How to promote this thing we do (long post)

Several good points have been made about how other lifestyle choices
interfere with and compete for a potential students time and income. A
thought that has been running through my head concerns the "Big Box Store
Generation's" fixation with immediate satisfaction without impediments nor
at the expense of anything else in their lives. Today's potential pilots
who have the money to spend on aviation want things NOW and they don't want
any new hobby to interfere in any way with their existing hobbies or
lifestyles.

If we dare mention to a potential student that he may have to drive a used
car for a couple extra years in order to afford flight lessons and/or that
it may take him as long as 6 months to get his PPL, many of today's
potential pilots counter with "wow, that's too much money and takes too way
long, I think I'll go buy a boat/motorcycle/race-car/ATV/big screen TV, I'll
keep it at home, and I can have it by 4pm today. Our worst competition is
this instant gratification mentality. Aviation takes more than money, it
takes time and dedication before satisfaction can occur. Today's Big Box
Store generation wants to skip the time and dedication part and simply trade
money for satisfaction.

Now.... what to do about it. A couple things come to mind.

First aviation is social and is largely based on sharing opportunities and
experiences with others. If we want to create more pilots, we need to
invite more people into the aviation. EAA and OSH are good examples of where
and how we can show a potential enthusiast what the aviation lifestyle
includes and that it isn't "just" flying. You might know someone who is an
awesome mechanic, author, novelist, painter, artist, teacher, photographer,
carpenter, mason, web designer, computer tech, etc etc AND they have shown
an interest in aviation... GET THEM INVOLVED!!! Show them where and how
they can add their skills and talents to their interest in aviation.
Aviation enthusiasts can breed more pilots than pilots alone! Look at all
the volunteers at OSH or at the EAA Museum. I've never once entered the EAA
Museum without a volunteer, mostly retired individuals, rush forward to ask
me if I've ever been to the Museum or if I know about the Young Eagles
Program. I almost feel bad telling them how often that we visit because it
cuts their speech short.... they live and breathe aviation enthusiasm and so
can YOU!

Next choose your victim, learn their abilities and their goals. Maybe you
know someone that just loves to hang out around airplanes but has no
interest or lacks the financial or physical ability to become a pilot. Next
time you need help with your plane or volunteer for an airport event, ask
this person to tag along. Introduce him to fellow pilots, your CFI, your
A&P, your Pilot's Association etc Nothing brings people to airports more
than people at airports. They all don't have to be pilots! Flying is
largely social. We ALL spend more time talking or typing about it than we
actually spend executing it. The next time you go to the airport, take
someone along.

If your friend has the interest and ability to become a pilot, of course
take him flying! But don't BORE HIM!!! Show him what you enjoy about
flying but leave him with a hunger for more! Make your flight short, don't
load him up on a 5 hour cross country when it's 95 degrees with light
turbulence and insist to him that flying is wonderful. He won't think so.
Leave him excited, happy, and hungry for more. Offer him back and the next
time he brings up the subject of aviation, immediately get him back to the
airport or take him flying with you. Once he's hooked, offer him your
assistance through the maze of ground instruction, testing, fight
instruction and flight tests. Make sure he knows that any person of average
intelligence and ability can become a private pilot. Make sure he knows
that it's a process made up of small but frequent steps leading to major
events. Offer individual and confidential help away from the airport
experts so your friend doesn't feel inadequate, unaccomplished, or stupid.
Offer him encouragement ALWAYS! Give him an audience to expound upon HIS
hanger flying stories. Cultivate both his ego and his yearning for
knowledge. Offer to loan him examples from your aviation library.

Include his/her spouse or significant other. Make sure this person knows
the ups and the downs and that their support and encouragement are CRUCIAL.
Make sure they both know the real world costs and timelines. Don't set
either of them up with unrealistic ideas only to have reality dash their
dreams. The significant other must support and encourage every effort and
accomplishment without a glairing eye of guilt for the financial costs.
Nothing can dash a student that is finally "getting it" faster than the
guilt placed upon him/her by a loved one saying "you've spent $$$ for what?"
With support from his/her friends and loved ones knowledge + hard work +
budget + realistic goals WILL = Success

Borrow Greg Brown's book "The Saavy Flight Instructor". It's not about how
to become or be a flight instructor, it's about how to survive AS a flight
instructor.... and behind most of his methods is an underlying theme.... how
do we bring more people into aviation?

