PILOT SPIN
Pilot Zone => Pilot Zone => Topic started by: nddons on July 07, 2016, 03:56:05 PM
-
And we wonder why the pilot population is falling.
I'm in Scottsbluff, in far western Nebraska (it's not the end of the world, but you can see it from here) while my daughter takes two days of continuing education in bovine ultrasound. 🐄. Don't ask.
Anyway, I go to the the local airport, KBFF, Western Nebraska Regional airport. It's a Class E airport with commercial service, sitting at 3,967' MSL with two 8,000 x 150 runways. I thought it would be fun to rent an airplane and take a flight to see from the sky the beautiful, rugged scenery that our settlers saw from the ground when they traveled the Oregon Trail, which traveled through two passes in this area. Plus, I would like the challenge of a high density altitude flight. Did I mention it's hot here?
So I go to the airport and see the familiar green "Learn to Fly Here" signs that we have seen for years at most airports, and which actually used to mean something. The sign was in front of a hangar with a sign for Valley Airways. Cool! This should be fun.
The doors were dead bolted. There was a paper sign taped to the door that said that Valley Airways' FBO is now in the North Side of the terminal building. OK, they moved up! Cool.
I finally find the FBO on the West Side, not the North Side of the terminal building (idiots), and see Jethro (I don't know his name, but Jethro seems to fit) sitting behind a desk. There's a pilot lounge, Wx terminals to get weather, couches, and much of what you would expect to see. Except there is nothing about piston GA aircraft.
I tell Jethro what I would like to do, and he says he "thinks" they have a Piper something or other to rent. He didn't know what kind of Piper it was. He gives me the card of the guy who owns the plane, and tells me to call him later this afternoon. I asked if there was an instructor available to check me out in the Piper something or other, and he gave me a different card, but said that he didn't know if he'd be around. I asked him how much they charge, for the Piper something or other, and he said he didn't know. I asked if they charged wet or dry, and he didn't know. I asked how much an instructor was, and he didn't know.
Listen, I get it. I had low expectations going into this because I've seen this before, at airports in the Carolinas and in the Midwest. But the saddest part is this: if this is how they treat me as a somewhat experienced pilot hoping to rent a plane and put money in their pocket, how do you think they treat some non-pilot who has always dreamt of learning how to fly, and who walks in after seeing the sign that says "Learn to Fly Here" with the excitement and hope of learning to pilot an airplane?
Maybe they're just happy servicing the business jets that probably stop here, and that's all that matters. But how did those jet pilots get started again?
And we wonder why the pilot population is falling.
Rant off. 😡
-
General Aviation is a tough way to make a living, a flight school or FBO rental line is worse. If GA were such a great business you would see more FBO's and flight schools, it's supply and demand.
The demand simply isn't there anymore. Today's youth simply aren't interested in flying and with the lower production of airplanes, high insurance rates, expensive parts, regulatory compliance with most airports, high fuel prices, etc, etc the profit margins simply don't support a business.
A business that sells jet fuel has a higher profit margin with less headaches, hence what you just witnessed.
-
Besides, cows have no interest in airplanes.
-
http://www.openairplane.com
-
Go about 30 miles west to Torrington, WY. Jerry Wright is the airport manager and CFI. They have either a 150 or 172 and it was really cheap to rent. If you go, say hi to Fred the airport dog. The Bluffs and chimney rock are kind of neat from the air and herding antelope is kind of fun. They look like a school of fish.
-
General Aviation is a tough way to make a living, a flight school or FBO rental line is worse. If GA were such a great business you would see more FBO's and flight schools, it's supply and demand.
The demand simply isn't there anymore. Today's youth simply aren't interested in flying and with the lower production of airplanes, high insurance rates, expensive parts, regulatory compliance with most airports, high fuel prices, etc, etc the profit margins simply don't support a business.
A business that sells jet fuel has a higher profit margin with less headaches, hence what you just witnessed.
