Graying Pilots Lament Decline in Interest Among Young
Thu Jul 27, 2006 10:53 am
Not Wanting to Earn Their Wings; Graying Pilots Lament Decline in Interest Among Young
Washington Post 07/26/2006
Author: Del Quentin Wilber
Copyright 2006, The Washington Post Co. All Rights Reserved
Jack Gilbert flew up here Sunday from Louisiana, parked his homemade plane with hundreds of others on a grass patch not far from the runway, and set up his tent for the week. Gilbert, 57, a building contractor, was in heaven: sleeping in a tent next to his plane, with thousands of other aviation buffs and their assorted aircraft at one of the world's biggest air shows.
Like many others here, Gilbert is worried that he might one day witness the death of such shows. Most of the others around him are his age. Fewer young people are discovering the romance of flying. Whether it's the high cost or the substantial training time, the number of student pilots has fallen by more than half in 25 years.
Gilbert was disappointed when his two grown sons passed on the opportunity to become pilots -- even when he offered to teach them.
"I think it's the video games," Gilbert said as he adjusted his aviator sunglasses and worked on his tent. "The younger ones want instant gratification. Learning to fly is work. You have to work at it."
Thousands of pilots and more than 7,000 planes are descending this week on Wittman Regional Airport for the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture Oshkosh 2006 show. Organizers say that so many planes are taking off and landing here that Wittman becomes the busiest airport in the world during the show. More than 700,000 people are expected to attend -- a sea of pilots, their tents and their biplanes, vintage aircraft, experimental propeller planes and "spam cans," as factory-made aircraft are called.
The attendance figures and the enthusiasm of participants shroud a worry that cuts across trade groups and business associations: The number of pilots in the United States has fallen 25 percent in the past 25 years. The number of student pilots has plummeted 56 percent over the same period -- from about 200,000 to 87,200 in 2005. Only about 40 percent of today's student pilots will get their licenses.
Industry observers say that overall aviation, including commercial air carriers, could be harmed if more people don't learn to fly. If the aviation sector grows as expected, some predict, there will be a shortage of skilled pilots in the next decade or two.
Trade associations and manufacturers are so concerned that they have created programs to recruit new pilots. The Experimental Aircraft Association sponsors a program that encourages its 170,000 members to take youngsters up for free flights, to give them a taste of flying. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is pushing its 400,000 members to find potential fliers as part of a program it launched last month.
There are many reasons, mostly financial, for the decline in the number of pilots. It costs a lot to learn to fly ($200 to $250 a lesson in the Washington area, including instructor, plane rental and fuel). The practical applications of earning a license can be limited because it is often easier and cheaper to jump on a commercial jet than fly in a Cessna or Piper. A new Cessna 172, a plane that just marked 50 years of production, costs about $250,000. Insurance can cost thousands of dollars a year.
Earning a license requires a minimum of 40 hours of flight time, most of it with an instructor. Pilots also must go through ground school to learn the basics of flight.
Although there isn't much trade groups can do to reduce the cost of learning to fly -- aviation fuel costs about $4 a gallon and instructors charge about $40 an hour -- manufacturers are looking to build less expensive and more efficient and reliable planes to attract new pilots.
The Cessna Aircraft Co. unveiled a small airplane at the show on Monday that executives say could be aimed at beginners and cost less than $100,000. The plane is designated a "light sport" aircraft, the fastest-growing segment in general aviation, according to Cessna. It has a wingspan of 30 feet, seats two and has a cabin width of 48 inches.
Some companies sell kits so pilots can build their planes. Such kits can cost less than $10,000. And there is a large market for used planes, which are far cheaper than new ones.
Some enthusiasts say that because of improvements in safety, thrill-seekers may no longer be attracted to flying. The FAA reported that in general aviation, there were 1.37 fatal accidents per 100,000 flight hours last year, down from 1.69 in 1980.
Jerry Sprayberry, 62, a telecommunications executive from Dallas, sat under the wing of his single-engine Cessna, drinking beer and shooting the breeze with three buddies. They traded stories about "white-knuckle flights" and "near-death experiences." (A couple from Washington state died on Sunday when their plane crashed short of the runway here.)
Sprayberry said he didn't have any such experiences. One of his friends crashed his propeller plane into a tree years ago; another said he flipped his plane in strong winds.
Sprayberry got into flying when he was a kid and loved to ride his bicycle to the airport and watch planes take off and land. Hoping to get a new breed of pilots into flying, he participates in a program in which he takes teenagers on flights in his plane to stoke their interest. So far, most haven't seemed all that interested, he said.
"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."
