According to FAA data, in June 2002 the number of original student pilot certificates issued was down 2.4 percent from a year earlier. But the number of private pilot certificates issued was up 27 percent; instrument ratings were up 21.6 percent; commercial pilot certificates were up 19.7 percent; and flight instructor certificates were up 21.9 percent. Only the number of airline transport pilot certificates issued was down - by 37 percent - but industry observers believe pilots are deferring ATP training because airline hiring levels remain depressed (see "Careers: Don't Give Up the Dream," p. 45). They note that issuance of commercial and flight instructor certificates is strong, and that those certificates are part of the career progression to ATP.
The FAA student-pilot numbers mirror recent data from the GA industry's Be A Pilot program. Some 16,739 people requested $49 introductory flight coupons from Be A Pilot during the first six months of this year - within 2 percent of 2001's record pre-September 11 pace.
"The fact of the matter is that even with 9/11 and the current state of the economy, career opportunities are better now than at any time in the past 35 years," said Skip Everett, president of Sierra Academy of Aeronautics in Oakland, California. "The long-term prospects for pilots today are much better than they were in the 1970s."
Schools across the country that enroll students on a monthly basis have been affected, Everett said. "Quite recently we've seen a turnaround - we've had an upward trend in the past two months, and our September enrollment is extremely good." All of Sierra's students are enrolled in career-track training programs. The school currently focuses on preparing U.S. students for regional airline jobs.
Indicators show that airline hiring will pick up dramatically in 2003, Everett said. "This is an optimum time to begin training. Today's students will be entering the job market as FAA-mandated age-60 retirements peak." Some 30 percent of today's pilots will be forced to retire by 2010, he noted.
In Batavia, Ohio, near Cincinnati, enrollment at Eastern Cincinnati Aviation is up nearly 24 percent, said Hal Shevers, owner of the flight school. "We're doing more flying than we've ever done," he said. "I think people are using their airplanes like they've never used them before, as well."
Shevers said that 95 of the flight school's active students are pursuing aviation careers, most through a growing program with the University of Cincinnati. That number represents a 44-percent increase over last year. The number of students learning to fly for personal reasons is up 4 percent.
Student starts are down at Aero-Tech, which operates flight schools in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, but other training areas are seeing increases, said Arlynn McMahon, the chief instructor and director of marketing. "Overall I think we're seeing lower enrollments - fewer first-time people are entering into the aviation industry. On the other hand, we're seeing a much higher number of people coming back and adding new certificates and ratings."
Today's flight environment is encouraging private pilots who fly for business reasons to invest in an instrument rating, she said. "We've done more instrument ratings in the past year than we have in the past six years." McMahon also said that renters have been flying more often, and taking aircraft on longer trips.
Flight time is also up at Poplar Grove Airport in Poplar Grove, Illinois, east of Rockford. "To be honest, I'm surprised at how well we're doing," said Steve Thomas, who owns the flight school with his wife, Tina. During the first six months of this year, flight time for the school's fleet - 11 single-engine airplanes - was up 20 percent over a year ago.
Dual flight instruction given was up 9 percent for the period, despite an increase in rental rates made necessary by higher insurance costs. "If we advertised and promoted learning to fly like we should, I think we'd be doing even better," Thomas said. "We're not a career-oriented flight school. We're geared toward the average person who's always wanted to learn to fly."
Thomas said that part of Poplar Grove's growth came from some neighboring airports that gave up on flight training, in part because of insurance costs. Sierra Academy's Everett also noted that two smaller schools at his local airport had closed.
The airline slowdown has had another positive impact at Poplar Grove, Thomas observed. "It's easier to get flight instructors now." He said two former instructors who were laid off by commuter airlines had come back to Poplar Grove.
Mike Collins
FAA Revises Airplane Practical Test Standards
In an unpublicized move, the FAA has revised the requirements for private pilot-airplane, commercial pilot-airplane, and flight instructor-airplane certificates. The changes are included in updated Practical Test Standards (PTS) documents for those certificates, which became effective on August 1. Any student preparing for the private pilot practical test after that date must be prepared to meet the new requirements. The new Private Pilot Practical Test Standards may be found on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/members/files/flttrain/pts_pvta.pdf ).
The FAA told AOPA that the revisions are mainly intended to improve guidance and lend clarity as well standardize PTS language across the three different tests. AOPA's preliminary review of the standards has revealed at least one positive change in that it appears the FAA will give more discretion to the examiner to test for certain maneuvers - for example, the examiner may choose to test for certain ground reference maneuvers instead of all of them (but the applicant still would have to prepare for all).
