Student Drop-Out Rates...why?

I had to quit several times before I finally had the time and money to get
the ticket, but each lapse was heart-rending. I started in the Air
Explorers, paying for lessons with a paper route. That was not sustainable
while in college -- I managed to log only two hours dual during those years.
Later I scraped together $500 for a solo course in gliders, and then
couldn't afford to continue after solo. When I finally went out on my own,
living near an uncontrolled field and with no real responsibilities, I dove
in and got the PP in 41 hours flat (including the time logged in Boy Scouts
and college). Built hours flying for CAP. Couldn't afford to buy (and
maintain!) my own airplane until after the ex quit spending my money.

I introduced one good friend to flying. She immediately dedicated her life
to it and within three years was a CFI and owner, with her newly-minted PP
husband, of a rag-wing C-170.

The important element is passion. Only a small proportion of the population
possesses passion for anything, but where it lives you can't hold it back.

Seth
Comanche N8100R


"George Patterson" wrote in message
news:qavNe.134$Fq2.14@trndny03...
Jay Honeck wrote:

That aside, can you name some other reasons for the abysmal drop-out rate
of student pilots?

I've known three people closely who took lessons and quit. One took an
introductory lesson, agreed that the feeling was great, took one look at
the bill, and said "maybe after Peter graduates from college." (Peter was
at that time about 12). One took one or two lessons and then moved to
Vermont -- far enough out that wood is the preferred heating method for
the houses in his area. That also involved a job change with lots less
money, so flying went back down to a "maybe someday" status item. The
third guy took several lessons and was doing pretty well. Then things got
a little hectic at work, and he couldn't fly often enough for the lessons
to do any good. His wife is also terrified of light aircraft. She was very
good (so he says) about not pressuring him to quit, but I'm sure it played
some small part.

I obtained the AOPA "mentor" packages for all three of these people. I
sort of gave up after that.

When I was in training myself, two other people at work got their tickets.
One later bought a "fixer-upper" of a house. About the same time, a
relative left him an old Mercedes. What with fixing those items, he didn't
have any time or money to spare on aviation. Last I heard, he doesn't even
find flying interesting. The other guy kept studying for his instrument
rating. Two years later, he was still studying for his instrument rating.
Got married and when the kids started to arrive, he gradually quit flying.

Shortly after I got my ticket, a young lady at work expressed an interest
in flying, and my boss introduced us. I drove her out to the airport,
showed her around, marched her up to the counter, and let them take over
from there. When I next asked, she had gone for an eye exam and discovered
that she had no depth perception. I could not convince her that it
probably wouldn't make a difference in her flying. My personal suspicion
is that she was disappointed by the spartan interior of light aircraft (as
another poster has mentioned).

Basically though, in nearly every case it's lack of time and/or money.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.

Money is the main reason, but I think that most people who quit start
asking themselves why they are learning to fly in the first place. They
begin to get the idea that you can't just get into a plane and go, and
the logistical problems of using general aviation for transportation
are daunting. A good CFI, of course, will ask those questions before
the person even starts, so the best CFIs have lower dropout rates.

George Patterson wrote:

Got married and when the
kids started to arrive, he gradually quit flying.

I guess I'm lucky in my timing.

My instrument checkride had to be put off as my wife was busy giving birth
at the time. A month or so later, I was rated.

My more recently arrived son put a real crimp in my commercial training.
But to be honest, work pressure's probably done more.

On the other hand, I've been a pilot for longer than my youngest has been
alive. And all comments about the poor utility of GA as transportation
aside, we've managed a number of trips (with our eldest) that would have
been tough w/o flying.

I also hold out the hope that we'll be doing more and farther as the kids
age.

If I weren't a pilot yet? I don't know. I like to think it wouldn't make a
difference, but...?

- Andrew

"Jay Honeck" writes:

You'll notice I've not mentioned the Number One reason people mention for
quitting: Money. We've beaten the relative cost of flying to death, and (for
the purposes of this thread) I will just leave it at this: Learning to fly
is about as expensive as a semester of college, and less expensive than
buying a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Let's leave "cost" out of this, for
now, as I think it's safe to say that there a millions of Americans who
could easily afford to learn to fly, if the urge were to strike.

