JSfirm.com, an aviation job advertisement website, has completed its annual survey of more than 200 Part 91 and 135 operators, which shows that flight hours are down as more companies are impacted by the pilot shortage.
“This survey aligns with what we are seeing internally, a 30% increase in job postings,” said JSfirm.com manager Jeff Richards.
Compared to the results of the 2015 survey:
- Flight hours are down 6%;
- Acquiring new or pre-owned aircraft down 7%;
- Operations being impacted by the pilot shortage up 12%;
- JSfirm.com job advertisements up 28.5%.
Part 1 of 2
Forgive me Folks, no offense meant, …but, Tyler G , John and Charles Bowser …’Get-it’
The “excessive regulation” crowd and the ‘Litigation’ blamers (although excessive lawsuits are a legitimate factor in the increase of Certificated Aircraft prices, to a (relatively) small degree) …don’t
“There’s no way to sugarcoat the fact that these numbers are not what we had wanted to see,” GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce said. “Unfortunately, they reflect the instability of the used aircraft market coupled with complicating global economic and geopolitical factors.” (from Nov. 10th AVweb Article)
…and there’s just no way to “sugarcoat” my response to that/this hogwash;
So …the elite Business (Aviation) club is experiencing a bit of drop in membership (revenues) these days??
By forgetting its core roots and the re-inventing of itself into a ‘profit-solely-for-its-own-sake’ ‘business’ model, perhaps the ‘General-Aviation’ INDUSTRY is now finally beginning to feel the effects of its shortsightedness, in painting itself into the very limited little corner it’s only now beginning to realize it’s in?!?
It is mind-bogglingly appalling the manner in which this ‘Industry’, in its present incarnation, shamefully continues to perpetuate the illusion that it hasn’t (deliberately) mutated into something totally unrecognizable from how it was born and existed, for the better part of the last 100 years …now destined, by design and careful maintenance, to cater solely to an extremely small, ‘elite’, and most affluent segment of our society …a perfectly constructed, self-perpetuating, insulating ‘bubble’, what was once a great, vibrant, perpetually growth potentiated and mostly unique to the USA phenomena …’General Aviation’.
Is it deliberate ‘spin’, outright propaganda, or just plain ‘denial’?
Most of Europe and all of present day Asia have no (and really never had any) such thing as ‘General Aviation’ …solely because of the PROHIBITABLY EXPENSIVE costs. Their citizens have long been coming here to pursue that dream we’ve all taken for granted! (but even that may change …read: practically grind to a halt, now that the new draconian EASA Flight Crew licensing regs have kicked in) Active participation in our wonderful world of ‘Flight’ here in the USA has always been on the (relatively) expensive side, but up until recently remained the best (and only) place on the planet to do so.
But! …let’s take a hard look at what ‘we’ (US General Aviation) have allowed to happen:
…In 1979/80, the peak of GA aircraft production, almost 20,000 piston airplanes rolled off the assembly lines with a US population of about 200 million. The average price of an airplane was 2-3 times that of a new car.
…In 2013, with a population of just over 300 million people, about 500 pistons were produced/delivered each year …and the average prices are 2-3 times the (median) price of a (equally over-inflated) house!
First of all ‘General Aviation’ is doing just fine …never better in fact. That is if when you say “General Aviation” …you mean the 98 percent of GA which consist of ‘executive’ aircraft. Ninety eight (98) percent of the GA industry’s annual revenue now comes from Turbine aircraft (Bizjets and Turboprops)
According to GAMA Statistics; In 1978 there were over 14,000 piston singles produced and just over 2,600 twins, for a total dollar value of just over $1 billion in 1979 dollars …which is about $3.6 billion in today’s dollars.
Total ‘Turbine’ GA aircraft produced were 779 with a total value of $772 million in 1978 dollars …which is about $2.8 billion in today’s money.
So the ‘little guy‘ was THE major source of revenue for the GA industry as late as 1978 …not the business bigwigs . That says a lot about where we where and where we have come to. Of course back then the head of the company made maybe 15-20 times as much as the Joe on the shop floor …what is it today?
Let’s look at those numbers a little more closely; The average cost of that executive airplane (the turbine variety) was just under $1 million …about 3.5 million in today’s dollars. Today the average sticker price is $10+ million.