Dennis Clardy, 58, who flew in from Arkansas, said he was building a plane for his grandchildren. But he conceded that it might be a pointless endeavor.
"They view the airplanes as transportation, just like a car," Clardy said. "I would be happy to take off and fly around for half and hour. They don't want to do that . . . I might be lucky and have one grandchild who wants to learn."
Winston Slater, 58, brought his wife and 21-year-old son to Oshkosh for the week and got a prime parking spot across from one of the runways so he could sit in a beach chair and just watch planes take off and land.
While watching three planes take off at the same time in an aerobatic maneuver, he said he worries about the future. Looking up and down the rows of planes, he said: "I don't see a lot of new blood."
Thu Jul 27, 2006 11:17 am
Typical negative swill from the eletist Washington Post. Put a downer spin on the whole experience. Sh*t, couldn't they discuss some of the positive, upbeat stuff thats going on.
If they were covering the National Convention of the ACLU, they would have nothing but glorious, happy stories to tell. What a bunch of jerks!!!
If they were covering the National Convention of the ACLU, they would have nothing but glorious, happy stories to tell. What a bunch of jerks!!!
Thu Jul 27, 2006 11:58 am
One thing that is not helping is the clsoing off of airports in the name of security. When I got started I would ride my bike to the nearby airport and ride around the ramp and hangars and talk to the pilots and mechanics. The only airport that was closed off was the main airport downtown. When I started working on Warbirds on weekends, there were families that would walk around the hangars during a morning just to see what was going on. In the last 8 yrs, all the airports around here have had all public access removed, pedestian gates closed, and automatic gates installed. Since then, You no longer see the kids or families around the fields, and in the public eyes, the airports are places where only the rich can get access to.
Millions of dollars were spent to fix a problem that never exsisted. and since 9/11 it has only gotten worse. For some reason commercial aviation was hijacked, but general aviation has bore the brunt of the restrictions. At my home field every time there is a call for increased security, the control tower gets a barrier placed around it, and several times has had rent a cops around it 24hrs a day. The control tower is there only because there is a military base 5 miles away and having tower was part of the deal to allow the airport to be placed there. If our tower was siezed, the only thing they could do is tell a student to go fly into a building somewhere. If there are more than 4 planes in the pattern, the controlers can't handle it, they will have you hold where you are till they can figure out how to get a plane out of the pattern.
There will be very little to interest the next generation unless they can be allowed to develope thier interest by coming out to the airport, and not for just 1 day a yr.
Millions of dollars were spent to fix a problem that never exsisted. and since 9/11 it has only gotten worse. For some reason commercial aviation was hijacked, but general aviation has bore the brunt of the restrictions. At my home field every time there is a call for increased security, the control tower gets a barrier placed around it, and several times has had rent a cops around it 24hrs a day. The control tower is there only because there is a military base 5 miles away and having tower was part of the deal to allow the airport to be placed there. If our tower was siezed, the only thing they could do is tell a student to go fly into a building somewhere. If there are more than 4 planes in the pattern, the controlers can't handle it, they will have you hold where you are till they can figure out how to get a plane out of the pattern.
There will be very little to interest the next generation unless they can be allowed to develope thier interest by coming out to the airport, and not for just 1 day a yr.
Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:03 pm
Seriously Tigercat - please stop posting your thinly-veiled political opinions in here, take it to Off-Topic.
Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:23 pm
One thing I can say for PDK here in Atlanta is, that yes we all are, & will continue to have changes made, & limited access in the concern of security, but the county (Dekalb) has built a nice park with viewing area at the base of the control tower, where people can come bring their kids & watch airplanes. The days of the weekends with folks walking around the ramp sight seeing are gone, but at least they have a nice place here where they have an unobstructed view to sit & watch. Used to be back when I helped a friend with his Mustang, T-6, & Stearmans on weekends, we could hardly get any work done for folks stopping by to look & ask questions. Sure is amazing how these old airplanes will draw a crowd. We might not have always accomplished what all we planned to do, because we would always, & enjoyed making time to stop & do show & tell.
Robbie
Robbie
Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:48 pm
Matt;
I could not agree more with you!!! Aviation is is fading away like a sunset. I used to work at airports years ago were you could just walk around the hangars and talk to people, now if you do get on the ramp you have 10 different people asking who are you? Do you work here? Or the you need to leave, this is a restricted area! I miss the days of old, I think that most people who work at a GA airport are smart enough to know who looks suspicious or if they look like they are up to something. I now work at airport in Wyoming were people can come and go as they please and it is a RARE thing. Of course the FAA and Department of Homeland Security are trying to change that. I like to leave my hangar doors open when I'm working on the aircraft and once in a while I will get some visitors that ask to look around and I'm glad to show them the aircraft, not many people in Wyoming have ever been around a corporate jet or even in one! Of course the chief pilot likes to keep everything locked up tight and not talk to anyone but he comes up here from one of those over secured southern California airports were only the elite of aviation are allowed to walk freely. I do wish more kids would get involved with aviation but I don't see it happening, it is really sad. And the fact that my girl friends three boys would rather watch TV or play video games, rather than hang out at the airport and watch airplanes fly just kills me. I can remember when I was kid that is all I wanted to do in my spare time was hang out at the airport and hope some one would let me hangar fly or give me ride to help wipe down their plane at the end of the day. I'll step off my soap box now.
