Pilot Population

[deafsound]

This is a total copy paste from the red board, but I thought it should be here too:
Here are the 2006 FAA stats from:
http://www.faa.gov/data_statistics/a...ia/air1-06.xls


Pilot--Total 597,109
Student 84,866
Recreational (only) 239
Sport 939
Airplane 1/
Private 219,233
Commercial 117,610
Airline Transport 141,935
Rotorcraft (only) 10,690
Glider (only ) 21,597
Lighter-than-air
Flight Instructor
Certificates 91,343
Instrument Ratings 309,333

Those numbers are down about 2% from 2005 (when the total was 609,737).

I am pretty amazed at how few pilots there are. I knew we were a rare breed, but I didn't realize just how rare.

 

[gprellwitz]

Only thing I'd note is that these numbers wouldn't include military aviators who haven't gotten an FAA certificate, right?

 

[silver-eagle]

And the only ways you lose a license is death and revocation. (Right?). Is this the effect of WWII aviators headed west? Well, that and the cost of training.

 

[AuntPeggy]

How real are the numbers? Hubby's grandfather is in the database, not a current medical. Dead for over 20 years.

 

[KennyFlys]

How real are the numbers? Hubby's grandfather is in the database, not a current medical. Dead for over 20 years.

I think there are a fair number like this as well as many student pilot certificates which never finish. I don't know the dropout rate but I imagine it's significant.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

And the only ways you lose a license is death and revocation. (Right?). Is this the effect of WWII aviators headed west? Well, that and the cost of training.

Regarding costs of training, I've had FBO owners tell me that, adjusted for inflation and cost of living, it is no more expensive to fly GA these days than it ever was... Anybody else ever do the "analysis"?

 

[RotaryWingBob]

This is a total copy paste from the red board, but I thought it should be here too:
Here are the 2006 FAA stats from:
http://www.faa.gov/data_statistics/a...ia/air1-06.xls

The link didn't work for me -- got a page not found error.

These numbers seem to missing helicopter pilots who also have fixed-wing ratings. The numbers I've seen say there are about 35,000 pilots rated in rotorcraft-helicopter, not 10,000. It's still a pretty exclusive club, though

 

[mantakos]

And the only ways you lose a license is death and revocation. (Right?).

The FAA numbers are "active airmen", so it's pilots with a certificate and a current medical.

An "old" pilot who hasn't had a medical in years might still be in the database, but wouldn't be included in those numbers.

Roughly, the overall numbers trend downward when the number of pilots who let their medicals lapse and give it up exceeds the number of new pilots getting their medicals for the first time.
-harry

 

[mantakos]

These numbers seem to missing helicopter pilots who also have fixed-wing ratings.

Yes, the pilots who have both fixed-wing and rotor are lumped into the fixed-wing numbers, so as to avoid double-counting them.

The FAA publishes a bunch of different tables:
http://www.faa.gov/data_statistics/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/2006/

There are about 29000 active rotorcraft pilots (meaning they hold a rotorcraft certificate and have an active medical, doesn't mean they're current or anything).
-harry

 

[tonycondon]

so how does sport pilots or pilots excercising sport priveledges fit into this "active" definition?