem. Solution? Summer break, which works wonders up through college.

Young Eagles flights work for a bit to get kids interested--I went for one when I was 10 and still distinctly remember the other kids grinning ear to ear when they walked back to the terminal building from the airplanes. But then the enthusiasm seems to wear off....

So here's what this all boils down to--my two overall questions ("Finally!" I hear you shout. Yes, finally!)

1) Why don't we have many young (<20 ish) people interested in flying?
and more importantly,
2) What can we do to make young people more interested in flying?

Looking forward to hearing what you have to say! Hopefully we can get a very interesting discussion going here.
 
If you want people under 20 to be interest, aviation needs to be more attainable. It's far too expensive a proposition for a kid to take on without some sort of loan unless somehow costs were to dramatically drop.
Getting their attention is another big deal. Good luck with that with all the crap on tv kids eat up like chocolate and cheeseburgers. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, just realistic. FWIW personally, I knew I wanted to fly from my father working at a major international airport in their operations division, which meant aviation all the time, going to the airport with dad, etc. (I used to catch crap about it actually, from teachers unhappy about the planes I drew in margins, and fellow students who thought I was somehow nerdy because of it). Most of my peers were more interested in sports, or later on in h.s. sex, sports, cars, alcohol, or drugs...or various combinations of all of them.
 
jpower said:
1) Why don't we have many young (<20 ish) people interested in flying?
and more importantly,
2) What can we do to make young people more interested in flying?
Click to expand...
If I was going to take a stab at it I would say money is the biggest obstacle for young people. That plus the fact that there are so many other adventure activities which have less of a barrier to entry.

But it would be good to hear from other young people because old farts like me are just guessing. :D

I got my private when I was 20 (a long time ago) at a college flying club. Even so, I was pretty much the youngest and one of the only undergrads. Most of the other club members were staff, faculty or alumni, with a few grad students.
 
So many things we used to have to work for are now available with little time and effort invested. Someone under 20 has to have really caught the bug to be willing to put in the work and expense which is still required for a pilot certificate.

Glad you were one of them!
 
There are more aviation-related high schools each year. Wings over the Rockies Museum is planning to support a charter school specializing in aviation in the next few years. Plus there are a growing number of aviation programs in many of the schools. It's a grass roots effort, and one of the most practical.
 
Everskyward said:
If I was going to take a stab at it I would say money is the biggest obstacle for young people. That plus the fact that there are so many other adventure activities which have less of a barrier to entry.
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I agree with the money aspect. I delayed getting my PPL for a while until I could afford it. But that leads to the question what can be done to make it more affordable? The Sport Pilot, which requires a few less hours of training, is a good start, but I think getting the cost of the airplane rental down would help. LSA's around here (Colorado) rent for about the same as an older 172/Archer (but the LSAs are newer).

It seems like if you start with a used LSAs, it would be possible to get the hourly cost down significantly (especially buring 4-5 gal/hour of autogas), but I don't know all of the other costs (insurance, etc.).
 
I dunno. Getting kids interested is going to be hard for all the reasons above. Especially if the "kids" parents do any sort of research on the topic. What's the statistic these days - 50-70% of those who start flight training drop out. (I almost became a statistic but that's another story) I doubt they'd let little "Johnny" go start something invest $5-6k in something just for them to dropout of it. I got lucky - I got married and had gift money to spend to work on mine. I presume alot of kids say they want to do ballet/jazz/basketball and the parents shelled out the money for those activities and then the kids quit. Got to find a way to get the kids early and keep them interested. (With the outside influences that'll be an uphill challenge)

Yes I'm doing my PPL because the LSA wouldn't meet my needs. (My husband is a IFR pilot and we actually want to take trips together and I want to help him fly some of the legs)
 
The answer is simple, cost, and SP has done nothing significant to address the high cost of aviating. There is another factor that will be hard for you to accept, most people have no desire to fly and if it wasn't for the speed of travel on an airline, they would never fly.
 
jpower said:
1) Why don't we have many young (<20 ish) people interested in flying?
and more importantly,
2) What can we do to make young people more interested in flying?