Scott.....
I could not agree more with you!!! Aviation is is fading away like a sunset. I used to work at airports years ago were you could just walk around the hangars and talk to people, now if you do get on the ramp you have 10 different people asking who are you? Do you work here? Or the you need to leave, this is a restricted area! I miss the days of old, I think that most people who work at a GA airport are smart enough to know who looks suspicious or if they look like they are up to something. I now work at airport in Wyoming were people can come and go as they please and it is a RARE thing. Of course the FAA and Department of Homeland Security are trying to change that. I like to leave my hangar doors open when I'm working on the aircraft and once in a while I will get some visitors that ask to look around and I'm glad to show them the aircraft, not many people in Wyoming have ever been around a corporate jet or even in one! Of course the chief pilot likes to keep everything locked up tight and not talk to anyone but he comes up here from one of those over secured southern California airports were only the elite of aviation are allowed to walk freely. I do wish more kids would get involved with aviation but I don't see it happening, it is really sad. And the fact that my girl friends three boys would rather watch TV or play video games, rather than hang out at the airport and watch airplanes fly just kills me. I can remember when I was kid that is all I wanted to do in my spare time was hang out at the airport and hope some one would let me hangar fly or give me ride to help wipe down their plane at the end of the day. I'll step off my soap box now.
Scott.....
Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:01 pm
Glyn,
What I said is a statement of my opinion on this subject------it has nothing to do with "political opinion".
Don't tell me to go "Off-Topic"-------who made you God.
Go to "Off-Topic" yourself, or go "Off-Forum" as far as I am concerned-----you are rude!!
What I said is a statement of my opinion on this subject------it has nothing to do with "political opinion".
Don't tell me to go "Off-Topic"-------who made you God.
Go to "Off-Topic" yourself, or go "Off-Forum" as far as I am concerned-----you are rude!!
Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:09 pm
I also would like to become a piloit, but what it would cost to get my license would pay for a years college tuition for one of my kids. I also have to agree with Scott. Going to airports just isn't much fun anymore. You can't just walk around and look. Things have changed.
When I first moved to where I live now, I would haunt the local airports. At one of them there was a P-51 parked out back of a hanger. I asked the owner of the hanger if I could take a look. He was nice and said go ahead, just please don't enter or climb on it. I took many photographs and was able to actually touch it....now it seems if you get within 10 feet of someones warbird, they have a heart attack. I promise I won't break it, honest!
At one time I called a man named Max Hoffman...owned a couple of Mustangs at different times. He was nice on the phone and told me when his Mustang was going to be parked outside. I was able to go see it and at the time the Mustang named Stump Jumper, parked right next to it. At another time there was a B-17 parked on the ramp. I also had a chance to go into a B-17 in Santa Fe, NM around 1978. It was an aerial tanker. The pilolt said I could go ahead and get inside, just don't pull any levers or turn the wheel. I was able to get into the pilots seat and still have a pic of me there. The only stipulation was that I had to enter the front hatch. I actually managed to do it the first time, just like in the movies.
Anyway, back to my original rant....I think there would be more interest in aviation if there was more opportunity to get close to planes and talk to pilots. I understand that most owners have several hundreds or thousands and even more than a million tied up in their planes, but I still remember Howie Keefe letting people sit in his Mustang and there never seemed to be any harm. One of my dreams, besides to fly in one, is just to sit in the cockpit of a Mustang and get my pic taken. I am not a child, I am 49 (and holding for a few more months), but whenever I have approached an owner to try to gain such access, I am looked at as if I am a child in a candy store trying to steal something. Maybe it is just me, but I would bet if you did a poll, you would find MANY more just like me.
Thus endeth my rant.
When I first moved to where I live now, I would haunt the local airports. At one of them there was a P-51 parked out back of a hanger. I asked the owner of the hanger if I could take a look. He was nice and said go ahead, just please don't enter or climb on it. I took many photographs and was able to actually touch it....now it seems if you get within 10 feet of someones warbird, they have a heart attack. I promise I won't break it, honest!
