Jim Hanson
In previous issues of Midwest Flyer Magazine, CFII Jim Hanson began a discussion on “Student Starts & Pilot Retention,” which he wrote prior to the release of findings from research conducted by the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA). Many of Hanson’s observations dovetail with AOPA’s findings. For instance, AOPA concurs that there is a need for “social interaction” among pilots, that there is “pride and uniqueness” associated with being a pilot, and that aviation can be used to enhance the other things we do in life. AOPA’s findings also concur that there is a need for FAA reforms. Hanson now explores what we can do nationally to recruit and retain pilots.
We’ve explored what works, and what doesn’t. We’ve explored what we can do LOCALLY. I believe it’s time for some national policy changes.
We’ve become a victim of our own press. Back in the “Golden Age” of aviation, the 1930s, pilots were elevated to the status of national heroes. Major newspapers had “aviation editors,” and newsreels documented the comings and goings of aviation personalities: Earhart, Doolittle, Turner, etc. During World War II, the fate of entire nations fell upon what Churchill called “THE FEW” – those few pilots that initially staved off invasion, then took the war to the enemy. During the “Cold War,” people couldn’t wait to emulate their heroes; they learned to fly and bought airplanes in record numbers. The X-plane pilots WERE national heroes. Somewhere along the way, we lost our bearings; we told people that “anyone can become a pilot;” that the new tricycle gear airplanes were so easy to fly that ANYONE could do it (remember “Land-O-Matic” gear and “Para-lift flaps”?). We tossed aside our leather jackets and wrist computer watches in an effort to “blend in” with the rest of the population, and look where it got us. Is it any wonder that pilots are no longer viewed as something SPECIAL?
The GOOD NEWS out of the bad news of declining numbers of pilots is that pilots are AGAIN becoming something special; only between 2% and 3% of the total population has ever been a pilot. Think about that. Nationwide, in a community of 20,000, only about 40-50 people have been pilots. Here’s another statistic. The population of the U.S. today is something over 300 million people. In 2009, there were just under 600,000 active pilots, including those who fly for a living. That means that in a room with 500 people in it, there will only be ONE pilot, and that person will be YOU! Doesn’t THAT make you feel “special?” We need to recognize that flying ISN’T for everybody, and it never will be. Most people COULD be a pilot, but few actually will take the time to do it, and do it right.
Flight training. We do a fair job of teaching people to fly (more on that later), but we do a horrible job of teaching people to use an airplane. During Private Pilot training, every move the student makes is under the direction of the flight instructor: what maneuvers to do, weather limitations, where to go on a cross country. Students eagerly look forward to advancing to the next step. What happens when the newly-minted Private Pilot gets the rating? He/she gives the obligatory rides to friends and relatives, but soon exhausts those reasons to go flying. The new pilot moves on to the “Flight Breakfast” scene, flying somewhere for breakfast or the “$100 hamburger.” They may be having fun with the airplane, and that’s as it should be, but they haven’t learned to USE the airplane. After a couple of years, they drop out.
We need to do more to keep their interest:
• Some people just like the learning experience. They need to be motivated to keep learning: check out in a new aircraft; or get an instrument rating, glider rating, seaplane rating, high-performance rating, complex aircraft rating.
• Some people DO just like to fly for the fun of it. They need to be taught that flying is fun for its own sake. My measure of whether something is fun is “would I do this all by myself, without others around?” We need to teach them how to get economy and utility out of an airplane: fly simple airplanes, use lower power settings, set attainable goals for yourself, split piloting costs with others. These are the perfect candidates for Light Sport Aircraft.
