'Aviation Heresy – Facing Reality?'

By ANN Guest Aero-Blogger Rich Davidson

Aero-Introduction: Whether you agree or disagree with the words that follow, Rich Davidson is someone I can vouch for in terms of his love for aviation and his TOTAL unfailing commitment to seeing it survive. Rich is the first of a number of "Aero-Citizens" we're organizing/drafting/enslaving under a unique set of circumstances/programs/ideals/weird ideas to raise the level of conversation in and about aviation... to seek NEW ideas... to clobber a few old ones... and to set aviation on a new and altogether unique path TOWARD SOLUTIONS. I've been working on this for the better part of a year and I think its ready for the light of day...and I think its discussions like the one that Rich has started, right, wrong or a little of both, that can lead to a new generation of involvement and the most important result of all... a renewed and sustainable effort at "Aero-Activism."

I will not promise that every thing that will be said in this process will meet universal agreement... and, indeed, the effort is doomed to failure if that does happen... but its time to give aviation a chance to survive... and it will do so, only, in the light of truth and with the proper discourse of all those who are TRULY committed to its survival. Rich is one of those flyers... and I've got my eyes on another 100 or so (to start) to jump-start a wild process we'll be writing ABOUT A LOT over the next few weeks and months. -- Jim Campbell, ANN E-I-C.

Every industry, every community, and every organization has its realities that nobody is willing to admit. Oddly enough, these things always have common threads; nearly all of them involve money and time pushed, with near cult fashion, toward faulty projects and marketed heavily as urgent, life saving, or industry changing. More often than not these programs are also claimed as being “for the children.”

Meanwhile, in the dark backrooms of each industry, aviation in this case, many well known figures discuss these failures with a cagey unwillingness to openly question the people who’ve wasted our time and money. And then the next day, when in public, the same people loudly proclaim the positives of the very project they secretly admitted to be a failure just last night. But why would people do this? Perhaps these folks would rather keep their positions, as big frogs in small ponds, than risk their status in the pond by speaking what many would call heresy?

This brings me to something I’ve wanted to talk about for a long time but admittedly never have because of my friends. Many people, close to me, have put a lot of time into the project and I was afraid they would take it personally, if I told them what I knew about the project. Over the years though, more and more well known aviation figures (two of them EAA board members) have expressed to me similar thoughts and this has made me more comfortable discussing the subject. Yet even with this encouragement, I have been unable to bring myself to be the "that guy" who took the hit for saying it to a broad group of people. But then recently, something happened that would set me free of this burden; Tom Poberezny started the road to retirement.

So maybe you are asking, "What does Tom’s retirement have to do with setting you free to speak aviation heresy?" Well, now that Tom is working his way out the door, he has apparently opened up to the idea of admitting the things that didn’t go so well on his watch. And although he doesn’t call it a failure, for the first time ever, in the December Sport Aviation Magazine, a person from EAA (Tom) has admitted several of their pet projects are not doing so well. One of them is that thing; the thing I have wanted to discuss for so long; here goes.

I’m going to say it. Really, I am. I apologize to those of you who might get upset, as I don’t mean and don’t want you to take it personally. Oh boy, I’m starting to rethink this. Holy crap, I might as well go ahead and throw the rope over a tree limb. What am I thinking? Ok, let me catch my breath. Whew, man this is tough. Alright, are you ready? Here it goes……….The Young Eagles program does very little for aviation. Whew I feel better. Now, before you turn you computer off in a rage, please keep an open mind and keep reading. Let me explain.

Let’s start with the purpose of Young Eagles. Do you know what it is? Is it about driving donation dollars to EAA? Is it about getting celebrities involved, to increase the credibility of the program, in order to drive more donation dollars to EAA? Is it about making pilots feel like they are doing something positive for aviation so that they will remain or become members of EAA? Or, is it about creating new pilots to buoy the current and shrinking pilot population? Which is it?

If you are among the majority of pilots that participate in Young Eagles, you likely believe the program is about generating new pilots. This idea comes from many different places. The primary source of this though originates with the long romanticized image of some dusty kid given a free ride, that sparked a passion for aviation, which led them to earn a license. It’s a great image isn’t it? Unfortunately, this is not the primary way people become pilots. If you want proof, look only to the numbers of Young Eagles.