It's not just kids - there are a lot of people like me who have the time and money later in life to fulfill a dream. I got my Private Pilot certificate at age 45. But older people also don't have to just accept shit treatment or shit equipment. Money can be spent elsewhere.
And it's the whole industry. Planes are just too friggin expensive. Why? Lawyers. So if an FBO does get a plane, it's a beater that you're too embarrassed to take someone for a ride in it. The industry is cutting off its supply of future customers, and can't even see that they are a big part of the problem.
-
http://www.openairplane.com
I haven't had the occasion to be in an area where Open Airplane has planes, but I'm glad you mentioned them. It looks like their map has expanded significantly since the last time I looked at them. I hope that continues. Finally, a company that is trying to change the paradigm.
-
Go about 30 miles west to Torrington, WY. Jerry Wright is the airport manager and CFI. They have either a 150 or 172 and it was really cheap to rent. If you go, say hi to Fred the airport dog. The Bluffs and chimney rock are kind of neat from the air and herding antelope is kind of fun. They look like a school of fish.
Crap! I should have told this group what I planned to do earlier, and ask for suggestions. That looks like a great airport, with airplane rentals right on their ForeFlight page. Thanks for the suggestion.
Unfortunately, tomorrow's part of her continuing education course involves doing actual ultrasounds on beef cattle at a feedlot somewhere around Bridgeport, NE, and lucky me, I was invited to watch. When she's done, we are hitting the road back to Wisconsin.
Edit: By the way, welcome to Pilot Spin! Do you fly out of that airport? I love Wyoming.
-
It's not just kids - there are a lot of people like me who have the time and money later in life to fulfill a dream. I got my Private Pilot certificate at age 45. But older people also don't have to just accept shit treatment or shit equipment. Money can be spent elsewhere.
And it's the whole industry. Planes are just too friggin expensive. Why? Lawyers. So if an FBO does get a plane, it's a beater that you're too embarrassed to take someone for a ride in it. The industry is cutting off its supply of future customers, and can't even see that they are a big part of the problem.
Again, it's supply and demand. Do you actually believe that if say 100 new FBO's pop up next week, with new plane rentals that they could generate enough demand to make a reasonable return?
If renting airplanes was such a good business, why aren't more people jumping in? As an accountant you are aware most businesses want a return on their money. There are so many business ventures that offer a better return with less risk and less regulation than general aviation.
I was fortunate enough to live through the "hay day" of GA but the reality is it will never be that again.
-
The flight school at my airport closed some time ago. My guess is you'd get the same sort of traction, though the person at the desk (if there was one) would at least be better informed.
-
I wonder what would happen to general aviation if the FAA decided to drop about 90% of their regs, especially for VFR pilots.
They can keep the rules like odd-even altitude ranges for East-West traffic and X000/X500 for IFR/VFR traffic.
But the certification process, while I am sure it does improve safety, seems to me to be overdone (as is typical for government agencies). Would airplanes start falling out of the sky if I could put a non-certified GPS in my Bonanza panel?
-
I wonder what would happen to general aviation if the FAA decided to drop about 90% of their regs, especially for VFR pilots.
They can keep the rules like odd-even altitude ranges for East-West traffic and X000/X500 for IFR/VFR traffic.
But the certification process, while I am sure it does improve safety, seems to me to be overdone (as is typical for government agencies). Would airplanes start falling out of the sky if I could put a non-certified GPS in my Bonanza panel?
Streamlining certification has been a hot topic for decades. Any progress made?
And we could certainly have discussion of the hazards associated with using GPS and how certified GPS receivers deal with them... what do you know about how the non-certified GPS handles the hazards?
Our society is becoming more and more risk-adverse - around here more and more traffic lights are being installed and more traffic lights only allow one line of traffic to go at a time (drivers are too stupid to take a left safely without a green arrow and everyone else stopped)
-
Streamlining certification has been a hot topic for decades. Any progress made?
We need to streamline the process for streamlining certification.