According to the FAA, in the US in 2012, out of 610,578 pilot certificates held, 311,952 were instrument rated. That is 51% are instrument rated. It is a normal progression in pilot training. One major difference is that our certificates don't expire and are good for a lifetime. In order to act as PIC, one must be current, but even after a multi-year layoff, this can be accomplished in less than 10 hours for a typical pilot, with out a required minimum. A flight review requires 1 hour of flight and 1 of ground as a minimum. A Instrument Competency Check has to cover specific tasks but does not have a minimum hour requirement. It can usually be accomplished in 2 to 6 hours. The Fight review and instrument competency need to be signed off by a CFI/CFII, but can't be failed. If a pilot doesn't meet standards, the instructor just doesn't sign the pilot off until they do.
Yeah, the most sensible and safest system in the world.
That was the kind of great comparison which Phil Boyer used to come out with on his European presentations, which would make EASA/Eurocontrol reps quietly escape out of the room before anybody could ask them questions.
One of them said he was off to Venezuela, to show them how to do it. I was hoping they might have read the FAR/AIM before letting him lecture them...
The only way one could achieve 50% IR penetration over here would be by reducing the exams to 1, the Govt putting up candidates in a 5 star hotel near an FTO at its expense, paying them for everything including their lost time, and a few other bits.
However I would still ask whether the USA sees the same or similar problem as Europe, with fewer people staying in the system, doing the IR, and perhaps becoming owners.
I started my JAR IR training 3 years after my PPL. I realized after taking my PPL that my dream was very limited when flying VFR.
I would have started earlier with the IR if did not hesitate to go through the theory and find a suitable ground school. I had 150h+20h simulator when i took the rating. I took the practical part in south sweden for 7000 Euro including checkride and license (30h flight+20h sim ... probably an option for EuroGA forum members to. 1 Euro=8.77 SEK today).
Now 2 years later i still feel very limited. Have not flown as much as i wanted.
As a club renter, still very limited when trying to go somewhere. Often i would love to take a weekend trip (3+3h) without to much planning ahead. But impossible when all machines are available 95% of the time during the weekend, but somebody booked them for instance for 30 minute flight on a saturday. The other way around when booking 1 month in advance, when its time to fly, there is only 1h left before 50h service. Very hard to predict.
Dreaming of buying a used airplane. A basic IFR tourer. Preferably with somebody else since i have a limited budget and income.
Jonas
However I would still ask whether the USA sees the same or similar problem as Europe, with fewer people staying in the system, doing the IR, and perhaps becoming owners.
The pilot population in the US is both aging and declining as it has become more and more expensive to fly. Looking at certificates doesn't give a good picture because they are for a lifetime. Medical certificates expire and a pilot who drops out is still rated but doesn't get their medical renewed.
Of the costs involved in flying, fuel cost is one of the biggest along with the high cost of new certified aircraft and the high cost of certified avionics for the older aircraft. Insurance has been one area that hasn't shown any significant increase and is very reasonable. I pay about $1200 annually with an insured hull value of $110,000. I can't insure my truck for that. The other big cost is aircraft parts, some of which if made out of solid gold, would not be any more expensive.
Two other developments are keeping many pilots in the game. First, home built aircraft keeps the costs in line with non certified avionics more capable than certified avionics for a fraction of the price. Second, as the pilot population ages, maintaining a third class medical becomes either expensive or not feasible. Flying in an LSA that doesn't require a medical certificate as long as the pilot holds a drivers license is one way that pilots stay in the game. There are also training programs for LSA aircraft that permit pilot maintenance.
For a german, paying around $ 13 for a gallon of Avgas the high cost of fuel in the US is pretty relative ;-) Filling up my SR22 is now about $ 1050,-
At $13/Gallon, that will cull most of us out of flying. My tank holds 74 gallons usable fuel. I burn about 12.5 GPH for 165 Knots or 16 GPH for 174 Knots. At the low number, that would be 13 X 12.5 = $162.50 in fuel per hour or about $1 per NM. Prohibitive.
Yes, I pay about 160 Dollars for Fuel per hour at 160 knots, and I never try 185 knots, too expensive... See how brave we are over here? :-))
According to the FAA, in the US in 2012, out of 610,578 pilot certificates held, 311,952 were instrument rated. That is 51% are instrument rated.
I just got an answer from our Swedish CAA, in Sweden 350 people have an IR rating connected to their PPL certificate, out of a total of 3143 PPL pilots, as of September 2013. So it's not very common.
I suspect that 10% is above the European average.
What is the true number for the US? The 51% of 610,000 is calculated over the total pilot population so it includes CPL and ATPL, where IR coverage in the US is near 100%...
What is the true number for the US? The 51% of 610,000 is calculated over the total pilot population so it includes CPL and ATPL, where IR coverage in the US is near 100%...
Not quite sure what you mean by true number. I guess you mean pilots who only hold a private pilot certificate. The percentages for such pilots who also have an instrument rating is 27.7%. Pilots who hold a commercial certificate (most who are not full time employed in aviation and I consider more of an advanced private pilot), the percentage is 90.5%. An ATP is by definition instrument rated and therefore 100%. The majority of ATP pilots are employed in aviation full time.