Today, the number of kids given a free flight through the Young Eagles program is rapidly approaching 1.6 million. That’s impressive isn’t it? But where are the pilots?

Here is what EAA says today on their website about the Young Eagles program: The EAA Young Eagles program was launched in 1992 to give interested young people, ages 8 - 17, an opportunity to go flying in a general aviation airplane. These flights are offered free of charge and are made possible through the generosity of EAA member volunteers.

Unfortunately, I could not find any old material from those days but I’m pretty sure there was another reason, other than giving free rides, behind the start of Young Eagles. But maybe there wasn't. If not, and their purpose was only to give away free rides, then they have been extremely successful. This is why I believe the whole story is not told on their website.

You see, if the goal of Young Eagles is merely to give rides to kids, then it’s hard to argue its success. But I’m pretty sure, if you ask an old time EAA member about the reason for Young Eagles, it was ultimately to generate new pilots. And to support this, one only has to look to EAA’s website to see they have links that a motivated kid could use to help work their way into a license. Or better yet, you could refer once again to the December Sport Aviation where Tom says Young Eagles isn't producing the results to overcome the decline in the pilot population. But isn’t Young Eagles just about giving rides? That’s what EAA’s website says; The EAA Young Eagles program was launched in 1992 to give interested young people, ages 8 - 17, an opportunity to go flying in a general aviation airplane. So which is it? I can tell you this. If this program was created simply to give away rides, there have been some truly irresponsible people making decisions at EAA.

The truth is, Young Eagles has been a failure at driving new people to aviation. You don’t believe me? Where are all the pilots? Again, 1.6 million kids have been given rides and yet the pilot population continues to shrink.

And what percentage do you think would make Young Eagles successful? Ten percent, five percent, what? At ten percent, young Eagles would have added 160,000 pilots to the community, over and above that which naturally occurs. But has that happened?
And do you know the demographics of people who are earning new licenses? Do you really believe kids are the primary drivers of new licenses? The reality is, giving free rides, to random young people, has created no discernible improvement to the pilot population.

But wait, I thought all pilots were created when some dusty kid was given a free ride by a local pilot?
So why then would EAA continue to push a program that has so little effect on the pilot population? The answer is that the Young
Eagles program has been extremely successful at driving donations to EAA.

Have you ever wondered why EAA makes such a big deal about the hollow position of Young Eagles Chairman, why they continue to pursue celebrities for this position, and why they don’t instead look for a philanthropic minded executive; one known for successes with large projects critical to the future of an industry? There is a reason, and it is not about the children. The position of Young Eagles Chairman is critical to EAA fundraising and nothing else. And, to top it off, EAA has pilots spending their money to do the same.

Remember this from above; these flights are offered free of charge and are made possible through the generosity of EAA member volunteers. Now don’t get me wrong, your contributions to programs like these are not all in vain. I just wanted to point out, that in this case, I believe many EAA members are spending their time and money to do something they believe is helping aviation when in fact it is quite possible all they are doing is spending their aviation dollars to build a revenue stream for EAA. And maybe that’s what you want. If so, more power to you. Myself though, I think it’s time aviation took a long hard inward look, quit kidding itself, and started doing something effective for the future of our sport.

So, is there anything measurably positive about Young Eagles? That is hard to say. I suppose you could ask EAA for all the money raised in the name of Young Eagles and if that is your thing, then that would be something positive. Unfortunately, I have not seen anything that leads me to believe EAA would spend that money effectively. Therefore, we are back to square one.

What about public relations? This is the only argument I have ever heard for Young Eagles that holds any water. But again, if you look at it, even this is questionable. Look at the numbers of frivolous lawsuits against aviation and you will see they have not decreased; the media still reports on aviation as if it were a dragon set loose on the world to kill people at random; politicians continue to place more restrictions on general aviation and the love affair this nation once held, with flight in general, continues to grow cold. Myself, I just can’t see it. You make the call.

So, with all that said, why don’t we go back to all those children given free rides? If there is one thing we should all be able to see today, it is that kids given everything for free don’t become the most productive members of society. Not too long ago, I was reading Bob Hoover’s book when I came across something rather interesting. When Bob and a friend, as kids, wanted to rebuild a wrecked Cub, they ran the math and realized they did not have the money to do so. But with a stronger look at where they were spending money, they hit upon a unique idea; if they were to shave their heads, and therefore go without haircuts, they could afford to rebuild the Cub. Now I ask you, how did Bob turn out? And, while your answering that, name a kid today that would do this.

