Trump admin launches program to help veterans become commercial pilots

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Trump admin launches program to help veterans become commercial pilots
The Trump administration is launching a new initiative designed to address a U.S. pilot shortage in the United States.
The Department of Transportation announced on Thursday that it will create a pilot program to help military veterans get trained and certified as commercial airline pilots.
“It’s an excellent example of this administration’s continued commitment to bringing veterans home, while simultaneously trying to address a real problem that we have, that is, the pilot shortage and getting pilots in the pipeline,” said Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), a general aviation pilot.
Graves said the program could also inform how lawmakers address the 1,500-hour training rule for commercial airline pilots, which Congress raised after the deadly 2009 Colgan Air crash.
There has been an effort underway in the Senate to ease the standards by allowing alternative ways for pilots to earn training credit. But the move has been met with resistance from Democrats, who worry it will make the skies less safe.
The battle has been heating up at a time when the demand for air travel has been surging. The Regional Airline Association estimates that there will be a shortage of 19,000 pilots in the U.S. by 2020.
“This has already been a factor in the cancellation of air service to several rural communities,” said Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
The three-year project will provide financial support for veterans who are not already military pilots to receive the training they need to become certified commercial pilots.
The Transportation Department hopes to have arrangements with flight schools and veterans enrolled in training programs by the middle of next year, Chao said.
 
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-transportation/2017/11/17/tax-shenanigans-026330

PILOT PILOT: Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced a new demonstration program Thursday geared toward getting more non-pilot veterans into the commercial pilot pipeline, our Lauren Gardner writes. The three-year program is expected to cost $2.5 million and help get up to 40 prospective pilots training up through certain flight instructor certifications, at which point they’d “be able to earn a living while they accrue the flight hours necessary for certification as commercial airline pilots,” Chao said at DOT headquarters. The goal, she said, is to address a growing pilot shortage and shrinking air service to rural communities while helping veterans find civilian jobs.

The elephant in the room: While this new program doesn’t touch FAA’s regulations on pilot training standards, the issue wasn’t far from the minds of some in the room, like Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), who argues that the current 1,500-hour flight requirement for pilots to become certified as first officers is an arbitrary figure. Congress is “very interested” in seeing what DOT learns from the program, he said, and in applying the results “to pilot training standards and any changes that may need to be made moving forward.” Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.), who’s also championed adding more ways for pilots to earn credit toward the flight-hours mandate, couldn’t make the event because of the Finance Committee’s work on that chamber’s tax bill.

Wait and see: DOT said in a news release that, through the program, “researchers will also study pathways for entering the pilot workforce, identify barriers to training and employment, and design and implement an initiative that can provide flight training to individuals interested in becoming commercial pilots.”
 
A whopping 40 pilots, eh? LOL. I think that many pilots went through the local school this year alone. I know more than 40 went through the puppy mills.

Somehow I don’t think they’ll keep up with the post-WWII GI Bill pilot creation machine.

Just a guess. ;-)
 
62,500 per student to get their private through their flight instructor ratings isn't terrible this day and age. I'd rather they spend this on veterans under the justification that former enlistees could get their ratings and potentially come back as officers to help out with the shortage on the military side as this sounds much more cost effective at getting good candidates than more tv ads.
 
srn121 said:
62,500 per student to get their private through their flight instructor ratings isn't terrible this day and age. I'd rather they spend this on veterans under the justification that former enlistees could get their ratings and potentially come back as officers to help out with the shortage on the military side as this sounds much more cost effective at getting good candidates than more tv ads.
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True, but is adding 40 entry level CFI's going to do anything that affects the current hiring climate or 'pilot shortage'?
 
NovemberEcho said:
All they need to do is let the Post 9/11 GI bill cover flight instruction like the MGIB did.
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This!

There seemed to be concerted effort to make the GI bill harder to cash when pursuing “vocational” or apprentice style training which is what they argued a part 91 flight school was.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Urp99 said:
True, but is adding 40 entry level CFI's going to do anything that affects the current hiring climate or 'pilot shortage'?
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Multiply it by 5 or 10 or so and it could help out the military branches as well as the civilian world.
 
srn121 said:
62,500 per student to get their private through their flight instructor ratings isn't terrible this day and age. I'd rather they spend this on veterans under the justification that former enlistees could get their ratings and potentially come back as officers to help out with the shortage on the military side as this sounds much more cost effective at getting good candidates than more tv ads.
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Not gonna fix the shortage on the mil side. As has been said here before, there is no shortage of FNG's in mil aviation. Additionally, spending money on civilian ratings would be a waste in that scenario. They would still need to do the full pilot/CSO/NFO syllabus regardless once they commission. The shortage you speak of is in the Major/LCDR ranks and beyond......ie too many folks are walking when their initial obligation (around 10 years) ends. Not saying that prior enlisted folks don't greatly contribute to the ranks, but they would also have even less reason to stick around, since many would be nearing a 20 year retirement when their initial aviation obligation ended. I know a number of folks who have done just that, and more power to them I might add.
 