The average cost of a piston plane in 1978 was $58,000 (INCLUDING light to medium twins and all the high end singles) which is about $200,000 in today’s money. If we could separate the twins from the singles we would find the average piston single price would be closer to $90,000 …in today’s dollars.
Now what really bears notice is the fact that those 30 some years ago, there were far less than 1,000 big spenders who could spend the equivalent of $3.5 million in today’s money for a Bizjet or Turboprop …but there were 17,000+ little guys who could afford to buy a piston single or even a light twin …over 2,600 twins. Who has gained and who has lost?
Well the ‘GA’ Industry is doing nicely. It has increased sales from $3 billion a year in today’s dollars to well over $20 billion.
The big spenders also don’t seem to be doing too badly. There’s now over 2,000 of them buying a new executive airplane every year (almost three times as many) …and paying more than three times as much on average for the airplane …a nearly tenfold increase in spending power by the big spenders.
Let’s just repeat that …A NEARLY TENFOLD INCREASE IN SPENDING POWER.
At the same time (light) piston airplanes, which made up more than 60 percent of ‘General Aviation’ …60 percent! …even as late as 1978, today make up just TWO lousy percent (2%) of sales by dollar. Want to buy a new airplane Joe? …can you write a check for $500,000?
What it all adds up to is that the rich have gotten much richer …while the middle class dream of airplane ownership is toast. It’s not surprising that most if not all of our Industry publications are funded almost entirely by big spending ‘Business Aviation’ …and continues to deliberately confuse things by lumping us ‘little’ aviators on life support in with the rest of ‘GA’.
Please!! …it is time for some ‘Honesty’!
And please forgive me, as I really don’t wish to sound sarcastic, but it’s just mind-boggling to a (simple minded?) guy like myself how casually, and with such cavalier so many ‘representatives’ of the Aviation Industry quote prices for production, the average ‘Light Sport’, or any other 2-4 place ‘Light Airplane’. What a perfectly reasonable price ($150-200K) to pay for a (new) ‘Light Sport’ airplane …or the $400+K for a “moderately tricked out Cessna 172″ …or the 1.2 mil!!?? for a SENECA, version 5 recently reviewed in AOPA Pilot, (another 45+ year old, basically unchanged airframe design) …I mean, what’s wrong with that …isn’t that just about right …why ain’t everybody buyin’ em?!?
How can such sums for such airplanes ever be (reasonably) justified?? And we wonder why new pilot certification is half what it was just two decades ago?? Why (aircraft) rental rates have gotten beyond the reach of most would be Sunday Flyers?
What could possibly be causing this decline in our beloved activity?!? (‘Private/Recreational Aviation’)
In most all the ‘other’ industries that are a factor in every other facet of our lives (save for our uniquely corrupt Health-Care ‘Industry’) …one that bears mention is the financial industry. Every product we buy has over 30 percent of its price built in for finance overhead that it took to bring that product to market, on average …in some cases it is much higher …interest charges, brokerage fees , etc. Yet even with all that financial overhead, a lot of consumer products still deliver more for your inflation adjusted buck than they did 15 to 20 years ago. That is a fact. Cars bought today are a far better value for the dollar, same with the lawn tractor, the big screen TV, the washing machine, etc.
And before you start ‘raving’ about the unique and ”excessive regulatory” environment that aircraft manufacturers have to endure …they were ALL operating under those basically unchanged set of rules way back in the 70-80’s as well …so what exactly changed??
The only thing today that costs five times as much as it did 30 years ago is a new airplane. Talk all you want about the cost of hangars, fuel, insurance, maintenance etc. …those things are a fact of life everywhere, but it is new and AFFORDABLE products that drive an industry. And unfortunately, the personal ‘Recreational Airplane’ industry is finished because the average price of a new 4 place piston airplane is half a million+ dollars …which less than 1.5% of the population could ever afford/justify.
That is strictly an ‘Industry’ issue. If the automotive industry wanted to build an airplane for $50,000, do you think they couldn’t? …sure they could. And they would sell who knows how many thousands at that price.
