NY Times Story on Pilot Population Decline

On Thu, 26 Apr 2007 18:26:47 -0400, "Kyle Boatright"
wrote in
:

My personal theory is that flying is no longer the source of hero worship it
once was. Is there a current Lindberg? How about an Amelia Earhart? Maybe
a John Glenn? Not really. Flying has lost the public's imagination, and
therefore the publicity.

That is an interesting view.

I suppose there may be a disproportionate number of pilots who are
drawn to aviation for the perceived public esteem historically
conferred on airmen. And I agree, that the aura of the "daring young
man ..." has been somewhat tarnished by the less than magical,
cattle-car results of airline deregulation, notorious news stories and
jokes of pilot sleeping/rage/inebriation/... while on flight-duty, and
publicized/sensationalized blunders of less than qualified airmen.
After all, it is the exposé of heroes' clay feet, even more than their
stunning creative deeds, that titillates and boost ratings.

And if this loss of public esteem for airman discourages those who
seek to enhance their self-image through being regarded as pilots by
the public, other than its impact on our political influence due to
declining numbers, I fail to perceive a down-side. I would much
prefer to see competent, unassuming persons with the capacity and
understanding to perform to high standards while operating aircraft,
and a genuine love of the sky, displace the self-impressed, white
scarffed, showman of the past. But that's just me. Times change.

If one attempts a little prognostication, it's easy to see a future of
pilotless, fully automated space and air vehicles operating in a fully
computerized environment, and performing their pedestrian tasks with
all the alacrity and sagacity of an S-Tec System 65. With the
airliner manufacturers requiring ever increasing numbers of their
products to be in flight simultaneously in order to sustain their
market, and the finite nature of airspace (it's not so big a sky after
all), it's clear, that there will be increasing pressure to remove the
(somewhat unpredictable) human element from the system to facilitate
the ever tighter packing of airliners to the point of exceeding the
capabilities of mere humans.

But there will always be a cadre of exuberant and talented souls whose
love of the sky will fuel the development of innovative vehicles[1,2]
and the evolution of flight. So while aviation continues to mature,
it will also evolve. And it's likely that the 21st century will lack
the same warm naiveté, respect for human dignity, and awe of
technology characteristic of the last century, but it will have its
redeeming efficiency to distinguish it with the coming hoards[3]
(baring WWIII).



[1] http://www.cpinternet.com/sadkins/compare.htm
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaled_Composites
[3]
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/...on/001720.html
Overall, the country’s population would continue to grow,
increasing from 282.1 million in 2000 to 419.9 million in 2050.