At one time I called a man named Max Hoffman...owned a couple of Mustangs at different times. He was nice on the phone and told me when his Mustang was going to be parked outside. I was able to go see it and at the time the Mustang named Stump Jumper, parked right next to it. At another time there was a B-17 parked on the ramp. I also had a chance to go into a B-17 in Santa Fe, NM around 1978. It was an aerial tanker. The pilolt said I could go ahead and get inside, just don't pull any levers or turn the wheel. I was able to get into the pilots seat and still have a pic of me there. The only stipulation was that I had to enter the front hatch. I actually managed to do it the first time, just like in the movies.
Anyway, back to my original rant....I think there would be more interest in aviation if there was more opportunity to get close to planes and talk to pilots. I understand that most owners have several hundreds or thousands and even more than a million tied up in their planes, but I still remember Howie Keefe letting people sit in his Mustang and there never seemed to be any harm. One of my dreams, besides to fly in one, is just to sit in the cockpit of a Mustang and get my pic taken. I am not a child, I am 49 (and holding for a few more months), but whenever I have approached an owner to try to gain such access, I am looked at as if I am a child in a candy store trying to steal something. Maybe it is just me, but I would bet if you did a poll, you would find MANY more just like me.
Thus endeth my rant.
Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:56 pm
Tigercat wrote:Glyn,
What I said is a statement of my opinion on this subject------it has nothing to do with "political opinion".
Don't tell me to go "Off-Topic"-------who made you God.
Go to "Off-Topic" yourself, or go "Off-Forum" as far as I am concerned-----you are rude!!
Tigercat,
I have to agree with Glyn on this one. If anybody's rude, it's you and your last couple postings. The last thing any of us WIXers want to hear is someone's political spin (left or right wing).
John
Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:01 pm
Sorry jpeters,
I guess we will have to agree to disagree and go on with things like discussing warbirds and the like.
I guess we will have to agree to disagree and go on with things like discussing warbirds and the like.
Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:55 pm
Tigercat wrote:Glyn,
What I said is a statement of my opinion on this subject------it has nothing to do with "political opinion".
Don't tell me to go "Off-Topic"-------who made you God.
Go to "Off-Topic" yourself, or go "Off-Forum" as far as I am concerned-----you are rude!!
Sorry, I thought my short post was to the point - it wasn't meant to be rude and I apologize that you took it that way. I'm sure you are a great guy in the "real world" and we'd hit it off and talk airplanes for hours if we ever crossed paths - you certainly don't deserve to be spoken to rudely.
My point is that calling an article "negative swill" in the "elitist" Washington Post and then taking a jab out of left field against the ACLU shows your political position - your opinion of the article was sealed at line 2 when you read the Washington Post byline.
There are some valid points in the article and some valid input by other WIX members here in this thread - there is certainly no arguing that the main premise of the article, a decline in youth involvement in aviation is an unfortunate fact. To discount this article as part of some left-wing media bias is uncalled for and that was my point. If you want to argue such things, post THAT in the Off-Topic board. If you want to chime in about aviation/warbirds and NOT make it about politics I encourage you to do so and look forward to your input.
No hard feelings on my part, hope there are none on yours.
Thu Jul 27, 2006 3:17 pm
Glyn,
No bad feelings on my part. I am ready to talk about warbirds and the like. I wouldn't mind discussing aviation over a beer with you if the opportunity ever presented itself!!
No bad feelings on my part. I am ready to talk about warbirds and the like. I wouldn't mind discussing aviation over a beer with you if the opportunity ever presented itself!!
Thu Jul 27, 2006 3:59 pm
I didn't mean to start a ruckus, but I think the gist of the article was that PILOTS don't see many young people interested in aviation, even the ones (like their kids and grandkids) who do have access to the airport.
Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:23 pm
bdk wrote:I didn't mean to start a ruckus, but I think the gist of the article was that PILOTS don't see many young people interested in aviation, even the ones (like their kids and grandkids) who do have access to the airport.
I certainly have an interest in aviation... I also have an interest in making my mortgage payments.
I find it interesting that the more "mature" generation should lament the younger generation not getting into aviation. I would suggest that a large portion of that lamenting generation got their wings in the military when there was a great need and someone else was paying the bill.
Mike
Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:30 pm
And what percentage of that older generation got their wings through military means? And at a time when we needed more military pilots to do the job than is necessary today?
I started to get my license in college, but I simply could not afford to finish. These days I could afford the cost (I think) but it would require some sacrifices financially. Of course time is my biggest enemy.
I started to get my license in college, but I simply could not afford to finish. These days I could afford the cost (I think) but it would require some sacrifices financially. Of course time is my biggest enemy.