Cessna, like Piper, Beechcraft and others in the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s who once not only supported, but actually ‘CREATED’ a market for ‘General Aviation’, by providing aircraft, not only for the affluent, but airplanes that the ‘Average-Joe’ could actually afford, now give us the $400,000+ venerable C172 and the $500,000+ Cherokee. Basic, single engine, 4 place, fixed gear, fixed prop, simple low HP ‘Light Airplanes’ …whose basic airframes have been around for over half a century and whose R & D, tooling and most all other initial development costs have long since been paid for many times over, decades ago. Essentially, (very) old airframe designs with a few tweaks and upgraded to some modern avionics (which also SHOULD cost substantially less than their steam gauge, analog counterparts)
These manufacturers decided, long ago, that Corporate (Turbine) aircraft is “where the monies at” (and an extremely lucrative amount of money at that) And the LSA (‘Industry’) which was supposed to be GA’s “savior” has, it seems, quickly succumbed to the disease …behold the Cub Crafters Carbon Cub An even simpler TWO place, basic, fixed gear, fixed prop, low HP ‘LIGHT SPORT’ airplane with a basic avionics package for the bargain price of 200K!
This is what has been/is still primarily responsible for the demise of ‘General Aviation’ …as those of us who numbered among what was generally perceived to make up its largest segment during the 60’s, 70’s and into the early 90’s have been so fortunate to have been a part of.
…continued next;
Part 1 of 2
Forgive me Folks …no offense meant, …but, Tyler G , John and Charles Bowser …’Get-it’
The “excessive regulation” crowd and the ‘Litigation’ blamers (although the uncontrolled explosion of all the greed-laden ‘Product Liability’ lawsuits many (airplane manufacturers) have had to endure these last few decades …the ONLY thing Cessna, Piper etc. can legitimately claim to have been “victimized” by …are a legitimate factor in the increase of Certificated Aircraft prices ..to a (relatively) small degree) …don’t
“There’s no way to sugarcoat the fact that these numbers are not what we had wanted to see,” GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce said. “Unfortunately, they reflect the instability of the used aircraft market coupled with complicating global economic and geopolitical factors.” (from Nov. 10th AVweb Article)
…and there’s just no way to “sugarcoat” my response to that/this hogwash;
So …the elite Business (Aviation) club is experiencing a bit of drop in membership (revenues) these days??
By forgetting its core roots and the re-inventing of itself into a ‘profit-solely-for-its-own-sake’ ‘business’ model, perhaps the ‘General-Aviation’ INDUSTRY is now finally beginning to feel the effects of its shortsightedness, in painting itself into the very limited little corner it’s only now beginning to realize it’s in?!?
It is mind-bogglingly appalling the manner in which this ‘Industry’, in its present incarnation, shamefully continues to perpetuate the illusion that it hasn’t (deliberately) mutated into something totally unrecognizable from how it was born and existed, for the better part of the last 100 years …now destined, by design and careful maintenance, to cater solely to an extremely small, ‘elite’, and most affluent segment of our society …a perfectly constructed, self-perpetuating, insulating ‘bubble’, what was once a great, vibrant, perpetually growth potentiated and mostly unique to the USA phenomena …’General Aviation’.
Is it deliberate ‘spin’, outright propaganda, or just plain ‘denial’?
Most of Europe and all of present day Asia have no (and really never had any) such thing as ‘General Aviation’ …solely because of the PROHIBITABLY EXPENSIVE costs. Their citizens have long been coming here to pursue that dream we’ve all taken for granted! (but even that may change …read: practically grind to a halt, now that the new draconian EASA Flight Crew licensing regs have kicked in) Active participation in our wonderful world of ‘Flight’ here in the USA has always been on the (relatively) expensive side, but up until recently remained the best (and only) place on the planet to do so.
But! …let’s take a hard look at what ‘we’ (US General Aviation) have allowed to happen:
…In 1979/80, the peak of GA aircraft production, almost 20,000 piston airplanes rolled off the assembly lines with a US population of about 200 million. The average price of an airplane was 2-3 times that of a new car.
…In 2013, with a population of just over 300 million people, about 500 pistons were produced/delivered each year …and the average prices are 2-3 times the (median) price of a (equally over-inflated) house!
First of all ‘General Aviation’ is doing just fine …never better in fact. That is if when you say “General Aviation” …you mean the 98 percent of GA which consist of ‘executive’ aircraft. Ninety eight (98) percent of the GA industry’s annual revenue now comes from Turbine aircraft (Bizjets and Turboprops)
According to GAMA Statistics; In 1978 there were over 14,000 piston singles produced and just over 2,600 twins, for a total dollar value of just over $1 billion in 1979 dollars …which is about $3.6 billion in today’s dollars.