Later, I've got to take someone to the airport.

Jim







"Jeff" jfranks1971 minus wrote in message
...
I'm a 10 year lurker in this newsgroup and, like most, time gets in the
way
of my flying and/or posting here. But after a week at OSH (missed the
party
AGAIN, but this time, I didn't wander around not finding it ) and a
newly
re-instated medical, I've been invigorated and am ready again to do this
thing we love.

...But I'm concerned. As many have pointed out, the number of pilots in
our
country is falling rapidly. My father and I flew into a monthly breakfast
at a nearby airport about a month ago. At 37 years old, I was one of the
youngest 10% of attendees. Most of the people there were 50-65 and the
remainder even older.

As I wandered around OSH, I made an effort to try to average out the ages
of
most of the people there. You had your kids and early teenagers that came
with Mom and Dad and occasionally a 20 yr old. But then there seemed to
be
a gap and again, the 35-40 yr olds started the pack again and it went up
from there.

Now, being 37, I know exactly why this is the case. I had the same
problems.
Family, career, kids, etc all get "in the way" and flying doesn't make it
in
the top ten list of things to spend a limited budget on. But I think what
we're starting to see happening is that flying isn't making it BACK into
the
budget once money and time become more available. Things like Harley
Davidson motorcycles, RV's, etc all seem more plausible to the masses than
flying....because we all know flying is a rich man's hobby...right? (said
in
jest...sorta).

So, why am I rambling on about the obvious? Here's why. I think groups
like EAA and AOPA need to come back to reality. The Poberezny's and Phil
Boyer have been rubbing elbows with the celebrities and the ultra rich
(e.g
Warbird owners) so long, they've forgotten that I had to borrow money to
buy
a $29k C172 and get bitched at everytime I have to pay for an annual.

I saved up my sweepstakes tickets from Sport Pilot and entered 30 of them
for the pretty new $190,000 Husky that the EAA was giving away. But, had
I
won it, I would have had to sell it to pay the $50k+ tax bill. Now, I
would
loved to have won and sold it to buy something I could afford, but the
point
is, they are trying to get "the average man" back into flying. Call me
crazy, but the "average man" doesn't spend $190k on an airplane.

I have probably 15 friends around my age that have told me that they "have
always wanted to fly, but just haven't because XXXX" XXXX might be
money,
time, fear, whatever. But money is usually the culprit. And most of them
have no real idea what it would cost. They just write it off as
something
they can't afford.

Again, what is my point? I dunno. I guess, I'm asking how do we do this?
How do we get the 40 year old's who always wanted to fly, but just never
had
time, money or gumption? We tend to really push hard on the young. We
have
great programs like Young Eagles to encourage kids to get into aviation,
but
now 15 years after that program was started, how many PPL's has it
generated? I'm not suggesting we stop YE, but I am trying to figure out
if
that is enough. Obviously, it's not. Would it be possible to have
EAA/AOPA
to give away "scholarships" to adults to get their license? If you
granted
them $10k each, the EAA could have given away 19 PPL Scholarships for the
money the Husky cost. I know that a $5k donation to my license fund would
have made me get in the air 10 years ago. I would think you could get
vendors and aviation suppliers to donate to the cause just like they do to
the giveaway aircraft. More pilots = More business.

I'm just trying to start a conversation here. I'm excited personally
about
my re-instated medical and getting back in the air, but at the same time,
I'm concerned that status quo isn't gonna cut it anymore.

Thoughts?

Jeff Franks
Summertown, TN

Later, I've got to take someone to the airport.

Jim

WOW! Jim, I couldn't have said it better (and I didn't, because I couldn't
put it into words). This is exactly the type of mentality that I would hope
many of us would have. Growing up in the 70's, my dad used to take me to
the airport with him. There was always folks kicking tires and telling lies
up and down hangar row. Now days, at the same airport, you're lucky to find
someone just "hanging out". Most of the flyers are corporate or utility
pilots that aren't real interested in the love of flight....it's just their
job.

My brothers-in-law both have Harley's. For the money that just one of them
have put in their bike, I could have bought a 150. Put their money together
and we can have a Warrior or 172. And other than hangar rent, I'd bet money
that they spend more on their bike than I do on my 172 per year (gas not
included ). The point is, you're absolutely right. we have to build the
community and culture back. I have been into areas and airports where this
exists, but not often.

