Where are all the young pilots?

[martymayes]

Fact is most young people (25ish) are just too busy trying to get their heads above water financially to be able to even think about flying as a hobby. 50 year olds (kids out of school) have much more disposable income on average.

I did it different. I owned 3 airplanes between the age of 25-40. I didn't become a dad until age 42. My kids will be teenagers when I hit 60 so owning a plane is tough for now. I think when they leave the nest I'll get an ultralight and fly that until I'm done with flying.

I'm just wondering, is it really more expensive for young people to fly than it used to be? I started flying in 1976. The price for a Citabria or C-150 was $24.00/ hour solo and $34.00/hr. dual. I was making between $3.00 and $4.00 an hour working at the airport and restaurant jobs.

Wow! Is that AK prices? In '76 I was paying $19/hr for dual in a C-150, $17 solo. After I got my private, I found an old C-150 for rent for $12/hr, so I flew it as much as possible. One of my side jobs to get extra $$ for flying was moping floors in a church.

[martymayes]

I was lucky in the fact I sold the Cherokee just before the market tanked. I don't know if you can still pull this off with the current economy, but it may be worth the try. The magic number, if you weren't aware is about a 100 hours. If you can fly 100 hours a year, it's usually less expensive to own instead of rent.

Yea, owning a plane isn't in the budget Bob. Or, I guess I should say operating a plane isn't in the budget. Ponying up for the purchase isn't a big deal but with uncertainties, like the price of fuel over the next couple years, have to make due with rental.

[Green Goggles]

Focus: how does a young pilot, hungry for hours, manage to build some? And more importantly, how do we revolutionize aviation costs so it doesn't have to be like this anymore?

Age 27 here. I got my ticket about 4 years ago.
In the past 3.5 years, I have logged just under 200 hours. Almost 100 of those were in my first year. So, yes, I've only averaged a handful of hours per year since my initial training.

I agree, it is difficult to build time. Like so may others, my main barrier is cost. I'd fly every day if funds permitted.
So, right now, my main focus is on my career. When it improves, my flying time will increase.

[Rootski]

Join the military... earn a scholarship... or otherwise look for more affordable ways to earn an education or pilots license.

I am in the military. Not everyone gets to fly... even the people who really, really want to.

[kmacht]

I'm just wondering, is it really more expensive for young people to fly than it used to be? I started flying in 1976. The price for a Citabria or C-150 was $24.00/ hour solo and $34.00/hr. dual. I was making between $3.00 and $4.00 an hour working at the airport and restaurant jobs. What is the ratio of cost of aircraft rental to entry level job wages now? ....Louis

Well I can answer that. I am assuming that the $3 to $4 an hour was close to minimum wage. Here in CT minimum wage is $8.25 an hour so wages have about doubled since then. If you assume that the plane rental inflation rate was the same as wages then that $34 an hour dual should be double at $78 an hour. The cessna 150 at the danbury airport here in CT rents for $117 an hour plus $50 an hour for instruction for a total rental rate of $167. That is over twice the inflation rate. So the short answer is yes, flying has gotten more expensive, about twice the cost.

Keith

[Hangar10]

I am in the military. Not everyone gets to fly... even the people who really, really want to.

I wasn't suggesting that the military would offer immediate options to fly... my point was more about earning an education, like many have done, and not required the assistance of student loans. I know several people who have taken this route and have afforded themselves the opportunity to fly. If it is not possible right now, start looking down the road and figuring how you might make it possible later on... otherwise you'll be on here next year, and the year after telling the same story about how it isn't possible.

[Hangar10]

Well I can answer that. I am assuming that the $3 to $4 an hour was close to minimum wage. Here in CT minimum wage is $8.25 an hour so wages have about doubled since then. If you assume that the plane rental inflation rate was the same as wages then that $34 an hour dual should be double at $78 an hour. The cessna 150 at the danbury airport here in CT rents for $117 an hour plus $50 an hour for instruction for a total rental rate of $167. That is over twice the inflation rate. So the short answer is yes, flying has gotten more expensive, about twice the cost.

Keith

$50 an hour! Yikes! Hey, here is another option to consider... just like you might consider for a job, cost of living, climate, etc... MOVE! I guess I'm fortunate to live in the boring ol Tulsa, Oklahoma area (I say that jokingly)... but at least there are a lot of airplanes in the sky.

[Green Goggles]

$50 an hour! Yikes! Hey, here is another option to consider... just like you might consider for a job, cost of living, climate, etc... MOVE! I guess I'm fortunate to live in the boring ol Tulsa, Oklahoma area (I say that jokingly)... but at least there are a lot of airplanes in the sky.

I live in a much more boring piece of Oklahoma than Owasso, but you are right, location can help improve costs. Fuel is reasonable, hangar rent is very low, and I can be to the airport in just minutes. If I had to fight with hassels of traffic and increased fuel price/hangar rent in other areas, it would severely hamper my flying.

[Louis]

Wow! Is that AK prices? In '76 I was paying $19/hr for dual in a C-150, $17 solo. After I got my private, I found an old C-150 for rent for $12/hr, so I flew it as much as possible. One of my side jobs to get extra $$ for flying was moping floors in a church.[/QUOTE]

That was in Anchorage during the pipeline construction and pretty much everything was inflated except for my wages! I was lucky I was able to get my private and get started on my commercial when I was still living with my parents. I think rates weren't as high as they could have been. The flying school business was fairly vibrant then and there was a lot of competition. Many of the flight schools were aircraft dealers who were selling new planes like hotcakes. A number of the customers chose to lease their new planes to the schools so there were a lot of new Citabrias, C-150's etc. available for rent. I think Alaska is bound to always be a little high because of the insurance.

When I got my advanced ratings, Alaska had a generous student loan program that covered flight training along with college. I joined the Air National Guard (hoped to fly for them but was too tall) they covered half of my flight training. I think that was the policy of the individual Guard unit, but if you have any inclination toward part time military service you might ask about education benefits if you have a Guard unit near your location. I also got enough aircraft maintenance experience with the Guard to qualify for my A & P.....Louis

[Louis]

Well I can answer that. I am assuming that the $3 to $4 an hour was close to minimum wage. Here in CT minimum wage is $8.25 an hour so wages have about doubled since then. If you assume that the plane rental inflation rate was the same as wages then that $34 an hour dual should be double at $78 an hour. The cessna 150 at the danbury airport here in CT rents for $117 an hour plus $50 an hour for instruction for a total rental rate of $167. That is over twice the inflation rate. So the short answer is yes, flying has gotten more expensive, about twice the cost.

Keith

Thanks. I haven't rented a plane for quite a while and didn't know what the rates were. Things certainly haven't gotten any cheaper! I used to rent a C-172 or Cherokee whenever I visited family in Maine but was probably more than 15 years ago. Family, a house project and an Aeronca Sedan rebuild kind of took away all the loose change that I used to have for airplane rental....Louis