Stewart Kissel wrote:
The attendance figures and the enthusiasm of participants
shroud a worry that cuts across trade groups and business
associations: The number of pilots in the United States
has fallen 25 percent in the past 25 years. The number
of student pilots has plummeted 56 percent over the
same period -- from about 200,000 to 87,200 in 2005.
Only about 40 percent of today's student pilots will
get their licenses.

This clipped from an article that was also about Oshkosh...

Again, this is proof that flying became very expensive, period. And the
second issue directly related to that are the people involved in
flying.....

Jacek
Washington State