• For those that actually want to travel to other places, the FAA Private Pilot minimum requirements do them a disservice. The few hours of solo cross-country don’t make them competent and confident about setting off on a cross-country. Think about it. How many new Private Pilots actually GO places more than 50 miles from home on a regular basis? We need to teach these pilots how to navigate with and without electronics, how to land at strange or challenging airports, how to obtain a weather briefing from a strange airport for a cross-country flight, how to go cross-country in weather or adverse terrain. A good way to include ALL of these scenarios is to do away with the old “three-leg student cross country” that we all did, and set out on a dual instruction cross-country flight that actually GOES somewhere. MOST Private Pilots will tell you “I learned more about cross-country flying AFTER I got my Private Pilot Certificate than I did BEFORE I got the certificate,” and that shouldn’t be. Do away with the “ded (deductive) reckoning” calculation, pick up an instructor, and go to a place beyond the out-and-return range of the aircraft, so the student learns the real world practice of managing and purchasing fuel, instead of filling the aircraft tanks before every flight, of obtaining ground transportation, hangar accommodations, weather briefings. Make sure part of the trip is conducted at night, and at low but safe altitudes simulating adverse weather, with a diversion to an alternate thrown in for good measure.
• In the past, most of us were defined by our job or hobby—“I’m a pilot;” “I’m a fisherman;” “I’m a golfer;” “I ride horses.” In today’s multi-tasking world, we do many things, not just fly airplanes. We may get up and go fishing in the morning, get in a round of golf, ride horses, then make dinner plans. Flying airplanes competes with many other activities that our parents could only dream of, and that our spouses felt took time away from the family. Educate pilots about how flying can make their OTHER activities more fun. Does the pilot like to fish? Ski? Go to a lake? Antiques? A special place to go with the family? Show him/her what is available within the range of the airplane. This has the added benefit of making the family part of being a pilot, instead of the pilot competing with family activities for time. The utility of the airplane also has a side benefit in the new pilot BUYING an airplane. Want proof? Look at the ads for boating, or RVs; they show the family having a good time together.
• Increasingly, people learning to fly do so as a “career.” To address their needs, you need to keep up-to-date on career choices. Be sure you have current information – information only a couple of years old may be hopelessly out of date. We often have people that would like to pursue flying as a career, but tell us “I can’t be a pilot because I don’t have 20/20 vision,” or “I’m too old;” the airlines only take people in their 20s,” or “I don’t have a college degree” or “The airlines only hire military pilots,” or “I’ve heard the airlines are not hiring due to financial reasons.” Give these people the truth as best you know it, but don’t guess. Most of the excuses for not being able to pursue an aviation career are based on out-of-date information; even someone out of aviation only a couple of years will likely NOT have it right in today’s world. In each of the scenarios listed above, there has been an opportunity for a pilot that is prepared when an opening exists. Airline requirements have changed dramatically, and the need for new pilots is predictable. Make sure career-oriented pilots know that the airlines are NOT the only game in town. There are many aviation careers they may never have thought of.
The takeaway: There are many reasons to learn to fly. Instead of simply teaching people to fly and then casting them out to discover for themselves, what to do with their new skills, we need to identify their needs and help them fulfill them. We need to integrate flying into their other activities. I tell people, “If you can’t find something to do within the 500-mile unrefueled range of a GA airplane, perhaps flying is not for YOU. I would suggest perhaps an ANT FARM?”
In the October/November 2011 issue, we will discuss what FAA reforms are needed to help recruit and retain pilots.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jim Hanson is the long-time fixed base operator at Albert Lea, Minnesota. He has run multiple FBOs, and is rated in airplanes, helicopters, gliders, balloons, single and multi-engine seaplanes, and six types of jets. He has owned 538 airplanes in his 48 years of flying, and has no accidents or incidents in his 30,000 hours aloft. Jim recognizes that these statements may not sit well with some members of the aviation community, but they are offered as part of a dialogue with national aviation organizations to help stop the erosion of student starts and pilot dropouts in promoting aviation. Jim says, “The best part about getting old is that you don’t care WHO you offend!” If you’d like to give him a piece of your mind, you can contact him at jimhanson@deskmedia.com.