Total ‘Turbine’ GA aircraft produced were 779 with a total value of $772 million in 1978 dollars …which is about $2.8 billion in today’s money.
So the ‘little guy‘ was THE major source of revenue for the GA industry as late as 1978 …not the business bigwigs . That says a lot about where we where and where we have come to. Of course back then the head of the company made maybe 15-20 times as much as the Joe on the shop floor …what is it today?
Let’s look at those numbers a little more closely; The average cost of that executive airplane (the turbine variety) was just under $1 million …about 3.5 million in today’s dollars. Today the average sticker price is $10+ million.
The average cost of a piston plane in 1978 was $58,000 (INCLUDING light to medium twins and all the high end singles) which is about $200,000 in today’s money. If we could separate the twins from the singles we would find the average piston single price would be closer to $90,000 …in today’s dollars.
Now what really bears notice is the fact that those 30 some years ago, there were far less than 1,000 big spenders who could spend the equivalent of $3.5 million in today’s money for a Bizjet or Turboprop …but there were 17,000+ little guys who could afford to buy a piston single or even a light twin …over 2,600 twins. Who has gained and who has lost?
Well the ‘GA’ Industry is doing nicely. It has increased sales from $3 billion a year in today’s dollars to well over $20 billion.
The big spenders also don’t seem to be doing too badly. There’s now over 2,000 of them buying a new executive airplane every year (almost three times as many) …and paying more than three times as much on average for the airplane …a nearly tenfold increase in spending power by the big spenders.
Let’s just repeat that …A NEARLY TENFOLD INCREASE IN SPENDING POWER.
At the same time (light) piston airplanes, which made up more than 60 percent of ‘General Aviation’ …60 percent! …even as late as 1978, today make up just TWO lousy percent (2%) of sales by dollar. Want to buy a new airplane Joe? …can you write a check for $500,000?
What it all adds up to is that the rich have gotten much richer …while the middle class dream of airplane ownership is toast. It’s not surprising that most if not all of our Industry publications are funded almost entirely by big spending ‘Business Aviation’ …and continues to deliberately confuse things by lumping us ‘little’ aviators on life support in with the rest of ‘GA’.
Please!! …it is time for some ‘Honesty’!
And please forgive me, as I really don’t wish to sound sarcastic, but it’s just mind-boggling to a (simple minded?) guy like myself how casually, and with such cavalier so many ‘representatives’ of the Aviation Industry quote prices for production, the average ‘Light Sport’, or any other 2-4 place ‘Light Airplane’. What a perfectly reasonable price ($150-200K) to pay for a (new) ‘Light Sport’ airplane …or the $400+K for a “moderately tricked out Cessna 172″ …or the 1.2 mil!!?? for a SENECA, version 5 recently reviewed in AOPA Pilot, (another 45+ year old, basically unchanged airframe design) …I mean, what’s wrong with that …isn’t that just about right …why ain’t everybody buyin’ em?!?
How can such sums for such airplanes ever be (reasonably) justified?? And we wonder why new pilot certification is half what it was just two decades ago?? Why (aircraft) rental rates have gotten beyond the reach of most would be Sunday Flyers?
What could possibly be causing this decline in our beloved activity?!? (‘Private/Recreational Aviation’)
In most all the ‘other’ industries that are a factor in every other facet of our lives (save for our uniquely corrupt Health-Care ‘Industry’) …one that bears mention is the financial industry. Every product we buy has over 30 percent of its price built in for finance overhead that it took to bring that product to market, on average …in some cases it is much higher …interest charges, brokerage fees , etc. Yet even with all that financial overhead, a lot of consumer products still deliver more for your inflation adjusted buck than they did 15 to 20 years ago. That is a fact. Cars bought today are a far better value for the dollar, same with the lawn tractor, the big screen TV, the washing machine, etc.
And before you start ‘raving’ about the unique and ”excessive regulatory” environment that aircraft manufacturers have to endure …they were ALL operating under those basically unchanged set of rules way back in the 70-80’s as well …so what exactly changed??
The only thing today that costs five times as much as it did 30 years ago is a new airplane. Talk all you want about the cost of hangars, fuel, insurance, maintenance etc. …those things are a fact of life everywhere, but it is new and AFFORDABLE products that drive an industry. And unfortunately, the personal ‘Recreational Airplane’ industry is finished because the average price of a new 4 place piston airplane is half a million+ dollars …which less than 1.5% of the population could ever afford/justify.