I don't really mean to try to drag the discussion back to the cost,
because that's something individuals can't do much about. However,
your comparison to a Harley is interesting. How many
twenty-somethings buy Harley's these days? Aren't they more in the
used Honda market? My impression, largely from a few people I know
who own Harley's, is that the new sales of those are to older richer
people almost exclusively these days.
--
David Dyer-Bennet, , http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/
RKBA: http://noguns-nomoney.com/ http://www.dd-b.net/carry/
Pics: http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/ http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/
Dragaera/Steven Brust: http://dragaera.info/ Much of which is still down

"Mike Rapoport" writes:

His point is that all people decide to stop progressing at some point. He
used Jay as an example of someone who stopped progressing at single engine,
fixed gear VFR flying. Others may stop at solo. I don't see much of a
difference between stopping at solo or at PP.

Well, if you "stop at PP" (as in Jay's case) *he's still flying*.
Frequently. If you stop at solo, you're *not* flying any more. That
does seem like a significant difference.
--
David Dyer-Bennet, , http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/
RKBA: http://noguns-nomoney.com/ http://www.dd-b.net/carry/
Pics: http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/ http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/
Dragaera/Steven Brust: http://dragaera.info/ Much of which is still down

"David Dyer-Bennet" wrote in message
...
"Jay Honeck" writes:

You'll notice I've not mentioned the Number One reason people mention
for
quitting: Money. We've beaten the relative cost of flying to death, and
(for
the purposes of this thread) I will just leave it at this: Learning to
fly
is about as expensive as a semester of college, and less expensive than
buying a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Let's leave "cost" out of this,
for
now, as I think it's safe to say that there a millions of Americans who
could easily afford to learn to fly, if the urge were to strike.

I don't really mean to try to drag the discussion back to the cost,
because that's something individuals can't do much about. However,
your comparison to a Harley is interesting. How many
twenty-somethings buy Harley's these days? Aren't they more in the
used Honda market? My impression, largely from a few people I know
who own Harley's, is that the new sales of those are to older richer
people almost exclusively these days.
--

The Harley analogy isn't perfect either. Granted the cost between learning
how to fly and buying a Harley might be similar, but once you get the Harley
you don't have to pay $100/hr to rent it.

Even if you instantly did away with the knackered old trainers and had
brand new, state of the art trainers with AC and glass cockpits, the
amount of time needed just to get the private and to be able to fly only
in nice weather would mean that mainly just the passionate would
complete their training.

I'll agree with you on the old rental trainer issue -- GOD, I flew some
dogs -- but the limitation of "only flying in nice weather" stuff is a bit
silly.

Mary and I have flown over 1500 hours in the last ten years, all VFR. We've
been from one end of the North American continent to the other, and seen
everything in between, on hundreds of flights, yet I can count on one hand
the number of trips that have been delayed more than a few hours due to
weather.

The one that really got us -- Sun N Fun '04 -- was when we spent three days
stuck in Nashville, in the snow. And I can assure you that NO ONE with
anything less than a King Air was flying, IFR ticket or not.

The private ticket is all one needs to reliably see America from the air --
and we're proof of it.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

There are too many 'magical' things in this world to be able to
experience them all on a regular basis. One needs to choose which
ones they concentrate on. For some people, that is flying, for
others, it is scuba diving, parachuting, or golf.

I would love to scuba dive, but have never had the opportunity. When I
lived on the shores of the Great Lakes, watching guys dressed up for polar
diving just didn't excite me enough to try it (Brrr!), and now that I live
in Iowa, well, the primordial ocean that once covered the Midwest has been
gone for a few years...

:-)

And anyone who calls golf "magical" has clearly not sliced the ball into the
woods, or hooked it into the water over, and over, and over...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

My point is that there is a huge difference between dipping your feet in
the water and then bailing out, and actually finishing your certificate
to become a certificated pilot. Once you become a certificated pilot,
you are a pilot--obtaining a commercial, multi, etc. doesn't make you
any more of a pilot, just as obtaining a commercial driver's license
doesn't make you any more of a driver.

Those who bail before obtaining a pilot certificate are not pilots, and
may not exercise the privileges of a pilot certificate.

I disagree with all these points.

Jose
--
Quantum Mechanics is like this: God =does= play dice with the universe,
except there's no God, and there's no dice. And maybe there's no universe.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Flying is boring to the generation that has been raised on action
filled TV, movies, and video games.

Nonsense. They merely need to be shown the way.

And we're the only ones that can do it, Gene!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"