President's Position: Bluer skies ahead

Of course, it’s unrealistic to imagine that we could get everyone flying. But what if we could get more people flying more often? What if we could throw open the doors of our community and invite people in? What if we could make more people aware of the opportunities that GA offers and give them the tools to experience it for themselves? And what if, by doing all this, the pilot population started to grow again?

In a very real sense, that’s what we’re doing with You Can Fly—an umbrella program for a whole range of initiatives designed to get people flying and keep them flying. You can learn more about the program, the folks who lead it, and the milestones they’ve achieved in this month’s feature (“You Can Fly,” page 58). But I want to tell you about the why behind You Can Fly, and the commitment we’re making to it.

The fact is that general aviation is shrinking. The number of pilots has dropped dramatically in the past few decades. According to the FAA, in 1980 there were 827,071 active pilots flying in the United States. Today that number had fallen to 590,038. That’s a huge drop.

But there’s another number that might be even more telling. In 1980 the FAA issued 50,458 new private pilot certificates. In 2015, it issued only 16,473—a 68-percent decline. This means not only are we losing pilots at an alarming rate, we’re also failing to replace them. So, if the downward trend continues, we’ll see general aviation continue to shrink until there just aren’t enough pilots flying to keep general aviation viable.

If the downward trend continues, we’ll see general aviation continue to shrink until there just aren’t enough pilots flying to keep general aviation viable.I tell you this to give you a realistic understanding of the challenges we face. But I don’t want you to think this is about gloom and doom. In fact, it’s just the opposite. You Can Fly is about reversing the trend by doing things that are meaningful and measurable. It’s about exposing high school students to educational and career opportunities in aviation, and helping more student pilots complete flight training. It’s about getting lapsed pilots back in the air, and making flying more affordable and accessible. And it’s about giving pilots reasons to go the airport.

This may sound like the impossible dream, but keep in mind that we don’t need millions more pilots to reverse the trend and build momentum for general aviation growth—we need thousands. And that’s very doable.

I won’t pretend it’s going to be easy. If it was, the problem would have been solved before now. But as you’ll see elsewhere in this issue, we are making progress, and we have plans to expand our efforts to reach many more people in the years ahead.

Yes, I said “years.” We know that we can’t turn around a decades-long trend overnight. And that’s why we’re making a long-term commitment to You Can Fly and all that it represents. Growing our community, getting people flying, bringing them back into flying, and keeping them flying—that’s the future of general aviation. It’s something I believe in deeply.

If we, the world’s largest community of general aviation pilots and enthusiasts, don’t take action, who will? If not now, when? There will never be a better time to act or a better group to lead the way. But that doesn’t mean we need to go it alone. We’ve already enlisted the help of generous philanthropists who believe in both our goals and our methods. And as we prove the value and efficacy of You Can Fly and its initiatives, we’ll be enlisting the support of others in our community and industry.

The future of general aviation is for everyone—the pilots of today and tomorrow—and it will take all of us to guarantee it’s the future we want.

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