From The Editor

Aviation is facing a shortage of specially trained and certificated pilots who are critical to its survival. This frightens me, but what's even scarier is that few people realize this shortage looms. Who are these pilots that aviation cannot live without? Quite simply, they are the poorest paid and the most maligned of all professional pilots. They are certificated flight instructors.

It shouldn't have to be said that if there were no flight instructors, there would be no pilots. Yet, the aviation industry and pilot community take CFIs for granted. Young instructors are branded as "time builders" who teach only to acquire the flight time needed to get a "real" job as an airline or corporate pilot. And with more than 67,000 pilots holding current flight instructor certificates, we always have plenty waiting in the wings to replace those who do manage to hitch a ride on the airline gravy train, right?

But how many of those 67,000-plus CFIs actively teach? Reliable estimates put the number at less than 15,000, or fewer than 25 percent of all CFIs. Why the disparity between current and active? No one can say for sure, but here's a safe bet: Most of the pilots who earn a CFI see it as a waypoint - not a destination. Some CFIs have full-time jobs unrelated to aviation and teach a couple of new students a year. Far more formerly active instructors have moved onto "real" flying jobs, but they keep their CFI current as a matter of pride.

Of all the certificates and ratings a pilot earns, the flight instructor certificate is the most difficult. The fact that the FAA recognizes pilots who possess the knowledge and ability to teach the art and science of flying says a lot about their commitment to their aviation education, and letting it lapse would mean throwing away the time and effort it took to earn it.

The problem the aviation community faces is a declining number of active teaching professionals. Here are some additional indications of the growing CFI shortage. In 1997 the airlines alone hired 11,396 pilots. During the same period, the FAA issued 3,958 new flight instructor certificates. That disparity can't continue for long before we feel its effects.

At this year's Women in Aviation International convention in Denver, not one of the 150 participants at a career planning seminar raised a hand when the speaker asked how many wanted to be a flight instructor. Not one.

Can you blame anyone for not wanting to be a flight instructor? My son's piano teacher gets paid more ($20 for a half-hour lesson) than most CFIs, and he doesn't have to earn - or renew - any type of certification to teach.

Whether people in aviation admit it or not, "the industry" caused the shortage by its treatment of CFIs - low pay, and low status - and only the industry can solve the problem. How? Here are some ideas the participants (all 25 of them) touched on during a session at the National Air Transportation Association/Professional Aviation Maintenance Association "Super Show" held in Kansas City this April.

Pay flight instructors more money for the essential service they provide. Too often, flight instructors bear the brunt of general aviation's price competition. Ironically, this works against getting more people to realize their flying dreams. People aren't stupid. They pay $40 an hour for their kids' piano lessons, so they naturally assume they'll pay more for a teacher of flying. When a flight school or instructor apologetically says they must charge $25 an hour for flight instruction, these smart newcomer-students are going to wonder why it's so cheap - and whether they're getting what they're paying for.

Naturally, instructors must give good value for the money they're paid. Flight schools, the employers of most flight instructors, should encourage giving good value and support it by paying for or offsetting the cost of additional training, classes, seminars, and participation in programs such as the National Association of Flight Instructors' Master CFI program.

Paying CFIs more will encourage instructors to make a career of flight instructing, which should benefit students and the flight training industry. Let's face it, a high rate of CFI turnover costs everyone money to fund such things as training new instructors, insurance, and maintaining and building a strong customer base.

In addition to paying flight instructors a living wage, we - all of us who fly - need to treat CFIs as what they are - professional educators. Give them the respect they deserve. And we'd better start now because the shortage is real, and it's getting worse every day. Think about this. When we have no more flight instructors, our flying careers will last only until our next flight review.