washington post article (not wanting to earn their wings)

It's pretty much the truth. It just costs way too damn much. I know very few people my age..or within 20 years of my age that can afford to fly.

Why would someone younger possibly want to get into a hobby that would eat up every dollar of their disposable income plus more? It just sounds like a stupid idea. Not only does it sound like a bad idea it is just plain irresponsible.

Why do some of us do it? Because we've had a love for it our whole lives.
 
It is a fairly well written piece. Sad, to say, the message is true as well. It is heartening though that AOPA and EAA are taking deliberate steps to encourage new pilots.

Maybe LSA will help as well, since hopefully it brings down the cost of an initial rating both in total hours and cost per hour.
 
I echo the above comments and add - for anyone who is considering this as a career path, why would you go to such expensive extremes only to make 18K a year? Law school is similarly intense and expensive but at least you pull in the coin afterwards. and can then do whatever you please as a hobby.

I wonder how many of the prior students went into this looking at a career path versus a hobby... and since the career path is drying up, those on the margin are doing other things?
 
It's sad to see bad thoughts in black and white, even if they are true and accurate.

In past threads, it seems, there is some agreement that the cost of learning to fly - and later flying - is the biggest problem GA faces. The question is, how do we get that number down?
 
Aside from the money factor which is a big deterrant, I think this statement from the article is true.

"Today's youth don't want to do anything that is so regimented" as learning to fly, Sprayberry said. "When I was young, aviation had some adventure to it. We didn't get to do a lot of things with adventure. Today, there are lots of things that have adventure."
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The thing that initially attracted me to flying when I was young was the sense of adventure, independence, freedom of the skies, etc. Then it dawned on me that aviation is one of the more highly regimented and regulated activities you could pursue. If you doubt that for a minute, look at one of the favorite activities on this board, discussing the regs. Not only that, learning to fly takes a lot of money, effort and study just to get a private, not to mention what it takes to keep current or go on from there. The ones who are pursuing aviation as a career path expect to study and sacrifice to a certain extent. However, young people now have a lot more choices of recreational adventure sports that don't have the price tag or the regulated aspect of flying.

I don't know that there's any solution to this or if there should be a solution. It is what it is. I don't think there is ever going to be a shortage of pilots to fill jobs, though. They've been talking about it for 25 years, at least, and it hasn't happened yet. If there was a shortage, the pay would be going up, not down.
 
Everskyward said:
I don't know that there's any solution to this or if there should be a solution. It is what it is. I don't think there is ever going to be a shortage of pilots to fill jobs, though. They've been talking about it for 25 years, at least, and it hasn't happened yet. If there was a shortage, the pay would be going up, not down.
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Mari's right. Until people stop sacrificing good paychecks for doing what they love, there will not be a shortage of pilots.
 
Pjsmith said:
It's sad to see bad thoughts in black and white, even if they are true and accurate.

In past threads, it seems, there is some agreement that the cost of learning to fly - and later flying - is the biggest problem GA faces. The question is, how do we get that number down?
Click to expand...

Cost is not the issue...realatively speaking it is no more expensive to fly today then it was 25 years ago. If a person wants it bad enough they can make it happen.

But there are fewer airports for people to become hooked, there are few pilots to set the hook. There are other hobbies that attract attention of people that may have become pilots in the past. Additionally, those other hobbies are easier...anyone can buy and "drive" a power boat, for example.

Len
 
Len Lanetti said:
Additionally, those other hobbies are easier...anyone can buy and "drive" a power boat, for example.
Len
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That's true, Len, but isn't that part of the appeal too? To do something most people can't?

That wasn't a primary motivation that made me learn to fly, but it was in the mix somewhere ;)

I'm proud that I can fly an airplane and major league proud (if not impossibly pleased with myself) that I can fly a helicopter :D
 
Len Lanetti said:
Cost is not the issue...realatively speaking it is no more expensive to fly today then it was 25 years ago. If a person wants it bad enough they can make it happen.

But there are fewer airports for people to become hooked, there are few pilots to set the hook. There are other hobbies that attract attention of people that may have become pilots in the past. Additionally, those other hobbies are easier...anyone can buy and "drive" a power boat, for example.

Len
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Yep, if someone wants to fly, they can find a way now, as they did then.

Bad service at many airports, fewer airports, a total lack of sales ability and/or training, and the fact that flying requires work and study turns a lot of folks off.
 
woodstock said:
I echo the above comments and add - for anyone who is considering this as a career path, why would you go to such expensive extremes only to make 18K a year? Law school is similarly intense and expensive but at least you pull in the coin afterwards. and can then do whatever you please as a hobby.

I wonder how many of the prior students went into this looking at a career path versus a hobby... and since the career path is drying up, those on the margin are doing other things?
Click to expand...

I went into aviation thinking "hey... if this .com thing ever goes belly up, then maybe I can do this..."

Well, I became disenfranchised, primarially because I just didn't see the payback in the future. Yes, I loved aviation, but when your love becomes your job... that's not worth the sacrifice to me. When I looked at the airlines and corporate ranks (the top tier of the industry, to many), I saw nothing but infighting, poor management, and union BS. Why would I sully something I love with such things?

I stuck with my current job, and I have options that interest me all the same in industries I love... without the issues that go along with aviation.

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
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