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Why is General Aviation declining?

Unfortunately, I don’t believe these figures are particularly useful. The CAA needs to rationalise/de-duplicate the figures to take account of many pilots wth both EASA and UK national licences.

However the drop in ATPLs is notable. Perhaps this explains why there is such demand for commercial pilots, with many (hour building) instructors being sucked up by increasing demand from airlines.

A more worrying indicator for me is the significant reduction in those taking the IR(R) (was IMC) rating, after a big surge when it was under threat in 2012/13.
CB-IR’s haven’t yet increased by a significant number (the IR total would include anyone converting an FAA to EASA IR)

PS: The legend is incorrect/swapped – Blue = full IR rating, Red = restricted IR (IMC) ratings.

Last Edited by DavidC at 26 Aug 21:50
FlyerDavidUK, PPL & IR Instructor
EGBJ, United Kingdom

The CAA needs to rationalise/de-duplicate the figures to take account of many pilots wth both EASA and UK national licences.

I did wonder if that was a factor. But I have no idea how many UK PPLs kept that and went on to get the EASA PPL. If that % is significant then those stats are daft. It’s like me having an FAA PPL, EASA PPL and an FAA CPL, so I should count for 3

The IMCR / IR(R) has had an image problem for as many years as I remember. Basically as soon as pilot forums got going in the UK, say 2003, it was slagged off mercilessly (“it’s a get out of jail free card”) by certain obnoxious sky-gods, and I am sure everybody knows which forums and which personalities I am referring to. That was the beginning of its decline. But it’s a brilliant qualification.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter wrote:

it’s a get out of jail free card

Sounds great to me.

Another non-negligible effect that probably skews the statistics (if you will) is foreign pilots holding UK licences but who neither live nor fly in the UK. I would say there are more of these than foreign licence holders flying in the UK.

Rwy20 wrote:

Another non-negligible effect that probably skews the statistics (if you will) is foreign pilots holding UK licences but who neither live nor fly in the UK.

Correct, there are loads of them, especially on the ATPL level. I personally know quite a few.

Hey guys,
Sorry for bumping this old thread again but I’ve just seen this YouTube Video which imho does a great job at summarizing the factors that led to the decline of GA in the last decades, although from a US centric perspective:




[ Youtube URL fixed up – see here ]

Low-hours pilot
EDVM Hildesheim, Germany

I don’t watch videos where Americans just talk into a mic, over some random footage.

Mainz (EDFZ) & Egelsbach (EDFE), Germany

Is GA on the decline?
I would agree that ownership of certified aircraft is in steep decline for many reasons cost of purchase has risen greatly over the past few years. Just compare a simple aircraft on Planecheck now compared to 5 years ago. Then there’s the cost of upgrading the avionics which pilots now want (if they can actually do it at all) Then there is the cost of updating databases every year, the cost of the hourly maintenance rate has almost doubled in the last 10 years . On top of that you have the increase in fuel cost (for many certified aircraft), insurance increased cost.
And if you want to go anywhere and take the family with you (that’s if the family are happy to get up early, stand around for half an hour or longer while you pull the aircraft out of the hangar and prepare it for flight). Then you fly to an airfield, either in the middle of nowhere and wait for a taxi which might take an hour to turn up or you fly to an airfield with transport links to the nearest town and need to PPR hours in advance and pay handling and other fees which have a non negligeable cost.
And who needs all that? Certainly young people don’t seem to. The average age of non career minded PPLs is rising. New blood is in short supply.
ULs, and Annexe 1 aircraft appear to be fairing much better. Much of that will be down to lower costs all round. But perhaps also because pilots here have accepted that GA is not about transport, even when going from A to B, sometimes hundreds or even thousands of miles apart, but is about the journey. They accept that flying is a leisure activity, a sport or hobby. The £100 hamburger is more about meeting up with people of a similar ilk.
But even in this UL or Annexe 1 environment the average pilot age is increasing. Although, anecdotally this part of GA seems to be holding its own in terms of activity and number of participants, most of this is down to pilots switching from other sectors of aviation, often certified GA, and not through any great influx of young people.
From my perspective the only sector of ga that seems to be attracting the young away from other activities is gliding.
What can be done to change this trend who knows? I’m sure many club presidents, here in France, would love to know the answer.
We did have a pick up after Covid restrictions were lifted but I don’t think wishing for another pandemic is the answer.🙂

France

I don’t watch videos where Americans just talk into a mic, over some random footage.