Looking forward to hearing what you have to say! Hopefully we can get a very interesting discussion going here.
Click to expand...

Hello and welcome!

There isn't a cure-all but I know for my friends and I it was simply information and experience. I had an okay opinion, went to a local, small airshow (Referring to the College Park Airshow. JSOH at KADW, wasn't the best GA show) and found out about GA there. I saw a Piper Cub, Waco,Stearman,T-6,T-28, C172,150, all kinds of machines. The T-28 was the hell yeah push.

Personally I think it has to do with

  • Misinformation
  • Costs
  • Parental Concerns
  • Fear
I thought that small aircraft were for millionaires. I thought that the people flying them were all ex-AF. My mom swore up and down that it was not safe. When I pointed out her driving and car vs. aircraft accidents I got the green light. Fear! The interesting thing about fear is that younger people tend to be fearless, we are "invincible" right? Wrong.

I think the sweet spot would be post kids tv shows-before girls become #1!!!

About 10-15 is a good range IMO. Plus this enables the potential student to set aside money,define interest, as well as giving them a heads up to prepare.
 
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Well Greg, I don't disagree, but I think the real cure will be to introduce the girls, then the boys will follow. The cheapest and earliest way is to get into a glider club, you'll be flying a Pawnee soon enough.
 
Henning said:
Well Greg, I don't disagree, but I think the real cure will be to introduce the girls, then the boys will follow. The cheapest and earliest way is to get into a glider club, you'll be flying a Pawnee soon enough.
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You know I was telling my friend that if someone would get that Bieber kid into a Cessna about 4.5 million girls would follow. That would ruin aviation's respect a bit though so :dunno:

Ah yes, I forgot to mention, GLIDERS! The easiest way in! Cheap thrills, it might also solve some drug addictions.
 
Thanks for your thoughts! Interesting.

Henning said:
The answer is simple, cost, and SP has done nothing significant to address the high cost of aviating. There is another factor that will be hard for you to accept, most people have no desire to fly and if it wasn't for the speed of travel on an airline, they would never fly.
Click to expand...

Not to "feed the animals," but I disagree with the first part of that. CSP rents Tecnam Eaglets (one with a glass panel)--all very nice airplanes--for $90/hr. Sky Arrows rent for $80/hr. Take the guys next door, Trident. Their 152 rents out for $94/hr. And of course, SP requires substantially less initial investment. Again, I don't want to feed the animals, but I do want to defend SP, because it allowed me to fly.

And obviously there are people who just don't have any interest. I don't want to force it down their throats. I just think that they should be exposed to it so that they have the opportunity to catch the bug. And if more younger people are exposed to it AND are told that yes, they CAN learn to fly if they are motivated.

Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
I assume you are aware of http://www.uofmflyers.org/
Click to expand...

Yup, just haven't gotten a chance to visit them yet. I definitely plan to before this semester is up.

bigblockz8 said:
Ah yes, I forgot to mention, GLIDERS! The easiest way in! Cheap thrills, it might also solve some drug addictions.
Click to expand...

See, my parents would feel much less comfortable about me flying gliders, though it's obviously the easiest and least expensive way to fly. So I'm not sure how that would work with other parents.

bigblockz8 said:
Hello and welcome!

There isn't a cure-all but I know for my friends and I it was simply information and experience. I had an okay opinion, went to a local, small airshow (Referring to the College Park Airshow. JSOH at KADW, wasn't the best GA show) and found out about GA there. I saw a Piper Cub, Waco,Stearman,T-6,T-28, C172,150, all kinds of machines. The T-28 was the hell yeah push.

Personally I think it has to do with

  • Misinformation
  • Costs
  • Parental Concerns
  • Fear
I thought that small aircraft were for millionaires. I thought that the people flying them were all ex-AF. My mom swore up and down that it was not safe. When I pointed out her driving and car vs. aircraft accidents I got the green light. Fear! The interesting thing about fear is that younger people tend to be fearless, we are "invincible" right? Wrong.

I think the sweet spot would be post kids tv shows-before girls become #1!!!

About 10-15 is a good range IMO. Plus this enables the potential student to set aside money,define interest, as well as giving them a heads up to prepare.
Click to expand...

