by Dave Weiman
There has been much talk about the 80 percent dropout rate among flight students, and this should concern all of us. It is counterproductive in our efforts to grow the pilot population, and a negative reflection on our industry.
As an industry and community, we have been doing a good job of introducing our friends, family and young people to flying, and even in getting them to sign up to take flying lessons, but few complete what they start and do not get their pilot certificates. Why?
In some cases, it may be a money issue. Some students may start their training without first setting aside the money to complete the process, and they get discouraged and quit.
In some cases, the flight instructors may be time-builders and not professional educators, possibly causing the student to quit because the learning process is flawed.
In some cases, the aircraft are not very well equipped or maintained, so there may be breakdowns, delays and the student pilot does not feel good about his/her training experience and quits.
In some cases, the flight school facilities may not have an educational atmosphere, and the student quits.
In some cases, maybe we are not mentoring the student throughout their flight training, from first lesson thru written and flight examinations, and the student quits.
In some cases, maybe we are pushing too much. Some people we introduce to aviation may initially get involved to please us and not themselves, and the student quits.
In some cases, the process of getting a pilot certificate is not well structured, nor clearly communicated, so the student quits.
We can remedy everything we have listed by providing money through scholarships and encourage the student pilot to prioritize flying over other activities…providing flight instructors who are professional educators, not time-builders…providing aircraft that are well equipped and maintained…providing good flight school facilities….mentoring the student throughout their entire flight training process…streamlining the training to eliminate obstacles…and not pushing so hard that we push the student away. But unless the student pilot has the desire and commitment to complete his/her training, it won’t happen.
We welcome your ideas on how we as an industry can help student pilots complete their training and obtain their pilot certificates.
Email your comments to me at dave@midwestflyer.com.
Thank you!