That is strictly an ‘Industry’ issue. If the automotive industry wanted to build an airplane for $50,000, do you think they couldn’t? …sure they could. And they would sell who knows how many thousands at that price.
Cessna, like Piper, Beechcraft and others in the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s who once not only supported, but actually ‘CREATED’ a market for ‘General Aviation’, by providing aircraft, not only for the affluent, but airplanes that the ‘Average-Joe’ could actually afford, now give us the $400,000+ venerable C172 and the $500,000+ Cherokee. Basic, single engine, 4 place, fixed gear, fixed prop, simple low HP ‘Light Airplanes’ …whose basic airframes have been around for over half a century and whose R & D, tooling and most all other initial development costs have long since been paid for many times over, decades ago. Essentially, (very) old airframe designs with a few tweaks and upgraded to some modern avionics (which also SHOULD cost substantially less than their steam gauge, analog counterparts)
These manufacturers decided, long ago, that Corporate (Turbine) aircraft is “where the monies at” (and an extremely lucrative amount of money at that) And the LSA (‘Industry’) which was supposed to be GA’s “savior” has, it seems, quickly succumbed to the disease …behold the Cub Crafters Carbon Cub An even simpler TWO place, basic, fixed gear, fixed prop, low HP ‘LIGHT SPORT’ airplane with a basic avionics package for the bargain price of 200K!
This is what has been/is still primarily responsible for the demise of ‘General Aviation’ …as those of us who numbered among what was generally perceived to make up its largest segment during the 60’s, 70’s and into the early 90’s have been so fortunate to have been a part of.
….continued next;
…Continued last – part 2 of 2:
The ‘Experimental’ ‘Industry’ has been equally infected …as for the all of those available ‘Kits’ out there today. Realistically, even a modest, two place, fixed gear/prop with a basic IFR panel (that by reg, one actually can’t utilize for it’s designed purposes) 140+ kt airplane most often sports (pun intended) a finished price of close to 100K …many others almost twice that! But don’t forget …ya still have to build (and maintain) it yourself!
The aircraft industry now looks at things differently; The ‘GA’ (BUSINESS) aircraft industry makes over $20 billion a year in revenue by selling 2,000 executive aircraft at an average price of $10 million each In order to make $20 billion in sales selling (little)airplanes, even at $100,000 apiece, they would have to sell 200,000 small airplanes a year. That’s never going to happen …there simply are not 200,000 people who are interested in buying their own airplane each and every year …or have the extra $100,000 lying around to do so. So the numbers are woefully against the ‘rest of us’ …that is the reality.
We must all come to grips with the fact that ‘General Aviation’ is now solely ‘Business Aviation’ NOT the little guys flying around for personal or ‘recreational’ purposes in Cessnas & Cherokees. That is not what ‘General Aviation’ is anymore. The ‘Aircraft Industry’ sure knows this …and that’s why they made the (rational?) choice that it is not worth it.
Repeat: General Aviation is now ‘Business Aviation’ …Long Live The King!
And while I’m not so naive (or young and foolish) or unappreciative to not understand that it was (is?) the engine of ‘Capitalism’ that made ‘GENERAL’ Aviation attainable to most of the masses in the first place, and ‘Business Aviation’ was indeed a (if not “The”) very large and essential part of ‘General Aviation’ which fueled that engine …unfortunately, it has become (painfully) obvious to me (and I suspect more than just a “vocal minority” of our “community”) that the US Aviation ‘Industry’, along with its publications and all of our ‘alphabet ‘Associations’, and dare I postulate, even the EAA, all who’ve been a welcomed part of my life during my almost 40 year love affair with Aviation, have morphed into what indeed it seems ‘Corporate America’ has equally mutated into …’Business’ entities whose SOLE purpose appears to be the pursuit of profit …SOLELY for its own sake, and the unlimited enrichment of their upper echelons.
…But I digress.
Well, so that’s the problem. And guess what? Now at least knowing what the problem is just maybe we can start looking for solutions. But the solution is not to just root for ‘Business Aviation’ …and bankroll their lobbying fights in rotten DC. And yes …as has just become overwhelmingly apparent with our last election fiasco, WDCorruption is a very real truth. Unfortunately, it is exactly that kind of lobbying of (our) ‘Special Interest’ groups that is/has been the problem.