srn121 said:
62,500 per student to get their private through their flight instructor ratings isn't terrible this day and age. I'd rather they spend this on veterans under the justification that former enlistees could get their ratings and potentially come back as officers to help out with the shortage on the military side as this sounds much more cost effective at getting good candidates than more tv ads.
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Maybe use that as a justification to get it approved, but it won't really work that way at all. A 250 hour wet commercial or 275 hour CFI doesn't really save Uncle Sam any money over a guy who hasn't flown at all when he goes through flight school. In the interest of brevity, I'm not going to show my math, but They won't save $62,500 per student in the training pipeline any way you slice it. They would be better off sending you for a Masters Degree and zero flight time.

I'm generally surprisingly neutral when it comes to a civilian flight education versus a military one, but the numbers just bear out that a $62,500 civilian flight education doesn't buy much versus a military flight education. In fact, the thing that it does buy is not having to get a military flight education with the requisite obligation, which is removed in this course of action.
 
jynxyjoe said:
Remember when Trump pooped on that gold star family?
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IMG_2840.JPG
 
I'm quite impressed about this program.
I've already forwarded it to a junior enlisted crew chief who has shown pretty good resolve to becoming a pilot.
This is absolutely perfect program for him, in which I hope he gets selected.
 
Flyinthrew said:
Maybe use that as a justification to get it approved, but it won't really work that way at all. A 250 hour wet commercial or 275 hour CFI doesn't really save Uncle Sam any money over a guy who hasn't flown at all when he goes through flight school. In the interest of brevity, I'm not going to show my math, but They won't save $62,500 per student in the training pipeline any way you slice it. They would be better off sending you for a Masters Degree and zero flight time.

I'm generally surprisingly neutral when it comes to a civilian flight education versus a military one, but the numbers just bear out that a $62,500 civilian flight education doesn't buy much versus a military flight education. In fact, the thing that it does buy is not having to get a military flight education with the requisite obligation, which is removed in this course of action.
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I have a good friend that got his commercial and instrument ratings about a week or two before me and then went on to graduate near or at the top of his class as he went in to the Navy with around 500 hours and currently flies F-18s. I don't know the service all that well, but I'm sure they could find some good pilots out of that amount to help out with some of the military flying whether it's drones or whatever and the ones that prefer to remain civilians will help out with the shortage and be very deserving of their training for having gone enlisted.

It's all a hypothetical, but even if it's just this 40 pilots a year that's great news to me for the price they've quoted.
 
///AMG said:
Not gonna fix the shortage on the mil side. As has been said here before, there is no shortage of FNG's in mil aviation. Additionally, spending money on civilian ratings would be a waste in that scenario. They would still need to do the full pilot/CSO/NFO syllabus regardless once they commission. The shortage you speak of is in the Major/LCDR ranks and beyond......ie too many folks are walking when their initial obligation (around 10 years) ends. Not saying that prior enlisted folks don't greatly contribute to the ranks, but they would also have even less reason to stick around, since many would be nearing a 20 year retirement when their initial aviation obligation ended. I know a number of folks who have done just that, and more power to them I might add.
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You know it better than I do, but as a civilian I'm hating the way politicians are lumping the shortage of pilots in the military in with the ATP rule and so what if the government hands some more money to veterans and they stay in the civilian life as far as I'm concerned.
 
srn121 said:
Multiply it by 5 or 10 or so and it could help out the military branches as well as the civilian world.
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There are already people getting turned away by recruiters because they don't have 20-20 vision. I tried inlisting when I graduated high school, already had my ppl and was working on my instrument and commercial, and was told 'thanks, but no thanks, you can walk with a gun, or do maintenance, but we have enough pilots'. I figured a 17 year old that was already a pilot would indicate some sort of commitment to what he wanted to do with life, but all 4 branches politely declined. As long as they continue to turn people like that, that will sign up for free, away, I fail to see why spending trillions of dollars of tax payer money to toss 200 to 400 wet 250 hour CFI's into the mix will solve anything.
 
Urp99 said:
There are already people getting turned away by recruiters because they don't have 20-20 vision. I tried inlisting when I graduated high school, already had my ppl and was working on my instrument and commercial, and was told 'thanks, but no thanks, you can walk with a gun, or do maintenance, but we have enough pilots'. I figured a 17 year old that was already a pilot would indicate some sort of commitment to what he wanted to do with life, but all 4 branches politely declined. As long as they continue to turn people like that, that will sign up for free, away, I fail to see why spending trillions of dollars of tax payer money to toss 200 to 400 wet 250 hour CFI's into the mix will solve anything.
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Your 20/20 vision had nothing to do with it. Your lack of college degree had everything to do with it. Military pilots are officers. Officers require a bachelors degree at least.
 
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