Death of the Hobby Pilot?

[schwarti]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/26/fashion/26pilot.html?em&ex=1177819200&en=3d74feb7e7e3bc73&ei=5087

Article in the Times about the drop in people taking flying lessons as a hobby, not trying for a license to get a job.

 

[ChuckMK23]

General aviation is taking it on the chin - it's true. There are not enough affordable new production aircraft, expenses are higher than ever, and few women put up with their male spouses perusing something as frivolous as "flying for fun".

We need some sort of major boost to shake up the industry. $125/hour 172's are not the answer!

 

[xmid]

I believe that was the piont behind the new "light sport aircraft" category. Make it cheaper and easier for the "hobbyist" to get in to flying. Gas prices really aren't helping the matter. For something like a C-152 the biggest cost is the $4.50 a gallon for fuel.

 

[Single Seat]

User fees arn't going to make the problem any better. I heard a statistic the other day that less than 1/10th of 1% of all people that ever start flying lessons ever move on to get their licence.

The problem is starting to show itself in the hirings at regionals airlines. It's scarey.

 

[Herc_Dude]

The problem is starting to show itself in the hirings at regionals airlines. It's scarey.

That has to be very comforting to the average commercial customer ... is it quantity or quality?

 

[zacharyj53]

The biggest problem in the industry is the cost of insurance going up so much every year. The best way to get cheaper flight time today is to join a flight club.

 

[Single Seat]

That has to be very comforting to the average commercial customer ... is it quantity or quality?

The average customer just assumes that the guys sitting up front are proffesional. Some of my best friends are captains at various airlines and have told me stories of new hires with 230 hours total time and less than 20 multi engine.

 

[HAL Pilot]

The average customer just assumes that the guys sitting up front are proffesional. Some of my best friends are captains at various airlines and have told me stories of new hires with 230 hours total time and less than 20 multi engine.

Those would be regional airlines, not nationals or majors.

 

[Single Seat]

Those would be regional airlines, not nationals or majors.

Heh. You sure? I know some guys at Continental that don't even have ATP mins, and just a few hundred hours throwing the gear in a 1900.

 

[Crowbar]

Continental or Continental Express?

Continental
Minimums:
ATPw
1,500 fixed-wing TT
1,000 fw PIC, or 500 PIC and 500 SIC in turbojet
1,000 fw turbine
1,000 fw ME or
1,000 SE military fighter jet
First class medical
Bachelor's degree ("highly desired")

ExpressJet-In addition to its own airline, ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. also flies under the name Continental Express
Mins: 600TT/100ME

(Source: AirlinePilotCentral.com)

 

[HAL Pilot]

Heh. You sure? I know some guys at Continental that don't even have ATP mins, and just a few hundred hours throwing the gear in a 1900.

I call BS to that, even if their Dad's were Continental Chief Pilots.

BTW Continental Express, Continental Connection, etc. are not Continental even if their planes say it on the sides.

Further, very few get hired at the minimums (that Crowbar posted).

And I will also say that very few get hired at any regional at 230 total time and 20 hours multi. Especially since that means that they would have had to complete their commercial training via part 141 and have been hired straight out of school. Anyone hired at those numbers would have almost certainly PFTed (Paid for Training) - in other words "bought their job". PFTers are not well respected by the rest of the industry as they contribute to the lowering of the profession.

There are some regionals that are hiring at 500 total and 50 multi, but that is about the lowest I've seen without PFT. These guys are still mostly the except too.

 

[HighDimension]

There are some regionals that are hiring at 500 total and 50 multi, but that is about the lowest I've seen without PFT. These guys are still mostly the except too.

I have a buddy at UND saying they had someone hired at 300/50 by Pinnacle. I can't confirm that but I know that the regionals are desperate for bodies.

 

[Single Seat]

1350 TT/450 multi, I shit you not. I can assure you he actually got the job, I met him at the gate on an overnight he had here recently for some good ole fashion airline overnight drinkin. I don't know who he fornicated, but some genie in a bottle granted a wish. And CAL, not Express.

 

[snizo]

Well - how comfortable are you when you're pilot looks like the squeeky-voiced teen from the Simpsons...those Continental Express folks look about 15 yrs old.

"Uh ... Mr. Townsend ... I broke the throttle again"

 

[nugget81]

I have a buddy at UND saying they had someone hired at 300/50 by Pinnacle. I can't confirm that but I know that the regionals are desperate for bodies.

I can confirm this. I graduated UND last Fall and knew of several people who were hired by Pinnacle to fly CRJ's with those numbers or less. They only required that the applicants had completed UND's CRJ course (which consists of a semester-long systems class, and 6 weeks of ground school & simulator training). Also, everyone who takes CRJ at UND must have their CFI & CFII prior to enrollment. Finally, UND is not a PFT type thing....Mesa's PACE program is.

BTW, those jobs come with a $17K a year paycheck for the first two years....