And the little guy (privately) flying around in piston airplanes is all but extinct already. That’s why we hear the message all the time that what is good for ‘Business Aviation’ is good for the little guy . This has been a mantra at ‘Flying’ (magazine) publications for quite some time …even as the little guy aviator continues to wither away …while Bizav continues to grow and prosper.
In the late 70’s, I struggled to put myself through school (let’s not even get started on the costs of a college degree these days!) and pay for my flight training (mostly through loans) to pursue a dream of being a Professional Pilot. Now almost 40 years later, after having been fortunate to have flown everything from parachutes to 747’s, this subject has been a particular heartbreak for me …as I seriously doubt I could succeed in that endeavor today …and wonder how any of today’s young(er) folks, or even us ‘older guys’ (of even ‘above-average’ means) ever could as well.
I’m afraid these greedy times we’re a livin’ and the EXPONENTIALLY accelerating rate of expense, will only serve to hasten the time when the final nails are driven. We’re rapidly destroying ‘General (Recreational) Aviation’ in this country …making it solely a ‘Rich Mans Sport’.
And as to the reasons for its demise? Surely, if you’re (intellectually) honest with yourselves, (and you know who you are) you understand the point of this (lowly 2-cents-worth) comment. If not, then …no offense …uplifting, hopeful enthusiasm notwithstanding, but with none of the cold, clear logical pragmatism so necessary for one to be a successful ‘PIC’ …you’re ‘rowing down that famous long river in Egypt’ …or are of that myopic ‘mindset’ of those who have caused and /or are still actively involved in the death of General Aviation …are in fact one of the many active and willing participants in it …and, unfortunately, part of the problem …certainly NOT the solution.
We (as in ALL of us) have just witnessed the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind in this country (no …this IS NOT “Class Warfare” talk here …just an honest, objective assessment of the data & facts) …and our beloved and nearly extinct ‘General Aviation’ has just simply been one of its many and most obvious casualties.
“Why” …the rapidly decreasing pilot population? …the rapidly downward spiral of total logged hours? …a Pilot shortage?? …sluggish sales factors?? …continuing decline in attendance at Oshkosh?
And now …a (continuing) trend towards decreasing BIZAV sales!! (Oh My!)
…very, very sad indeed.
The industry is very sensitive to the business cycle. Hangar occupancy is a nice proxy for industry health, I think. For the seven or so years prior to 2016, hangars were readily available in the SW Florida area. Prior to that time, long waiting lists were the norm. The long waiting lists are back, with no reduction in capacity. And FBO’s in the area are doing much better than the event past. So, time in the air is down – but it seems aircraft ownership is ok in this “neck of the woods.”
Could we give this mythical pilot shortage a break?
The price of aviation is beyond comprehension. I’m researching the costs it’ll take to get my license. It’s gonna be around $10,000 just for my ppl. The reason is the cost of everything in aviation is atrocious. You can get a bag of screws at a local department store for around $10. But that same stuff that has the official FAA stamp on it is now marked up 200-300%. It’s not only the FAA it can be seen with Cirrus. All major maintenance is so closely guarded that you have to attend their special school which will cost you. A plane made a fiberglass (which is cheaper than aluminum) cost 10 time more than your average used 172 and the same or more as a new 172. The solution to get people back into aviation is to stop the markups. I understand some things need to be expensive but there is no reason for a bag of 20 screws to cost $20 or more.
The pilot shortage exists because no one wants to hire low time pilots, it takes new pilots years to get to 1500 hours. After which time, they get paid a pittance. The industry needs to either hire low time pilots or pay better.
Exactly, i am CFI but i went strictly part time because of these hour requirements for a better self -employed job making 3x’s with lots of benefits than these poor fellas make.
Have you low or future pilots considered join the military as pilots? That is the old way to join the pilots who are making good salaries. Join up with a military service, learn then join the airlines the way it has been for many years.
Yes I myself tried that but after qualifying for officer cadet school they said they would not guarantee me a flight work. However I just trained a young student of mine who is in the sea cadets and now working with him on instrument. Because of his age I am encouraging him to pursue an avaition career in the military.
We are not guaranteed a future in a particular profession. We will usually plan as best we can. Carefull planning is the best you can do. You must pray for the best that God can provide. If you have HIM in your corner, you will be successful. Keep working and praying.
