gregg wrote:
Jay Honeck wrote:


I agree with those that believe that something substantial must be done
to increase the ranks of pilots. Not that I have solutions. But
identifying the issue is worth something. I have resolved to encourage
and/or seduce some friends of mine into flying.

Bravo, Dave! GA needs more folks like you ...



Isn't one of the objectives of the Sport ticket trying to do just that?

I was actually just about to chime in with a Sport Pilot citation......

Indeed, this is one of the main intents of the new rule, to attempt to
revitalize general aviation, particularly the light plane side of it.
How successful it'll be is unclear and the results so far are mixed.

Currently, the persons able to take advantage of it right away are
pilots like myself - privates who own light aircraft that fit into the
Light Sport Aircraft limitations, but for one reason or another can't
maintain a class III medical. I'm actually flying 99% legal under the
rule right now with my private (still need a tailwheel endorsement since
my airplane is a taildragger, then I'll be 100% legal).
The infrastructure for the rest of it is still a long ways away..

In any case, whether this will make aviation more accessible remains to
be seen. I think in some ways it will and in others it won't.

Regardless of what happens, I still don't think it'll make learning to
fly an _easy_ process. It might be easier than before, but it's still a
tough thing to learn to do no matter what route you take.

I agree with the other posters who cited that as probably the main
reason for the high dropout rate. It certainly isn't the money -
there're a lot of rich folks out there with 5 or 10 hours here and
there. I think it's just a lot of work that requires a lot of
commitment. And it's just not a lot of people's bag for that reason....

LS
N646F