How to get the young excited about aviation?

[fholbert]

How many of y’all grew up near GA airports and saw little planes flying overhead all the time and those airports don’t exist anymore?

Meadowlark in Huntington Beach. After I got my PPL I landed there a few times. I’ve done a lot of weird little airports but Meadowlark may have been the worst.

 

[Toobdrvr]

I know at least one other member here who’s exact opposite, his son doesn’t have a great passion for aviation but has seen how dad has been able to make good $$$, lots of time off, trips to Hawaii etc so he’s going for the airlines despite not really caring about the difference between a Cessna and a Piper.

So, what’s gonna get him through the better part of a decade until he sees any of that…?

 

[scooter2525]

So, what’s gonna get him through the better part of a decade until he sees any of that…?

Tacos.

 

[DropTank]

Was talking with some people this evening who do medium and long(er)-range forecasting in terms of staffing and it seems interest in aviation is at a generational low.

From the flying perspective, I still get kids in the cockpit, but I'd say at least half of them are pushed into the cockpit by their parents and just want a photo, whereas the other half have some interest in aviation.

Each organization I've spoken with has more or less echoed the same sentiment that people are generally less jazzed about aviation.

What do we do?

I mean, I know what we DID to make it an unattractive career field for many, but how do we turn the boat around?

How to get the young excited about aviation?

I won't.
To many sacrifices, not enough quality of life.
And they know it.

 

[roundout]

The military is having the same issue so there's some conversations occurring there as well.

what if somebody was to produce a sequel to a blockbuster action movie (which was a recruitment tool) featuring high flying Naval Aviators kicking ass and taking names with good cinematography and great music 30 years after the original movie came out? Has anyone considered this?

 

[roundout]

Maaaan y’all really trying to make me rethink the apply 121 strategy I got going.

Don’t, just apply

 

[mikecweb]

Haven’t read everything but if you come across opportunities where I can help @derg, count me in.
I got absolutely no guidance growing up and i figured most of this out on my own. It hasn’t all been puppy dogs and roses but if someone has even a glimmer of interest, you’re damn right I’ll try to help.

 

[mrivc211]

Was talking with some people this evening who do medium and long(er)-range forecasting in terms of staffing and it seems interest in aviation is at a generational low.

From the flying perspective, I still get kids in the cockpit, but I'd say at least half of them are pushed into the cockpit by their parents and just want a photo, whereas the other half have some interest in aviation.

Each organization I've spoken with has more or less echoed the same sentiment that people are generally less jazzed about aviation.

What do we do?

I mean, I know what we DID to make it an unattractive career field for many, but how do we turn the boat around?

We had 216 enrollments at my school last year. 32 in the accelerated airline program. Of the 32, 8 paid in cash. Parents cut $100k checks for their kids. Guess what the kids did. Spent 120-140 hours “attempting” to get their Private before finally quitting the program. I spent more hours than I’d like to admit, trying to get the parents to accept their kid skipped lessons constantly, was absent for months at a time, and flat out would try to play me and their parents. Same story from their parents: “but he’s been telling us he’s been at school everyday”. I’m sorry to tell you but he hasn’t. Dude, they have no clue. No one in my generation had to be convinced to become a pilot. We were beginning. It’s all for the gram these days. Skip the work, take all the credit publically.

 

[NovemberEcho]

Overall there's less mystique and enthusiasm about many things mechanical - be it airplanes, cars, etc among the youths. When I was a kid getting a drivers license was the most important thing EVAR! (I was sick of riding my bike to the airport). Today, tons of kids are waiting to start driving, content to let mom do it. When I was a kid you could walk into grocery stores, drug stores, and the like - not even hobby stores - and on the "toy aisle" you'd find model cars and most of the time some model airplanes to build. Haven't seen that in years. The fascination is now with computers. Why drive to see friends when you can text (because all they'd do if together is look at their phones, just in a group). Video games are exciting and you don't have to venture outside where it's not climate controlled. Why go on a date when Pornhub is available for free? I mean, the kids are sick. That's why AI is desperately needed and I welcome our ruling overlord technology.

