Pilot Statistics

[ColoPilot]

The thread about medical reform mentioned GA is in a death spiral. I decided to look at the actual numbers:

5 year trend 2010 to 2015:
Total pilots -5%
Student pilots +3%
Private pilots -15%
Commercial -18%
ATP +9%

Note these numbers are based on the highest certificate, so if a private pilot receives a commercial the number of private pilots will drop.

 

[Velocity173]

That's nothing. Look at total pilot certs and GA hours flown in 1980 compared to today.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

I assume that those are the trends for pilot medicals - not trends for pilots who actively fly airplanes.

 

[arkvet]

interesting to see the student pilot in the (+). I wonder if that's a reflection of the higher cost to obtain the PPL... which would potentially increase the average time people would be considered a student.

 

[ColoPilot]

That's nothing. Look at total pilot certs and GA hours flown in 1980 compared to today.

I bet that is a huge drop. It's interesting that student pilots seem level, but those students aren't enough to make up for the attrition (which is probably all those pilots from the 70s and early 80s).