The guy has a strong northern UK accent, and is not American. His interest in commenting negatively is evident but I’d doubt he has much if any actual exposure to US general aviation in 2023. At least fourteen other videos that he’s made for his channel are per the title intended to explain why something else in aviation has “failed” or “is failing”. It’s superficial clickbait.

Last Edited by Silvaire at 02 Dec 16:38

I don’t watch videos where Americans just talk into a mic, over some random footage

Why Americans? They produced the plane most of us fly; yourself included Anyway, the guy is prob99 a Brit.

YT is full of clickbait and only some % is American. Half the world is doing it.

We’ve done the reasons for the decline in this thread, but probably most of them are to do with factors not related to aviation. So not mostly what the video lists. Stuff like most people looking for “instant satisfaction” and flying the old iron is just not cool anymore. Private flying needs a lot of dedication and modern life has too many distractions. The social side of GA has died out in most of Europe and that has rapidly narrowed the sort of people who want to participate on it.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

gallois wrote:

What can be done to change this trend who knows?

I don’t think there is anything that can change this. Lots of other related activities compete also, like paragliding, skydiving, all sorts of kite surfing, and of course boating. While not being extremely related, the bang for the buck with a boat is literally orders of magnitude larger, and it fulfils some of the same ich, only in a much better way for all practical purposes. Then combine that with some paragliding which can be done everywhere all over the world with no bureaucracy or insane rules and regulations. You won’t get closer to being a bird..

Then there are flight sims. Not awfully related to real flying, but for the younger generations, flight sims seems more attractive than real flying. Much more accessible. In most cases the only accessible aircraft related thing they can get their hands on. Flying an F-16 or Spitfire online together with friends of your same age, having great fun, simply beats the hell out of using money on the occasional hour in the air with a 50 year old plane together with grumpy old men discussing rules, regulations and “safety”. Modern flight sims are insanely good, and keep getting better and better. A C-172 just keep on getting older and more costly.

ULs has kept the GA wheels rolling in Europe the last 20-40 years, but the cost, complexity and increase in rules and regulations are all spiraling out of control. The average age of pilots is increasing by one year each year it seems.

We are kind of dinosaurs living on borrowed time. But so what? It won’t completely disappear anytime soon, and in many ways things are also changing for the better (fewer people, better market for those who are left for instance). Young people go for what appeals to – and is accessible to them, while they are young. GA is out of reach for the vast majority of young people, and a C-172 has little to no appeal (let’s be honest here). Flight sims and paragliders are accessible and has appeal and vast communities. When they get older, who knows, perhaps some of them want to try a SEP.

For instance, think of three things that you would change to make GA better in general. My 3 would be in no particular order (and I’m sure most agree with me):

  • More accessibility : Easier to just jump into a plane and fly. Easier to fly to other places (no border nonsense, no security, no PPR, no BS), easier to get hangar space, easy to get fuel and so on
  • Reduced cost: of aircraft, of hangar, of insurance, fuel, of every single item remotely related to flying
  • Less bureaucracy and complexity: And if that is not possible, at least make the bureaucracy consistent and equal all over and not ever changing.

As far as I can see, the exact opposite is actually happening. Accessibility is getting worse and worse (in general). Cost is steadily increasing. Bureaucracy is increasing and changing faster each year. Yet, nothing here is in fact impossible to do, it’s more that the will to do what needs to be done and to change what needs to change is nonexistent, also among the GA pilot communities. Yes, we want all that, but not if it means giving up on something else we also want or already have. Look at UL. It was pretty much all that, buuut retract is nice, 600 kg is nice, 8h endurance is nice, all carbon all glass is nice,150 knots+ cruise speed is nice, 160 hp and turbo is nice. Besides, the conundrum is already solved (in the extreme, but nonetheless), and is called paragliding: accessible everywhere, cost near nothing, no bureaucracy.

We are our own worst enemy. What is “in” nowadays. Lots of stuff, but one thing is some traffic warning system. What will that do" Will it increase accessibility? No, no particular effect either way. Will it reduce cost? certainly not. Will it cause less bureaucracy and complexity? not by a long shot. It’s another step in the wrong direction for some perceived/imaginary sense of “safety”.

The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway
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