PS = if you want to attract the kiddos - flying has to be glamorous again. Don't just show all the book learnin' they'll need, or the potential hazards - show the upside of sleeping on a bed of money while having to fight off the chicks.

There’s less mystique about mechanical things because things are less purely mechanical. Electronics run everything now. Hell good luck trying to change your own oil on a bunch of new cars now. BMW’s don’t even have a dipstick. John Deere tractors? They don’t allow you to repair them yourself.

As for drivers licenses, have you seen the price of used cars now? Good luck finding a beater for under $10k.

 

[derg]

We had 216 enrollments at my school last year. 32 in the accelerated airline program. Of the 32, 8 paid in cash. Parents cut $100k checks for their kids. Guess what the kids did. Spent 120-140 hours “attempting” to get their Private before finally quitting the program. I spent more hours than I’d like to admit, trying to get the parents to accept their kid skipped lessons constantly, was absent for months at a time, and flat out would try to play me and their parents. Same story from their parents: “but he’s been telling us he’s been at school everyday”. I’m sorry to tell you but he hasn’t. Dude, they have no clue. No one in my generation had to be convinced to become a pilot. We were beginning. It’s all for the gram these days. Skip the work, take all the credit publically.

The "I not filming about what it's like to fly an airplane, I'm filming to let you SEE ME flying an airplane" types?

I can't tell you how many profile videos there on IG that people made of themselves flying.

 

[🦈💜]

I mean, I know what we DID to make it an unattractive career field for many, but how do we turn the boat around?

Do you mean as a career, or as an avocation?

1—the whole "You gotta be at least THIS BOOMER to ride" thing is a bit rough.

2—we've sold the last few generations on needing to get through school and college at all costs. We've beaten schooling into them from a young age. STEM! STEM! STEM! ... and we've pumped them full of ADHD meds, worked them into childhood mental illness, etc. which disqualifies them from holding a medical.

3—the succeeding generations seem to want to do things that improve the world and help people. They're exceptionally cognizant of the impact of their actions on the environment and want to make a difference in others' lives.

4—they know people like me, and see the crap that I get to deal with, and it doesn't resonate with them.

5a—Aviation is way too heavily marketed to "men" and "boys." I still see boys get pilot wings and girls asked if they want to be "stewardesses." It's also, forgive me for saying this, mostly clean-cut white boys who get offered wings or whose parents ask if they can get a cockpit tour. If you think this is anywhere close to evenly applied, you're not even pretending to look.

5b—Boys aren't growing up reading "Boys Life" magazine anymore, for better or worse.

etc.

 

[arkflyr]

I am a second generation airline pilot and I was always enamored with airplanes. I've been riding in airplanes since before I can remember, started taking lessons at 17 and got my first aviation job working the ramp at an FBO when I was 18. My dad was always supportive of what I wanted to do and reminded me to do it for myself and not just because it was what he was doing. I also watched the ups and downs of his career as a civilian pilot coming up the ranks of the commuters in the 80s and navigating the turbulent times of the early 90s. By the time he got to the airline he would retire from he had worked for 8 airlines and sold Fords during a really dark stretch during furloughed days. So I knew full well what could happen when things go south.

To the question of what to do to get young people involved with aviation I'm not sure. I don't know how I would get going with it again under the same circumstances, the first flight school I instructed at is still in business and may be the only one at the airport besides ATP. There were five flight schools there when I started in the late 90s. There isn't as much small GA flying anymore.

As to young folks these days I was fortunate to spend a bunch of time with some during the pandemic when I was on leave from the airline. I became a volunteer ski patroller at our local resort and now while it was a small group and probably not representative of the whole of todays youth I would say that they for the most part were all hard working and good at technical things. One of them is even a CFI with bachelors degree in aviation science from the local college but is just happier in his mountain town being a Paramedic, Patroller, and he owns a lawn care service. That being said they are definitely into the experience part of life, one of my friends from there instead of working at Yellowstone as an EMT last summer took it off and hiked the PCT.

 

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

They know AI will be taking their job.

Can't believe it took to the second page for someone to say this.