I big problem is the Flight Schools. Because the demand is so high they have jacked up the prices more than double. ATP has gone from $47,000 for the 0 hours through CFII To now $120,000 That’s a ridiculous increase in a few years. No average American can get a student loan for that much for just a special license program Not to mention that price does not include any housing or the checkride fees
Hi All, I just wanted to make a comment and ask a question. I realize this is on a GA news story but as someone who had a desire to entire the commercial space here late in life (50) I was thrown by the low entry level pay rates for new pilots. I know that all airlines run on tight margins but I was seeing $22 an hour starting rates for the right seat at regionals. Can anyone shed some light on how one might pursue this dream without working for ten years for a decent wage? By the time it’s worth the money I’d be out of that seat and back into my armchair.
Thanks in advance for the info.
Don’t bother. They won’t hire you
Anyway we could see a link to the study results? Or even the source provided to GA News?
We have to ask the GA industry (GAMA, AOPA, EAA, Aircraft manufacturers, aircraft engine manufacturers, aircraft accessory manufacturers, FBOs, all of FAA, NTSB, etc.) to ask the TV networks, the press, etc. to talk positively about GA and it’s real importance to the US and the North American attributes to be seen and enjoyed from the air. The fact that we can travel and see the earths’ beauty from the air. Such new equipment as ADS-B (In and Out) and better cockpit displays make flying much more safe. We definitely need to advocate these new advanced positive features in order to attract new pilots. The broadcast industry must talk about GA in a positive sense to motivate the wonders of private flying,
Here’s the link: http://www.jsfirm.com/avfact
My flight instructor always used to say that if he could reduce one of the three things in his operating budget, it would make a huge difference. The three were insurance, fuel, and maintenance costs. I think with Swift Fuels hopefully gaining some traction in the market we might have a possibility of chipping away at one of those three items.
In 1971 I got my private pilot’s license it cost me $600
1974 I flew back to Wichita and picked up my brand new Cessna Cardinal RG for $24,600 those days are long gone.
Those days have passed. I order for those days to return, we need the “Top Gun” effect. That film drove young men to join Naval Aviation. We need some GA movies and TV shows to attract potential buyers and students. These movies must stress wives, guys, and gals of all ethnic groups. Although EAA and AOPA do not show or feature people of color, we need all Americans to consider GA. We must not only talk about Tuskegee Airmen, but show all people flying and enjoying our beautiful planet. The conveniences of flying are the greatest and safest especially with ADS-B. If we can equip with low priced ADS-B, flying will be the safest form of transportation.
We need movie and TV executives to help us by depicting aviation in a positive sense. That is something they have seldom done. HELP!
The navy doesn’t need pilots, the F35 will shrink the naval air arm significantly.
In 1971 I bought my 1st new car, a Dodge Dart, loaded for $2,400.
So that $24,600 Cessna was 10x my car…. the same as today, where a $300,000 Cessna is 10x the $30,000 new car…..The only differences is that the taxes are now huge.!
How would you like to approach GAMA and the aircraft, engine and avionics manufacturers and recommend that they agree with lowering prices to increase sales. If so, let’s talk with them and propose realistic solutions.
Private flying under part 91 are indeed being affected by high cost. That the cost of new aircraft has greatly exceed the rate of inflation is a root factor. The industry including publications and “our” organizations do not help when they focus nearly exclusively on “travel” by GA or the “need” for the latest avionics. there is not an airport in my area that would require my airplane to be ADS-B equipped. All of these airports in northern Michigan can be found with ease without a GPS and yet to hear AOPA or even the EAA tell it a “glass panel” is a necessity for any aircraft.
The six hundred pound gorilla that needs to be dealt with by those who still do try and keep an airplane is the cost/availability of hangars and insurance. Buying an airplane can be easy and inexpensive , keeping it can be difficult and costly.
This is not about aircraft pricing. It’s about the baby boomers that are all in their 70s and older and the fewer young who are not interested in flying or golf. Both industry’s are in decline. The demographics of the country have changed permanently.
You are partially correct, however the automotive industry could not exist if only Cadillacs, Lincoln, etc were the only cars available. There are more Chevvys, Plymouths, Hondas, Toyotas, etc. So the auto industry exists with lower priced cars. We must lower the price of aircraft down to where more will be sold. GAMA has done nothing in that area. We need lower costs for certification and maintenance, as well as initial costs. The government should help because if we have a serious conflict, we will need pilots. Do you remember the very extensive amount of flight training that occurred around are country back in the 30s and 40s. The government will not have to fund pilot training so extensively with more pilotsavailable to fly. We all will be better off with more available pilots as well as the aircraft industry.
