Hi all,

I was browsing an avaition forum and came across a post about the current state of General Aviation. There was a report that stated that there was only 600,000 pilots today compared to 827,000 in 1980. It got me wondering how many simmers are real life pilots or want to be. There were various reasons discussed about why people have seemingly lost interest in becoming a pilot, the most popular reason being the costs involved. Others believed that younger people just don't see flying as "cool" anymore or that video games are actually to blame or that all the goverment regs scare people off. If you fall into the "Yes, but... other" category in the poll, please list the reasons why.

I'd love to get all the simmer's here to participate in the poll. The results could be interesting.

Thanks!

Interesting poll. I think one of the biggest hurdles is the price. It cost me about $6000 to get my license back in 1988 when I was in college. I can’t imagine what it cost today. I flew Helicopters in the Army back in the late 80's, early 90's. I never made it to the end of Flight school because my eyes just couldnt adjust to the night vision googles and haven’t flown helicopters since. I got back into fixed wing for a short while in the early 90's, but Today I don’t fly much anymore. just too expensive. Plus, now I have to put away for my sons college education, mortgage, insurance etc.. Luckily, my brother got his license and bought a plane, so I get to fly with him once in a while.

I haven’t been hurt hard by the recession, but know a lot of people who have, and that does not help General aviation. In addition, a lot of small airports have been pushed aside by local municipalities because of noise and large airports overcrowding the skies.

When I grew up, my dad had a Piper Comanche at Flushing airport in Queens. It was a poorly paved short runway surrounded by apartment buildings. Landing there was very scary. It seemed we were just scraping the top of the apartment buildings and then dropping it in onto the poorly maintained and often flooded runway! It was also only about 2 miles from LaGuardia and there were a few close calls over the years. After a small plane went down in a residential house nearby, Mayor Beam at the time, shut it down. Now it’s just waste land and abandoned hangers are all thats left. Such a Pitty!

If you haven’t already seen it, Watch the documentary "16 right". They talk a lot about the challenges facing General aviation today. Very informative and great photography too.

Rob

It's just too expensive.

I’m sure the cost is the biggest issue. And that will vary greatly on how many hours it takes you to complete your training and pass your checkride. The minimum is 40 hours, but it took me 110. I've always wondered what the average is. I’ve heard that the average time to get your license in the SF Bay Area is 100 hrs. I’m not sure how/why it differs from training in other places (since I haven’t completed flight training anywhere else), but I would guess it has to do with weather (lot’s of wind/fog here certain times of the year) and the complexity of the air space (2 class C and 1 class B airports with airspace all overlapping each other). Or maybe the instructors here have different standards. I really don’t know.

I know I can’t imagine having been comfortable about passing my checkride with less than 60-80 hours.

The Light Sport Aircraft category and Sport Pilot license were supposed to lower the bar for entry into GA, but while there is a few sub-100K USD LSA offerings on the market, the most LSAs available are in the 100K-180K range, not drastically cheaper than their fully fledged brethren. Of course you can find plenty of sub-100K non-LSA planes, but only used, and you never know how much their maintenance is going to cost in the long run. Partial ownership is supposedly great for lowering the cost of flying, but you have to find somebody you will trust with a significant financial investment.

I got my license back in 2004 after 65 hours, flying out of KWVI (Watsonville) in Monterey Bay area. My CFI told me I was ready at 55, but I didn't feel ready. Everybody has a different comfort level and different aptitude. Since the airport is almost right on the coast, the weather was often a factor.I can imagine that getting your license in the SF Bay Area would take longer too, due to all the congestion and weather.

The specter of user fees keeps hanging over us, particularly in these challenging economic times, but I really hope we won't follow Europe in this regard. The hobby is expensive as it is. I hope to be able to buy an LSA in a few years. I haven't flown recently since there are more pressing financial needs.

The first place I took my wife when I got my license was to lunch at Zuniga's at KWVI.

I rent, so the cost of buying a plane doesn't affect me directly. But, at $140/hr wet, renting ain't cheap either...

Well, I started flying in 1975. About 30 dollars an hour, if I remember correctly. If I wanted to start today, I'd have to forget about it.
A sold my airplane last year, and with renting at 127 bucks an hour...well , like I said, forget about it. I don't fly anymore.

Thanks for all the replies so far guys! If you are a pilot, please do mention if you're still flying or not and it not, why.

I got my PPL back in 2005, but didn't fly for the last couple of years. Just got my BFR and will start instrument training soon, but at $196 an hour for the plane and instructor, it may cost more than my PPL did! I am fortunate to not have much debt, no kids (yet) and both the wife and I have good jobs. If we had a family or made any less, I couldn't keep it up. I am looking into clubs or partnerships as that seems to be the most pratical and affordable way to fly often.

I pay $250 an hour in Canada I am young but it was my dream to fly and before my Mom passed away she said don't give up. SO that and my love of aviation makes it worth it.

I have dreamed with that since I was a kid.