I saw on another thread that you're also young? Nice to know that there are others out there. If you went to the JSOH, do you live in the DC area? If so, where are you flying?

Anyway, I agree entirely with your four reasons that younger people don't fly. In my case, the biggest obstacles were cost and the parents. It didn't work to tell my parents that the most dangerous part of flying is driving to the airport. I'm not quite sure how they managed to argue with statistics, but oh well. I guess working on them for so long finally did it :).

Cost though was another issue. If you don't mind me asking, how are you funding your flying, Greg? My parents wouldn't pay for more than a very little share. They helped me out here and there (I got a couple of hours for my birthday, for example), but it was probably about 97% me. Which granted, feels really really good.

Also, I totally agree about the 10-15 (well, maybe more like 13-15). Trouble is, how can they keep their interest alive? For me, it was a passion that wasn't going away--I caught the bug early. But someone who goes for a Young Eagles flight might just say, "That's cool!" and then forget about it, most likely because of cost and parents. From what I understand, that's what kids in an aviation class close to Chesapeake Sport Pilot are doing.

What I'm trying to brainstorm are ways to keep those people who say "That's cool!" from walking away because of costs or parents. Any ideas?
 
So my last reply got eaten by the gremlins living in the computers. Here goes again.

Henning said:
The answer is simple, cost, and SP has done nothing significant to address the high cost of aviating. There is another factor that will be hard for you to accept, most people have no desire to fly and if it wasn't for the speed of travel on an airline, they would never fly.
Click to expand...

I definitely understand that some people just don't have any desire to fly. That's okay. I don't want to force it down their throats. I only want them to have the opportunity to catch the bug. Regarding the first part of your statement, I disagree. As empirical evidence, I wouldn't be flying without SP. Plain and simple. It's less expensive. More quantitatively, here are some numbers. Chesapeake Sport Pilot rents Tecnam Eaglets for $90/hr hobbs, all of which are really nice (one has a glass panel for $95/hr on the tach). They have Sky Arrows for $80/hr. The school next door, Trident, rents out their 152 for $94/hr. Less expensive per hour, fewer total hours required...sounds less expensive to me! I don't mean to feed the animals...I just want to defend the way I was able to fly.

Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
I assume you are aware of http://www.uofmflyers.org/
Click to expand...

Yup, just haven't gotten the chance to visit them yet. Definitely plan to before the semester's up.

bigblockz8 said:
Hello and welcome!

There isn't a cure-all but I know for my friends and I it was simply information and experience. I had an okay opinion, went to a local, small airshow (Referring to the College Park Airshow. JSOH at KADW, wasn't the best GA show) and found out about GA there. I saw a Piper Cub, Waco,Stearman,T-6,T-28, C172,150, all kinds of machines. The T-28 was the hell yeah push.

Personally I think it has to do with

  • Misinformation
  • Costs
  • Parental Concerns
  • Fear
I thought that small aircraft were for millionaires. I thought that the people flying them were all ex-AF. My mom swore up and down that it was not safe. When I pointed out her driving and car vs. aircraft accidents I got the green light. Fear! The interesting thing about fear is that younger people tend to be fearless, we are "invincible" right? Wrong.

I think the sweet spot would be post kids tv shows-before girls become #1!!!

About 10-15 is a good range IMO. Plus this enables the potential student to set aside money,define interest, as well as giving them a heads up to prepare.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with you about almost all of that. From another thread, I see that you're young too? And maybe in the DC area, if you went to ADW's JSOH? If so, where are you doing your flying?

Anyway, cost was my number one issue, followed by parents. My mom especially thinks that flying GA airplanes is just asking to crash (you should have seen her when I took her only once around the pattern) and I assume other parents would have similar opinions.

Age-wise, I would think that slightly older (13-15 maybe) would be best for most people. Any younger and it seems to me like they might have too much time to lose interest.

bigblockz8 said:
Ah yes, I forgot to mention, GLIDERS! The easiest way in! Cheap thrills, it might also solve some drug addictions.
Click to expand...