This is one example of why I worry about the message we are sending, to the world, with programs like Young Eagles. Today, kids regularly spend fifty bucks, without a second thought, for a new video game. Yet the message aviation has for kids is “flying is so great we have to give it away.” Free rides, scholarships, free access to online ground school courses, and the like are abundant. Yet where are all the new pilots? And if flying is so great, where are the lines at flight schools? If we had kept records of Young Eagles, maybe we would be able to answer that last question. No records? What? You didn’t know that?

Yes that’s right, EAA has kept no traceable record of the Young Eagles? EAA may have “the logbook,” but they never collected enough information on any of these kids to be able to verify if any of them went on to earn a pilot’s license (told to me by Tom himself only a few years back). Therefore, there is no direct way of knowing the effectiveness of the Young Eagles program. But what if they had gathered this data? Could EAA honestly claim Young Eagles as the reason for these people becoming pilots? Was the first person to offer Van Gogh a pen, the reason he became an artist? No. And despite all the things mentioned above, this basic lack of information is actually the key to the failure of the Young Eagles program.

By creating a program with no retrievable data, which would allow some measurement of effectiveness of the Young Eagles program, EAA has shown that the people who started this program, who conceived it, and who implemented it were not qualified to do so. Furthermore, those people at EAA, who have been in charge from the beginning of this program up through today, were and are negligent in their duties to EAA and its members. The remaining people, if there are any, who never realized this, should have never been in charge of anything at EAA in the first place. In fact, EAA sounds more like the federal government every day.

In fact, if you were to step outside of EAA, and aviation, and ask professionals to run a similar program, with the caveat they could not keep any records that would allow them to judge the effectiveness of the program, they would laugh you off the planet. Yet within aviation, there is no question, no reasoning, and no judgment; only the good feeling that comes with each free ride given.

Do you or have you ever given a Young Eagles ride? If so, you’re either asking yourself if you have wasted your time or saying “that guy is crazy.” If you are asking one or both of the questions, ask yourself if giving the rides makes you feel good. If so, and you don’t care whether or not the rides generate future pilots, then go right ahead and continue to do so. For some people this is the only flying they do and it makes them happy and there is nothing at all wrong with that; enjoy. And if you are saying to yourself, “that guy is crazy, Young Eagles will save the world” then that too is ok. All I ask is that you prove me wrong.

As pilots, it’s hard not to feel the instant gratification that comes with giving a ride to someone. And, as humans, we are all prone to relating everything to our own experiences. This is why many people look back fondly, to their first ride in an airplane, and assume doing the same for someone else will lead them to become a pilot. Unfortunately, the good feelings that come from these experiences fool us into false beliefs.

Can you create pilots by giving rides? Sure you can. But this requires giving a ride to a kid who really wants it, who is willing to work for it, and that you are willing to mentor for the long haul. And even then, be prepared for the day he or she decides instead to become a marine biologist.

In the December issue of Sport Pilot, Tom Poberezny said, in reference to The Young Eagles and the light-sport aircraft/sport pilot rules and regulations, “Are they producing the results needed to overcome the decline in the pilot population? The answer is no.” Those are his words, not mine. He then went on to say, that in the January issue, he would talk about what has to be improved within these two programs so that they will have a greater impact; then came the January issue.

The most recent editions of Sport Aviation has an interesting quote from Tom, “Currently we are making a good impression on young adults, but we can do more to keep them engaged. We need to show young people how they can become involved in aviation by providing pathways to participation, not just as a pilot or aircraft owner, but other affordable ways to pursue their dream of flight.”

What???

In December, Tom was admitting these programs are not having a positive effect on the pilot population, and inferred there were things they would do to correct this. Now though, he says it’s not about making pilots or aircraft owners, but about something else. But what are those other avenues; RC model pilots; Paper airplane owners? Am I missing something here?

Why do you spend your time helping someone pursue a dream of flight that does not include either being a pilot or an aircraft owner or both? As I said earlier, this program has been adrift in its own hype for way too long. EAA needs real help.

