A recent story about a significant donation to a learn-to-fly initiative included an interesting paragraph:
“Once students have completed these steps and exhibit a dedication to pursuing a career in aviation, their names will be provided to major airlines for potential sponsorships toward training for private pilot and commercial pilot certification.”
I hadn’t heard that major airlines were awarding scholarships “toward training for private pilot and commercial pilot certification.” So I reached out to Joseph Oldham, president of New Vision Aviation, for some answers.
“The key word is potential,” said Oldham.
But let’s back up a step or two first.
The Wood Next Fund gave a $180,000 grant to the Next Generation Aviation Academy (NGAA) initiative. The NGAA is the creation of non-profit New Vision Aviation and seeks to “train the next generation of aviation professionals from communities of color and low-income neighborhoods” in the San Joaquin Valley of California.
Half of the grant will fund the purchase of a self-launching glider to be used for flight training. The other half will be “disbursed in $2,000 increments to provide glider pilot training to qualifying youth in Fresno County.”
“Receiving a glider pilot certification means that the FAA is certifying that you are qualified to fly a glider safely and responsibly to protect yourself and the general public,” Oldham said. “It says you have learned and proven that you have the skills and good decision making to join the ranks of great aviation pioneers that have gone before you, such as the Wright brothers, Lindbergh, and graduates of the United States Air Force Academy.”
With a glider certificate, youth can then advance and become certified to train, allowing for opportunities to earn money by serving as glider instructors. An aspiring glider pilot can solo at 14, earn a private pilot certificate with a glider rating at 16, and is eligible for a commercial or flight instructor glider certificate at 18. [See page 1-5 of the Glider Flying Handbook.]
This is where the major airlines may come in. Oldham says he’s had good conversations with both Southwest Airlines and United Airlines. The idea is to connect those who successfully participate in NGAA with representatives at one of the airlines. This may help fund some of the required flight training that most, if not all, NGAA participants will struggle to pay for.
By way of example, Oldham told me nearby Reedly College’s two-year flight science program (from start to CFI) is roughly $60,000. Grants and scholarships can cover half, which leaves a $30,000 gap.
For those who can afford to pay for flight training, no problem. For those with good personal or family credit, finding loans to pay for training is also pretty straightforward. But what about those who come from a family who earns little each year?
I don’t know about you, but I’ve received multiple postcards inviting me to apply for a pilot job at various regional airlines. All have offered sizable sign-on bonuses if hired.
What if the airlines started experimenting with aspiring pilots and offered to pay for some of their flight training up front? Oldham says he asked Southwest and United, “if I could bring you five to 10 kids would you consider this idea?” Their answer: “Yes.”
This isn’t a done deal. It is one potential (there’s that word again) baby step toward another way to get pilots into airline flight decks.
Oldham is also speaking with local banks about NGAA. He tells me they are interested, but want to know more. I’m not a banker, but I wonder why they wouldn’t be interested?
After a pilot earns the appropriate certificates and ratings and flies the needed hours to be hired, a career as a professional pilot can be lucrative. If a bank can help make that dream reality, it has likely earned a customer for life and, more importantly, helped lift a person and their family one rung higher on the income ladder.
Finding tomorrow’s pilots is difficult. There are many options for today’s youth to explore. Personally, I think the Next Generation Aviation Academy is great idea and hope that first baby step with both the airlines and the banks becomes a reality.
Bottom line: We need more pilots (and mechanics). And we need to create as many paths as possible.
Next Generation Aviation Academy is working to carve one more path.
Flight Station. Flight Deck is that large flat section where the runway is on a boat. As practiced by the US Navy for over 100 years.
“Bottom line: We need more pilots (and mechanics). And we need to create as many paths as possible.”
I agree. However; that would require more, widely available, CIVILIAN-only paths that don’t need grants, scholarships, and/or exorbitant loans to finance.
That pretty much eliminates ones that involve enrollment in a college/academic degree program. Most of these have agreements with air carriers that “gaurantee” an inteview upon successful completion of their program. But airlines want the labor, they just don’t want to pay for it…at least until now.
Maybe the entire US airline industry will finally commit to full-up “ab initio” pilot and mechanic career paths; where you are hired by the airline, and paid as an employee while you train…not just hooked up with “Discover Student Loans, to obtain a school-certified loan to fund your training from start to finish.” (American Airlines)
Only to then have your payments deferred through your training process “as long as you maintain satisfactory academic progress.”
(Caveat: A couple US airlines JUST announced programs to hire “off-the-street”, zero-time applicants to fill future right seats. That’s an OK solution for a problem that they’ve seen coming for a long time. We’ll see how it is mechanized.)
But what about those that just want to fly…but not as a career? The “cost of admission” has seen logarithmic growth just in the last few years…with no apparent sign of slowing. It would be great if some well-respected pundit (Ben), thought outside the box, and explored the “ripple-in-the-pond” effects caused by the absolute insanity that’s gripped the used airplane market. I’m betting that the $100,000 price tags, for aged, well-used Cessna 172s, is extinguishing a lot of dreams of flight.
Oops….”guarantee an interview”…Don’t text from your phone at a stop light.
Curran