Yes, this. Don't need to worry about no kids becoming pilots one day. Pilotless airliners are coming and will eventually be flown with maybe one pilot doing WFH who logs into his laptop to make sure everything looks ok - and even he'll get replaced with a computer.

This thread is a perfect demonstration of not understanding the laws of supply and demand and how they impact your career.

Do you see the AMA going out of their way to boost interest in medicine as a career path? Of course not. They do the exact opposite. They do everything they can to erect barriers to entry, because they understand that the fewer doctors there are, the better the compensation and quality of life for the people who get there.

Want to make 1960s era pilot wages again adjusted for inflation? Then let it be. Let this be the airlines' problem to solve, not yours.

While I agree fundamentally, it's just gonna push AI and pilotless airliners that much quicker.

 

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

The "I not filming about what it's like to fly an airplane, I'm filming to let you SEE ME flying an airplane" types?

I can't tell you how many profile videos there on IG that people made of themselves flying.

You haven't had a FO pull out an entire GoPro camera set up?

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

what if somebody was to produce a sequel to a blockbuster action movie (which was a recruitment tool) featuring high flying Naval Aviators kicking ass and taking names with good cinematography and great music 30 years after the original movie came out? Has anyone considered this?

Despite my overall distaste for flying as a career nowadays, there was still somehow a part of me that wanted to see my stepson at least show an interest in it. So I took him to Top Gun 2 hoping it might give him that feeling that the original did for me as a kid. No such luck. He thought it was a good movie, but absolutely no interest in the planes or flying. Didn’t even ask a single question. My wife had more questions about the flying than he did. He wants to be a teacher. *shrug*

 

[Jimmy_Norton]

Maaaan y’all really trying to make me rethink the apply 121 strategy I got going.

Don't listen to the Debbie Downers. I made the jump from 91 to a 121 Legacy last year and it is absolutely awesome. Being junior kind of sucks, but it gets better every month. I had a few holy crap moments, but now I'm about 8 months in and settling into the groove. The people I work with are awesome, the training is awesome, having a support structure is awesome, and honestly I feel more appreciated here than I ever did in corporate.

 

[fholbert]

Despite my overall distaste for flying as a career nowadays, there was still somehow a part of me that wanted to see my stepson at least show an interest in it. So I took him to Top Gun 2 hoping it might give him that feeling that the original did for me as a kid. No such luck. He thought it was a good movie, but absolutely no interest in the planes or flying. Didn’t even ask a single question. My wife had more questions about the flying than he did. He wants to be a teacher. *shrug*

Maybe the Getting Shot At part turned him off?

For me, learning to fly was so addicting I couldn't wait for my next lesson. I was 16 and it was one of two things always on my mind. When I got my PPL there was a slump because I no longer had a goal.

Then a girl at my high school I had lusted admired asked if I'd take her for a ride flight and I found a whole new mission. Not sure why I didn't think of that sooner, combine my two hobbies. When the checklist called for seatbelts, as the PIC I checked and made sure her belt was tight enough. I mean, it's a FAA regulation. Unfortunately the beater Cessna 150 was a '68 model and it didn't have shoulder belts.

I found a nice little Mexican food place at nearby Montgomery Field. It's still there 50 years later but the outdoor patio is now enclosed. About 6 girls flights later the days were getting shorter and I found having dinner and departing for home at dusk was romantic and really helped my game.

I practiced the departing at dusk trick for the next 20 years until getting married at 37yo. God I miss those days!

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

Maybe the Getting Shot At part turned him off?

No, he wants to be a teacher, so apparently that doesn’t scare him.

 

[CoffeeIcePapers]

Don't listen to the Debbie Downers. I made the jump from 91 to a 121 Legacy last year and it is absolutely awesome. Being junior kind of sucks, but it gets better every month. I had a few holy crap moments, but now I'm about 8 months in and settling into the groove. The people I work with are awesome, the training is awesome, having a support structure is awesome, and honestly I feel more appreciated here than I ever did in corporate.

Yeah, all of this.

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

Maaaan y’all really trying to make me rethink the apply 121 strategy I got going.

121 seems great now. Find a good enough place and guard your seniority. Most of my life mishaps and mistakes have been on the 91/135 side.