And as for keeping kids involved, I’m thinking maybe Tom could at least address one Young Eagles program rule. Last year, I sat in shock as I listened to a friend tell how one EAA chapter, in Southwest Florida, decided to enforce the Young Eagles rule of “only one flight per Young Eagle.” I’m not making this up. It seems there was a kid that absolutely loved the flights, was enthralled with aviation, but at his age could not afford lessons. Therefore, the kid came to every Young Eagles rally so he could go flying.

Apparently, after a few of these flights, someone brought up this rule. Then, instead of someone taking this kid under their wing, they decided to enforce it. The expectable result of this enforcement was the pissing off of the kid’s family and no more rides for the kid at Young Eagles rallies. This is what happens when you develop vague programs with no true meaning. It also proves, at least with this chapter, that Young Eagles has become nothing more than a feel good program. Everything was fine until the kid wanted more than one ride. Soon thereafter, a rule, which makes no sense, was applied.

But hey, maybe I’m wrong. Online it says: The EAA Young Eagles program was launched in 1992 to give interested young people, ages 8 - 17, an opportunity to go flying in a general aviation airplane. If you read this and believe the EAA is telling the truth, then I suppose the kid received the advertised opportunity (singular) to go flying and, at that point, he was on his own.

Despite all I have said, if you enjoy The Young Eagles Program, I encourage you to keep doing what you are doing. Years ago I too gave rides at Young Eagles events. All I ask is that you understand the true outcome and purpose of Young Eagles, and that you consider putting your efforts, time, and money toward other projects; projects that are honest about their intentions and have a long term goal; maybe even a goal where today’s kids are tomorrow’s pilots and aircraft owners. What a novel idea.

Post Heresy: So maybe you’re wondering what you can do to participate in a positive change for aviation. I had initially refused to discuss these things in this piece because the answers to aviation’s problems are not what most people want to hear. Then Ginger said, “what about your rule to never point out problems without offering solutions,” and I was forced to concede and write them down. Here goes.

You do not solve aviation’s problems by giving rides to young people, offering scholarships, and giving them free ground-school. The answers to aviation’s problems do not involve instant gratification. To the contrary, the real solutions involve broad and long term efforts with which most people in America aren’t willing to participate.

Aviation’s problems are bureaucracy out of control, a legal system so horribly flawed it ignores reality to award multi-million dollar judgments against the person with the deepest pockets, federal agencies so out of touch their solution to most problems is the grounding of aircraft or pilots, aviation groups that no longer represent their members, and a national mindset that has lost sight of freedom and what it means to be responsible citizens. If you can affect just one of these in a positive way, you will have started aviation on the road to recovery. But that’s just too vague isn’t it? And it might take too long huh? Again, it’s your call.
Yeah sure, I can see the allure of giving rides and feeling good over slugging it out for the long haul. But what I cannot understand is why people give in and give up. Are people’s words not sincere when they say they want their children to be able to fly freely about this country? It's all about the children; right? Or is it? One has to wonder.

About Rich: Rich Davidson is the proud owner of an airport... or the airport owns him -- the truth of the matter is under some dispute. The airport, Lee Bottom Flying Field, is privately owned but certified every year as public use. It is currently cared for and owned Rich and his wife Ginger.

The runway is basically their backyard and they continue to provide it to you as their commitment to keeping vintage airplanes and their operating environment (grass runways) alive for the future generations to enjoy.

It is a little different from a lot of airports in that it is certified by the FAA as part of the national transportation system but owned by individuals instead of a municipality. Therefore, they receive no funding from outside sources (except occasional donations from those that frequent the airport). They spend more than ½ of their income to keep it up and operating because they love aviation! They proudly note that, "Aviation is pretty much our life!"

Lee Bottom Flying Field is also home to the region's favorite antique & classic fly-in. Called "Wood, Fabric, & Tailwheels", the name says it all. With models like Staggerwing, Great Lakes, Stearman, Swallow, and Tiger Moths the line up is sure to please every enthusiast. Held the last Saturday of every September, the event is open to everyone. Intended to be a relaxed event for pilots, the gathering filled a void that your typical county airport fly-in could not. Beautiful scenery, great planes and wonderful people mixed to create something special.

FMI: www.leebottom.com, Comments/Criticism For ANN????