See, I doubt that would fly (no pun intended) with my parents...the idea of not having an engine would be problematic, methinks.

Anyway, from my experience and what I've heard, it seems like cost and parents seem to be the main problems. The relatively high costs and tepidity of the parents seem to make younger folks loose that enthusiasm that I remember from taking my Young Eagles flight. So that's my question, basically--how can we make sure that kids who DO have this enthusiasm KEEP it? How can we show them that flying is indeed something they CAN do? How can we assure parents that flying is something they WANT their younger kids doing?
 
jpower said:
So my last reply got eaten by the gremlins living in the computers. Here goes again.



I definitely understand that some people just don't have any desire to fly. That's okay. I don't want to force it down their throats. I only want them to have the opportunity to catch the bug. Regarding the first part of your statement, I disagree. As empirical evidence, I wouldn't be flying without SP. Plain and simple. It's less expensive. More quantitatively, here are some numbers. Chesapeake Sport Pilot rents Tecnam Eaglets for $90/hr hobbs, all of which are really nice (one has a glass panel for $95/hr on the tach). They have Sky Arrows for $80/hr.
Click to expand...


I don't deny that there are people flying SP who wouldn't otherwise be flying, and I intend to detract nothing from their ability to fly, I just point out that in the greater picture of GA, your numbers are not particularly significant to the overall scale. I also point out that $80hr is expensive.
 
jpower said:
Totally agree with you about almost all of that. From another thread, I see that you're young too? And maybe in the DC area, if you went to ADW's JSOH? If so, where are you doing your flying?

Anyway, cost was my number one issue, followed by parents. My mom especially thinks that flying GA airplanes is just asking to crash (you should have seen her when I took her only once around the pattern) and I assume other parents would have similar opinions.

Age-wise, I would think that slightly older (13-15 maybe) would be best for most people. Any younger and it seems to me like they might have too much time to lose interest.


See, I doubt that would fly (no pun intended) with my parents...the idea of not having an engine would be problematic, methinks.

Anyway, from my experience and what I've heard, it seems like cost and parents seem to be the main problems. The relatively high costs and tepidity of the parents seem to make younger folks loose that enthusiasm that I remember from taking my Young Eagles flight. So that's my question, basically--how can we make sure that kids who DO have this enthusiasm KEEP it? How can we show them that flying is indeed something they CAN do? How can we assure parents that flying is something they WANT their younger kids doing?
Click to expand...

I've mainly been flying from Freeway Airport (W00), haven't seen other teens there though. I know of two or three but haven't seen them around.

Gliders are rather hard to get parent consent for. On my last glider flight (the first with my mom there) the tow rope was run over twice while being moved by the towplane. I was also wearing a parachute and my mom already hates small airplanes, you try getting permission to fly in a glider!

Never took a Young Eagles flight. Contacted the local chapters, still haven't had one after three years. If it's anything like my first small airplane ride I'd say that the potential student needs a copy of MSFS (to let them have fun daily and for free) and rather than lessons, I think that they need a good immersion followed by a lesson. Instead of learning what you need to know to fly first learn about where you can go and what you can fly. Maybe investigate all potential options. A few rides wouldn't hurt either. Something is very romantic about the smell of avgas,coffee,old airplane, and 1970's FBO. I think that potential students should also be given a copy of 16 Right.

For teens though, a simple action movie could help. There was a spike in Naval enlistment after Top Gun debuted. Now make a Cessna seem that cool and that's a fresh breath!
 
jpower said:
So that's my question, basically--how can we make sure that kids who DO have this enthusiasm KEEP it? How can we show them that flying is indeed something they CAN do? How can we assure parents that flying is something they WANT their younger kids doing?
Click to expand...

In reply to this portion I think that academic,personal, and character improvement would be fair arguments. For the kids you can show them the vast diversity in the backgrounds of pilots. I think that student pilots should also help out here, not just CFI's or commercial pilots. On career day send the grey haired captain but also send a 14,15,16,17 year old as well. Easier when you see another teen instead of a hardened steely captain with enough hours to give you altitude sickness.