Another serious consideration which could have worked but failed to click. The Light Sport Aircraft was an attempt to help the aircraft industry, unfortunately, the industry’s products were way to expensive. So that effort did product the numbers needed to help. Homebuilt aircraft are suppose to help, but involve time and a little money to build.
A possible breakthrough would be rebuild market such as Yingling Aircraft like the 172N. However, we need a Congressionaly imposed rebuild market for the other legacy aircraft, I.e., Pipers, Cessnas, Funks, Stinsons, Navions, etc. That would infuse a new and market. All we need would need would be us old time CFIs to teach tail wheel flying. That would be FUN FLYING, INDEED.
I don’t think aviation needs more legislation imposed on it, in general. The other gotcha is the consideration that these airplanes may not have appeal to the buyers or student pilots of today. There is a market for old airplanes (I own one, as a young pilot), but to believe that everyone wants that type of airplane is foolish and limiting. The goal of any industry is to determine what buyers want, and many buyers want advanced avionics, things like starters, lights, and maybe even safety features like airbags or airframe parachutes. As such, certification rules need to updated to allow these products to get developed and approved at a lower cost to the manufacturer and faster timeline. While the rebuild market is great, I think it’s sad to see that retrofit avionics sales are meeting or exceeding forward-fit sales, or that we still have enough 40-year-old airplanes around to economically justify rebuild or remanufacturing programs. If you bring the cost of new airplanes down, these programs aren’t as necessary (that’s not to say that they are not good ideas or would not succeed against lower-cost new aircraft).
There will always be market niches for things like vintage or specialty airplanes, and that is a great thing–but let’s make it easier for manufacturers to bring new products to market vs. rehashing old ones.
Certification reform remains one of GAMA’s top priorities at the behest of its members, along with consistency in regulatory interpretation (especially the use of ODA to bring products to market faster). The goal of certification reform has been stated as “twice the safety at half the cost.”
GBigs is correct that the average age of the pilot population continues to increase, and the pilot population continues to decline as a result of less people getting involved in aviation and pursuing pilot certificates. The question, of course, then becomes why young people are not getting involved at the same rate as previous generations. One theory is that aviation is not as exciting as it once was, due to a variety of causes, but one of the contributing factors is the dated image of general aviation. Airplanes look the same as they did 50 years ago, and the technology has only recently started to evolve at a faster pace. If a young person finds a more modern airplane, they probably can’t afford it. And they can’t afford it because of–bingo–high costs as a result of certification requirements and liability insurance. So the real trick is to get certification reform passed so that industry can bring innovative products to market at a lower cost and faster pace. Unfortunately, certification reform got wrapped up with more controversial legislation (ATC privatization, which is not a GAMA issue) and did not pass. Congress did not include certification reform in the most recent FAA reauthorization, much to GAMA’s great disappointment.
For the record, I am not a representative of GAMA. I’m an employee of a member company, though, and I am extremely impressed by the organization’s professionalism and nuanced understanding of the industry. Politics take time, I am learning.
Conversely to the comment above, many young pilots in our area are still purchasing their first aircraft. Not new and in some cases experimental. I have found very many reasonably priced (less than a new pick up) used aircraft on the market. It would be nice to get certificated aircraft prices down, until someone goes through that actual process themselves there is no appreciation for what it takes, it is exorbitant to say the least. There is a reason so many aircraft upstarts fail, not the least of which is underestimating the cost to go from white sheet to certification and production. Figure $100MM for a Caravan style aircraft and about $1B for any commercial carrier jet. I would like to see any real evidence behind the GAMA statement.
With extremely high new aircraft prices, even with Yingling Aircraft Cessna 172N rebuilds, our industry is crumbling in front of our wallets. If GAMA supposedly is our lead organization, it is standing by the extremely rich, doing NOTHING about getting prices down. The only way we are going to get prices down is by asking Congress to save our industry by some kind of effective action or assistance. Lobbying or insurance changes may help. But we must ACT and act now. We must stop delaying doing something to prevent us from being grounded by extreme prices. HELP.