A pet peeve of mine is when people paint with a broad brush. You’ve heard ‘em: “Millennials/Boomers/Athletes/Politicians/Other are all (fill in the blank).”
Philip Handleman’s recent essay, Is Mars the answer to the future pilot shortage?, elicited a few such comments.
“Most FAA employees are more focused on making it to retirement than promulgation of aviation,” says Larry in response to Philip’s essay.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, “The FAA has about 46,000 permanent and part-time employees supporting the provision of safe and efficient air travel.”
A commenter by the name of Captain says, “I totally disagree [with] you [Philip]. I see very little interest from the younger generations in flying and the interest they do have is playing with the glass cockpits.”
The Population Clock estimates there were 330,052,960 people living in the United States as of Aug. 2, 2020. Philip’s essay cites FAA data that show there are just 664,565 pilots in the U.S. as of 2019. Safe to say, it isn’t just the “younger generations” who aren’t interested in aviation. Pilots make up just .2% of the population of this country.
And for anyone who has spent any time online at myriad aviation websites, you will recognize the gbigs comment handle. gbigs offers, “Kids are into virtual reality, not real life, and there are fewer of them. And those remaining who want a real life experience are settling for drone flying.”
The son of a friend of mine, who I took on a Young Eagles flight a handful of years ago, graduated (virtually) from high school in June. By July Sam was in Texas enrolled in ATP Flight School. Safe to say, Sam wasn’t exactly a fan of high school. But every time I got to see him, he schooled me on the latest headline from the business and commercial aviation world.
I can’t speak for the other 1,459 students at Sam’s high school, but the one I did interact with, and mentor in a very small way, is interested and engaged and self-motivated to learn to fly.
And there’s the rub. An interaction with one (fill in the blank) person does not mean all (fill in the blank) people are the same.
Lest you think we aviators are the only ones who paint with a broad brush, fear not. An email newsletter that I subscribe to painted this gem in a recent edition: “How can society achieve the consensus it needs to function if everyone regards rivals as ‘Nazis,’ ‘traitors’ or ‘enemies of the people?’”
Everyone? Really? Everyone?
No. Not everyone. To state otherwise is, I believe, irresponsible and lazy.
There are many great examples of “kids” being into “real life,” “younger generations” being interested in aviation, and FAA employees who focus on the “promulgation of aviation.” In some cases, it takes a bit of energy to find them. In other cases, it requires us to alter the lens through which are looking.
To do that, we have to put down the broad brush and pick up the detail brush. It takes longer, but the outcome is worth it.
Hey Ben, great article with some valid points. Let me start by saying my opinion is not painted with a brush. They are based on my personal experience as a CFI with one on one flight training. Most all of the learners that I have worked with are more interested in the magic than practicing maneuvers. This shows from the Loss of Control accidents on file and a major priority of the FAA. The young learners of today are cockpit managers not pilots, and when the computer goes down it’s all over. I had one learner, college degree and CFII. He saw my Pitts in the hangar and asked me what it was. I asked him if he would like to fly it no charge and he said yes. I gave him the flight manual so we could have a thorough briefing. I never saw him again or the manual. Maybe I am too critical but I find it more difficult to find young people interested in aviation other than a big paycheck at the airlines.
Pilots should apply for protection and financial aid under the protected species act. Lets get government to do something FOR us instead of TO us.
Seriously, though, all 46,000 FAA employees are NOT constantly looking over the shoulders of the 460,000 pilots in the US. If you look at the directory of your local FSDO, you’ll see plenty of people who are involved in other areas than “policing” pilots. Among other things, they are responsible for oversight of manufacturers (737Max, maybe?), repair shops, AME standards, airport obstructions and compliance, cell towers, field approvals, and much more.
If you think WE are over-regulated, go look at the EASA website. Here, we joke that we can’t fly until the height and the weight of the paperwork equals the height and the weight of the airplane, in Euroland, you can’t fly unless the height and the weight of the paperwork equals the height and the weight of the EASA office buildings in all the EASA-ruled countries combined, PLUS the stacked height and the total weights of all the faceless bureaucrats inside.
The FAA’s remit is to “encourage aviation” as a public good. They may not be our best buddies sometimes, but at least they are mostly on our side. EASA’s job is to “recover expenses”, and they charge out the wazoo for absolutely everything, and they charge for all of it big time, too. If you want to fly in Euroland, you’d better be *rich*, just “comfortable” won’t do it. They don’t care if anyone flies or not, EASA expects to be paid, and paid well, regardless.
Could the FAA be “better”? Probably, but things could also be far, far worse. We at least have congress-critters to complain to, and sometimes they even listen to us (usually just before elections), but EASA is part of the EU Common Market and is absolutely a law unto themselves and accountable to nobody.
Of the 664k+ pilots mentioned in the article, 197k are listed as ‘student pilots’, so I wouldn’t include them in the pilot population of 446k.
see, https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/
But we GA pilots only number 267k; sport, private and commercial. The ATP guys are is a very different bunch, although our EAA chapter of 122 has 3 that are GA owners and fly the ‘big iron’.
It is difficult to attract young folks to aviation, but when we hold an EAA Young Eagles day, we fill all 75 slots in a few days. But then, a ride in an aircraft is different from that person wanting to do the work and expense [ est. $14k in CA], to become a pilot.
Agreed with too-broad of generalization (as I took issue with in my comments on the Handleman essay) being a hazard to truth. However, consider the following thoughts.
The 664,565 pilot number is voodoo magic. How many actually fly in a given year? I skipped out of aviation for 20 years and was considered an active pilot. Licenses don’t expire and glider ratings require no medical, if that’s even cross-referenced to medicals. Well, to pick an optimistic number of how many actually are flying, I’ll pick 460,000. With 46,000 FAA staff to supervise them, that’s one for every 10 pilots.
There are about 230 million licensed drivers in the USA. Driving licenses expire and one can assume that most drive often. By aviation standards this should require 23 million cops and other officials to supervise driving activity. The actual number of cops is 0.7 million, a “shortfall” by a factor of 33. Consider that police have many duties other than traffic enforcement or management, which makes the comparative factor arguably more like 100.
Imagine now, if you can, a driving environment with 100 times the traffic patrols. Would it be safer? Most likely, but expensive. Cost per driver to add 22 million additional cops? About $10,000 per year. What would John Q. Public think of that? Would the number of drivers go up (increased safety) or down (increased cost)?
The pernicious “everyone” argument is not much worse than the “but some are good” one. A bus full of very nice people will still squish you flat if the driver is drunk. The FAA has become such a bus and it’s a big one and a very costly one. Rules are written for the safety of the authors, not the aviators, and are ironclad. I’m pretty sure I have never flown without a possible rule violation. Example: POH is the bible and disobedience may result in smiting. Mine specifies tire pressure must be 45 psi, +/- 1.5 psi. Go for the $100 burger in the cold morning with compliance, a return flight in the warm afternoon (without careful pressure adjustment (TSO’d gauge?) is contrary to the POH lying in the backseat, also a potential violation. All pretty much the definition of a “hostile work environment”, even for PPL holders.
“Freedom of Flight”? The reality falls short of the promise.