My mom was sold when my grades stopped spelling DEEEEED and starting sounding like The Fonz, AAAAAAAAA! Geometry,Bio,Chemistry,Engineering,etc all became relevant. Why do I need the Pythagorean theorem when I can just get a 35ft ladder for a 23ft high wall? Then came aviation!

Gangs,drugs,etc. This may be an easy selling point. Your child is getting high and learning even more. The stereotype of a "Pilot" is a $120,000 747 Captain and that $120k may entice some parents. Just hide the regional industry from them :wink2:. There was a very good three page paper from Rod Machado that my old school used to give to any parents with this kind of expression ,:mad:, and usually their faces would turn into:idea: followed by :yesnod: once they read the first page.
 
I don't think many people who would consider a gang have the smarts or cash to learn to fly an airplane.
 
bigblockz8 said:
There was a very good three page paper from Rod Machado that my old school used to give to any parents with this kind of expression ,:mad:, and usually their faces would turn into:idea: followed by :yesnod: once they read the first page.
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What is three page paper from Rod you refer to?! I thought I've read everything that he wrote.
 
I am 47 and won't get my PPL until I am 48. I have wanted to fly since I was a kid. But at times other toys took precedence because of the convenience. Namely motorcycles, which I put on 150,000 miles traveling the country. Things may have been different but I always had the impression that only the rich people flew and I was/am far from rich. Fortunately things changed and I met a pilot (through the motorcycle world) and then I began flying as a paramedic on a helicopter and I met some other pilots. None of those that I met were rich. And suddenly it was attainable. Now as I shed toys my plans are falling in place and should start my training this summer.

I guess my point to this is it is not just the initial cost but there is a perception of what type of person can be a pilot. I think education to the general public is important. I have been talking about the process to all my friends and coworkers for more than a year now and hopefully I can bring at least one along with me through the journey.
 
In my ground school there are 3 high schoolers there. 2 of them don't have their driver's license yet and get dropped off by their parents. Also at my old school there was a high schooler there who had far more hours than me and he flew pretty frequent. When I checked out the plane he'd be flying at least twice during the week.

My CFI started flying at 12. He got all his ratings and hours and flew for the regionals for 2 years and gave up cause the pay was crap. Worked at NCT for a year and didn't like being indoors. Now he's a cop and instructs on his days off. He also helps out the county if they need assistance from the air and he's also a Young Eagles instructor. You should see the kids at Young Eagles. They have the biggest grins on their faces and so do the parents. Their parents take all kinds of pictures in front of the planes. At least where I live I've seen a good amount of kids with the aviation fix.
 
flightmedic said:
I guess my point to this is it is not just the initial cost but there is a perception of what type of person can be a pilot. I think education to the general public is important. I have been talking about the process to all my friends and coworkers for more than a year now and hopefully I can bring at least one along with me through the journey.
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Well, there is a truth that not everyone is cut out to be a pilot, the problem is the criteria we are selecting for our perception.
 
For once I agree with Henning. :yikes:

Not everyone is cut out to be a pilot. Some would question if I am cut out for it. It takes alot of time, money, patience, & skill. Lot of people run out of one or more of those along the training route. There is hand/eye coordination to deal with, instructor characteristics, being willing to be honest with yourself on if it'd work out in the end, being able to fire a bad CFI. Lot to take on.
 
flightmedic said:
I am 47 and won't get my PPL until I am 48. I have wanted to fly since I was a kid. But at times other toys took precedence because of the convenience. Namely motorcycles, which I put on 150,000 miles traveling the country. Things may have been different but I always had the impression that only the rich people flew and I was/am far from rich. Fortunately things changed and I met a pilot (through the motorcycle world) and then I began flying as a paramedic on a helicopter and I met some other pilots. None of those that I met were rich. And suddenly it was attainable. Now as I shed toys my plans are falling in place and should start my training this summer.

I guess my point to this is it is not just the initial cost but there is a perception of what type of person can be a pilot. I think education to the general public is important. I have been talking about the process to all my friends and coworkers for more than a year now and hopefully I can bring at least one along with me through the journey.
Click to expand...