The new standards also emphasize airport ground operation and the prevention of runway incursions.
Michigan Begins Background Checks For Student Pilots
Despite strong opposition from AOPA and Michigan pilots, a new Michigan law requiring criminal background checks for flight school students seeking a new pilot certificate or rating is now in place - and it is raising many questions in the state.
Background checks are not required for anyone taking an introductory or "discovery" flight, or for pilots seeking a flight review or instrument proficiency check. However, student pilots who began flight training after May 1, as well as certificated pilots seeking a new rating, must undergo a criminal background check.
Students can begin lessons before the check is complete but would be terminated from the flight training program if the check turned up a conviction for a violent felony in the past seven years. Michigan's Department of Transportation has compiled a list of frequently asked questions with answers to the most common questions; it may be found on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2002/020611memo.html ).
AOPA plans to work vigorously with Michigan legislators to formulate and adopt a less intrusive, more workable law. The issue is also raising questions nationally after New York recently became the seventh state to consider such legislation. AOPA has maintained that states should not be in the role of regulating a federally controlled activity like flight training.
FAA Stops Issuing Private Pilot Certificates On The Basis Of A Foreign Pilot License
Foreign pilots can no longer obtain a U.S. private pilot certificate based on a foreign pilot license. The FAA on July 19 sent a notice to all of its flight standards district offices instructing them to immediately stop issuing private pilot certificates under FAR 61.75. Security officials prompted this restrictive action, which the FAA considers to be temporary while the agency develops new security screening procedures. The FAA has issued a total of 40,000 private certificates since this rule was implemented. Currently, about 2,800 foreign pilots per year earn U.S. certificates under 61.75.
"The FAA would not identify specific security concerns, but AOPA was told that the current restriction is limited to issuance of a private certificate based on a foreign pilot license only," said Lance Nuckolls, AOPA director of certification. "The notice does not preclude foreign students from taking flight training and testing in the United States. However, we anticipate that restrictions on foreign student training could be implemented in the near future."
OMF Symphony 160 Receives IFR Certification
The OMF Symphony 160, a two-seat, single-engine airplane currently in production as a VFR aircraft, won its IFR certification from the FAA on June 28. The VFR model has proved popular as a training aircraft. The Symphony had received LBA (German) IFR certification in May. Changes to the model include a split electrical bus, lightning protection, an alternate static source, and antenna and wiring changes. Garmin avionics have been added to the panel. The IFR-equipped Symphony retails for $140,000, with the VFR version priced at $120,000. For more, see the Web site ( www.omf-aircraft.com ).
Training Airports Could Benefit From Low-Cost Radars
The FAA will purchase low-cost radar displays for some 15 air traffic control towers that handle more than 30,000 operations annually. And other airports will be able to purchase the systems directly. The systems, called the ARTS IE (Automated Radar Terminal Systems IE) and STARS LITE (Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System Local Integrated Tower Equipment) - based on existing air traffic control technology - were evaluated at airports in Vero Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, respectively. AOPA has been pushing for such systems since 1998. Airports with significant training activity, such as Vero Beach and Prescott, are prime candidates for the new radar displays.
Legendary Tennessee Flight Instructor Honored
Evelyn B. Johnson, an active 92-year-old flight instructor and designated pilot examiner in Morristown, Tennessee, better known to her many student pilots as "Mama Bird," received the National Aeronautic Association's Katharine B. Wright Memorial Award for 2002. The award is presented annually to a woman who has made a significant contribution to the art, sport, and science of aviation. An instructor since 1947, Johnson has logged more than 57,000 hours. "No other woman has trained more pilots or logged more hours in as many types of airplanes than Evelyn Johnson," said Robert Woods, director of the Tennessee Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Division. Johnson was the National Flight Instructor of the Year in 1979 and served for 18 years as a member of the Tennessee Aeronautics Commission.
Winner Earns Citation Type Rating
Beth Harris of Fayetteville, Arkansas, earned a Cessna Citation II aircraft type rating after successfully completing CAE SimuFlite's 13-day initial training course for the business jet. Harris won a scholarship for the type rating at the 2002 Women in Aviation International convention, which took place in Nashville, Tennessee, in February. For more information on the training course, see the Web site ( www.caesimuflite.com ).
