Piloting By The Numbers
Cynthia Wheatley Glenn
By Cynthia Wheatley Glenn
There appears to be a shortage of pilots in the United States, and that would be true. And it’s not just pilots: many critical positions in the aviation industry are in desperate need of being filled by qualified personnel if we as a traveling citizenry continue to want to fly from here to there. There have been articles written lately that discuss how air traffic controllers (ATCs) are facing expanded responsibilities and too many hours, which is leading to mistakes being made; how airline transport pilots (ATPs) for major airlines are “aging out” without enough new pilots to step up and take their place; not to mention encroaching housing development with newly settled residents near well-established general aviation (GA) airports doing what seems to be everything in their power to close these important bastions of revenue-generating fields that provide the space to train the next generation of pilots who will be counted on to fill the needs of transporting passengers safely to wherever it is they wish to go. And don’t forget certificated flight instructors (CFIs), who are leaving their GA students to flounder as they depart for ATP school to fly with the major airlines, or airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanics and inspectors of aviation (IAs) who keep all aircraft well-maintained and air-worthy to fly.
Just for fun (I’m a researcher and teacher by trade, as well as a pilot), I visited the FAA.gov website to obtain statistics on civil airmen (and airwomen, yet for the purpose of brevity will include both within the same term) here in the United States. There were a lot of data to explore, and the most recent year included in the analyses is 2022 (If I waited another month, there would be data for 2023…. I can share that with you a bit later…). Since not everyone is as interested in this sort of thing as I am, I’ll try and give only the big pieces: who is flying, age break downs and comparisons, types of equipment (I’ll be focusing most on fixed wing for this article… sorry, rotorcraft pilots! I promise to give you your own turn later), and a few other nibbly bits I think you might enjoy reading while you’re waiting for your flight/pilot/pax/friends/family/luggage to arrive.
First, who’s flying? If we only count those pilots in the U.S. and not include those who are living outside the 50 states and other U.S. areas, territories, and affiliates, there are (as of 12/31/2022) 721,085 estimated active pilots and flight instructors. Of those, 69,753 are women, comprising just over 10 percent of all domestic pilots in our country. Breaking down the total numbers into separate categories we find there were 268,280 student pilots, 170,776 private pilots, 109,197 commercial pilots, 65,826 ATPs, and 121,891 CFIs (this last number is not included in the totals but I find it interesting, so I left it in). Looking at the women who fill these roles, there are 40,982 student pilots, 8,147 commercial pilots, 8,022 ATPs, and 9,804 CFIs. This is totally cool information, particularly noting that women are gaining ground in this fun and rewarding avocation/career.
Let’s look at the age representation of American pilots. The estimated active pilot certificates held by category and age group of holder (as of 12/31/2022) ranges from 14 to over 80, with the total number coming in at 756,927. The lion’s share of airmen falls into two noticeable trends, career-oriented young adults entering the ATP realm with the age brackets of 25-29 (94,030), 30-34 83,679), 20-24 79,668), 35 39 (74,898), 40-44 (65,822), and 45-49 (54,101). The other noticeable trend is of older pilots, many of whom will be forced to retire as ATPs once they reach the age of 65, the current retirement age for major airline pilots. That said, there are huge numbers of older pilots between the ages of 50 and79; and an impressive number of young-at-hearts (80+) who are flying. These data show the following, in order: 55-59 (59,090), 50-54 (57,240), 60-64 (56,155), 65-69 (43,434), 70-74 (29,410), 75-79 (19,316), and 80+ (12,037).
Women pilots have the greatest number of ATPs in the 40-80+ age brackets, with a total of 5,435. Younger women ATPs between the ages of 20-39, total 2,771. These numbers are fantastic and a testament to the reality that learning can – and should be – a life-long endeavor! What I find incredibly interesting about these data are how the total number of ATPs in the age range of 50-80+ is 94,863, while those aged 20-49 is only 64,943. That means, the younger pilots have a bit of catching up to do as they comprise only 68 percent of the ATP work force filling the skies. That also begs addressing the issue of how to train these new pilots in a way that honors and utilizes GA airports as a fertile training ground for all areas of aviation advancement.
Well, these are the numbers. What do we do with them? Add to them, of course! Let the Aviation Bug bite you! Unfurl your wings and take to the skies! In future columns I will make suggestions on how to build the aviation community in ways that serve the needs of all parties involved: student, commercial, and ATP pilots; CFIs, mechanics and aircraft inspectors; and even passengers! I will also explore and share things to look for as you decide on which flight school to consider as you pursue your airman certificate, and how to know if (or when) it’s time to part ways with your instructor; secret handshakes, if you will. I’ll share stories of my training adventure, as well as ask you to share yours with me (and the rest of our In Flight USA reading community). We all need to work together to keep aviation safe and thriving. I look forward to your comments and would love to hear from you! You can reach me by email at FlyGirlBayArea@gmail.com.