That's what I think people (and not only young people) need most--affirmation that it flying IS attainable. It's even possible for students with reluctant parents, no money, a job, and some motivation. I'm trying to talk to people about the process too, especially my peers. I tell them how attainable it actually is.

I think that that might be the "fix," if you could call it that.
 
jpower said:
That's what I think people (and not only young people) need most--affirmation that it flying IS attainable. It's even possible for students with reluctant parents, no money, a job, and some motivation. I'm trying to talk to people about the process too, especially my peers. I tell them how attainable it actually is.

I think that that might be the "fix," if you could call it that.
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I'll bet that less than 1 in 50 people you introduce to aviation will continue.:(
 
Henning said:
I'll bet that less than 1 in 50 people you introduce to aviation will continue.:(
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Geez, a little pessimistic! "No, I'm a realist!" I hear you shout. Yeah, I know, it's the never ending battle between the optimists and the realists/pessimists.

I agree, though. No matter how you look at it, the number is low. It could be better than 1 in 50 or it could be worse. I don't know and doubt I'll ever find out. But I think it COULD be made higher than that, especially if people are led to understand that flying is safe and attainable. Yes, it's a tough journey, but we all know how much we get out of it. Seems to me a no brainer to try to get more people, young or otherwise, into it, even if only 1 in 50 keep it up. But then again, maybe that's just me.
 
Henning said:
I'll bet that less than 1 in 50 people you introduce to aviation will continue.:(
Click to expand...

2% is not bad. If we reach enough people we can still have growth. There's what, 7 billion people on this planet and 320 millionish in this country alone? Millions of potential pilots right here in our own backyard. At least another 500,000 for sure.

I think that the real question is if our infrastructure can even handle the few pilots that there already are! 30,000 public airports (old figure) down to what, 12,000 now? Students have to be able to train and eventually fly reasonably close to home. More than 50mi is a turn off for 95% of people.

Personally, lately all of the legal crap has been annoying me. The proposed fees and this new ATC reporting rule make me wonder if there are some people who are enthused and then see the FAR/AIM or our political issues and then run back the other way.
 
Face it. Spam cans are boring and have very little utility in most parts of the country. Everyone thinks of flying free from the backyard in a cub or completely unrealistic travel dreams, and are put in crap airplanes reminiscent of the H.L. Hunley. Push ultralights or powered parachutes flying around for fun, people can put them back in the garage when they are done. Forget about instrument nonsense and proper airports. As to getting more pilots, you need hot young women to get $ and men.
 
ClimbnSink said:
Face it. Spam cans are boring and have very little utility in most parts of the country. Everyone thinks of flying free from the backyard in a cub or completely unrealistic travel dreams, and are put in crap airplanes reminiscent of the H.L. Hunley. Push ultralights or powered parachutes flying around for fun, people can put them back in the garage when they are done. Forget about instrument nonsense and proper airports. As to getting more pilots, you need hot young women to get $ and men.
Click to expand...

Quite true. And Chesapeake Sport Pilot tries to put the fun back into flying.

*Begin shameless plug for CSP*
They sponsor a number of events throughout the year, including my personal favorite, the Tangier Holly Run. I've never flown on it, but I've visited Tangier Island twice and absolutely love it. (I'm sure at least one PoAer has been on the Holly Run before...maybe s/he can chime in?) I fly newish airplanes (~1000 hrs) that are in great shape. To practice emergency procedures, my CFI has tactfully pulled the power over a friend's strip, and when I saw it, I turned towards it and made a successful emergency approach. Then we promptly buzzed him. We did turns around a point over my CFI's house and saw his wife waving up at us. All the fun that flying should be!
*End shameless plug for CSP*
 
DavidWhite said:
There are alot of young pilots on this board....you're among good company.
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*wave*

DavidWhite said:
Anyone young or otherwise that has any experience under their belt has been humbled by an airplane.
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The Arrow has made an ass out of me on at least two occasions...just testing the landing gear I say.
 
DavidWhite said:
I don't think many people who would consider a gang have the smarts or cash to learn to fly an airplane.
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The gangsters I went to HS with had more money than me thanks to selling blow and I still managed to get my Private by working and paying as I went:D
 
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