Ninety-Nines Launches Online Career Resource
The Ninety-Nines Inc. has launched a new online career networking resource for women pilots. Called The Pro 99s Network, the Web page features career advice from pilot recruitment experts and job listings for the airlines and general aviation, and it includes numerous links to aviation placement services, scholarships, organizations, and colleges. There is also access to a communications network for pilots to discuss everything from coping with furloughs to balancing work and family. See the Web site ( www.ninetynines.org/pro99s ).
Flight School Goes High-Tech
Airline Training Center of Arizona (ATCA), the airline pilot flight training subsidiary of Lufthansa Airlines, will install the Ryan Model 9900BX Traffic Advisory System in its fleet of training aircraft for collision-avoidance protection. Greg Schmidt, chief safety officer for ATCA, said that the unit's audible position alerting - which announces the clock position, relative altitude, and distance of traffic causing alerts - contributed to the purchase decision. The system emphasizes visual acquisition, helping student pilots to understand collision avoidance procedures and making the transition into Lufthansa cockpits easier and smoother, Schmidt said.
Diamond Aircraft Unveils Twin
Not long after introducing its four-place Diamond Star single-engine IFR airplane, Diamond Aircraft has unveiled a $360,000 diesel-powered twin-engine aircraft. The company has aimed the airplane at the trainer and personal-use market.
The new aircraft, designated the DA42 TwinStar, utilizes composite construction. It is powered by a pair of 135-hp turbocharged diesels from Thielert Aircraft Engines that are designed to operate on either automotive diesel or Jet A1 fuel. This engine recently received JAR-E certification in Europe and has been tested in Diamond's DA40 TDI, a single-engine diesel-powered IFR aircraft that is slated for European certification later this year.
Features on the DA42 that reduce pilot workload include electronic fuel management, automatic prop control, and auto-feather capability. Conventional powerplants may be offered as well. Optional equipment will include a glass cockpit, an oxygen system, and anti-ice/deice equipment. The first flight is scheduled for September, with initial deliveries expected in early 2004. For information, visit the Diamond Aircraft Web site ( www.diamondair.com ).
Alton K. Marsh
School News
Eastern Michigan Offers Flight Technology Program
Eastern Michigan University has launched a bachelor of science degree in aviation flight technology. The program is designed to prepare students for entry-level pilot positions and will take an individual from student pilot to certificated multiengine instructor. It also includes a number of specialized courses that incorporate aviation business and management skills, safety, human factors, aerodynamics, aviation law and regulations, and crew resource management. Flight training is conducted by Eagle Flight Center, which is located at Willow Run Airport. For more information, call Timothy J. Doyle, program coordinator, at 734/487-1161 or by e-mail ( [email protected] ).
Montana College Launches Flight Program
Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana, will begin its own flight training operations this fall from nearby Laurel Municipal Airport, a two-minute flight from Billings Logan International Airport, a tower-controlled airport with a variety of instrument approaches. "The location in Laurel provides excellent airport facilities for training, with a lot of airspace in Montana's Big Sky country, where students will learn to fly in an environment that offers a variety of weather and terrain conditions," said Roy Speeg, director of flight operations. The college will receive five New Piper Archers and a retractable-gear Arrow. For more information, see the college's Web site ( www.rocky.edu/aviation ).
ERAU To Archive School's History
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has launched a project to preserve its history and document the school's heritage. The school will collect and archive documents, oral histories, memorabilia, and artifacts that tell the Embry-Riddle story from its earliest days as a flight school at Lunken Field in Cincinnati, Ohio, through its emergence as a world-renowned university. The collection will eventually be displayed at the university's campuses and extended campus locations in the United States and Europe.
UND Students To Study Regional Air Service
The University of North Dakota Aerospace Foundation has awarded a $50,000 grant to four aviation graduate students at UND's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences to study the economic benefits of expanded regional air service. Graduate students John Boehle, Ryan Deal, Shaun O'Keefe, and Chaminda Prelis will conduct the research. Last year, the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission approached the university to study the feasibility of expanded air service and its potential to spur economic growth in the state. Graduate students initially began work on the project late last year, and preliminary findings suggest that sufficient demand exists. Current efforts will focus on meeting this demand in the most economical, cost-effective manner possible.
Florida School Adds Aircraft
F.I.T. Aviation, a subsidiary of the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida, has added five aircraft to its training and rental fleet. The two Cessna 152s, one 172, one 172SP, and a Piper Warrior will be available for flight training and rental. They join a fleet that includes Piper Arrows, Cadets, Seminoles, and a Warrior, as well as a Bellanca Super Decathlon.
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