I grew up around aviation. I've always had a way to get my flying "fix". In
fact, I'm 37 and still working on my PPL. I learned to "fly" at an early
age, but never did it right or on my own until I had "time" and "money".
But, I have spent 25+ years around this same social group your talking
about. I guess part of the reason I didn't get too bothered about not
finishing my certificate was that I enjoyed the gatherings as much as I did
the flying. So, point well taken.

Now, how do we get this same attitude out to the masses? I've thought of
forming my own EAA chapter just to get the 5-10 folks that I know locally
re-involved. That's a start, but it's gonna take much more than just us.

jf

"Jeff" jfranks1971 minus wrote in message
...
Later, I've got to take someone to the airport.

Jim

WOW! Jim, I couldn't have said it better (and I didn't, because I couldn't
put it into words). This is exactly the type of mentality that I would
hope many of us would have. Growing up in the 70's, my dad used to take
me to the airport with him. There was always folks kicking tires and
telling lies up and down hangar row. Now days, at the same airport,
you're lucky to find someone just "hanging out". Most of the flyers are
corporate or utility pilots that aren't real interested in the love of
flight....it's just their job.

My brothers-in-law both have Harley's. For the money that just one of
them have put in their bike, I could have bought a 150. Put their money
together and we can have a Warrior or 172. And other than hangar rent,
I'd bet money that they spend more on their bike than I do on my 172 per
year (gas not included ). The point is, you're absolutely right. we
have to build the community and culture back. I have been into areas and
airports where this exists, but not often.

I grew up around aviation. I've always had a way to get my flying "fix".
In fact, I'm 37 and still working on my PPL. I learned to "fly" at an
early age, but never did it right or on my own until I had "time" and
"money". But, I have spent 25+ years around this same social group your
talking about. I guess part of the reason I didn't get too bothered about
not finishing my certificate was that I enjoyed the gatherings as much as
I did the flying. So, point well taken.

Now, how do we get this same attitude out to the masses? I've thought of
forming my own EAA chapter just to get the 5-10 folks that I know locally
re-involved. That's a start, but it's gonna take much more than just us.



Are the AOPA and EAA not getting along? I was planning on joining AOPA at
Arlington, but didn't see an AOPA booth. I'm sure they have been there in
the past, unless I just missed them this year, for them not to be there
verges on the criminal. The EAA is supposed to be announcing "some major
efforts" to recruit pilots. I have a suggestion, once this user-fee thing
is killed, the group they have formed to fight it, the AAAA, should be used
as the vehicle to promote aviation.

Ken Finney wrote:
SNIP
Now, how do we get this same attitude out to the masses? I've
thought of forming my own EAA chapter just to get the 5-10 folks
that I know locally re-involved. That's a start, but it's gonna
take much more than just us.

Are the AOPA and EAA not getting along? I was planning on joining
AOPA at Arlington, but didn't see an AOPA booth. I'm sure they have
been there in the past, unless I just missed them this year, for them
not to be there verges on the criminal. The EAA is supposed to be
announcing "some major efforts" to recruit pilots. I have a
suggestion, once this user-fee thing is killed, the group they have
formed to fight it, the AAAA, should be used as the vehicle to
promote aviation.


Have I missed something? What's the AAAA?

Also, as some of you might remember I floated the idea in this newsgroup of
the AOPA working with FBOs to work with students that for what ever reason
don't finish training. It was suggested that I send the idea to AOPA. I did
via e-mail and haven't heard back from them.

"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote in message
...
Ken Finney wrote:
SNIP
Now, how do we get this same attitude out to the masses? I've
thought of forming my own EAA chapter just to get the 5-10 folks
that I know locally re-involved. That's a start, but it's gonna
take much more than just us.

Are the AOPA and EAA not getting along? I was planning on joining
AOPA at Arlington, but didn't see an AOPA booth. I'm sure they have
been there in the past, unless I just missed them this year, for them
not to be there verges on the criminal. The EAA is supposed to be
announcing "some major efforts" to recruit pilots. I have a
suggestion, once this user-fee thing is killed, the group they have
formed to fight it, the AAAA, should be used as the vehicle to
promote aviation.


Have I missed something? What's the AAAA?

Also, as some of you might remember I floated the idea in this newsgroup
of the AOPA working with FBOs to work with students that for what ever
reason don't finish training. It was suggested that I send the idea to
AOPA. I did via e-mail and haven't heard back from them.


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