Plane Facts: Pilots
Without pilots, there would be no aviation (as we know it and like it, anyways). But what do you really know about these special aviation creatures? Here are 50 Facts about fly-boys and fly-girls that you probably didn’t know.
Population of the United States in 1903: 80.6 million
Total number of pilots in 1903: 1
Percentage of population: 0.00000001
Population of the United States in 1929: 121.8 million
Total number of pilots in the United States in 1929: 9,215
Percentage of population: 0.000075
Population of the United States in 1975: 216 million
Number of active FAA-certified pilots in the United States in 1975: 728,187
Percentage of population: 0.003
Population of the United States in 2014: 317.7 million
Number of active FAA-certified pilots in the United States in 2014: 593,499
Percentage of population: 0.002
Percentage of active FAA-certified pilots who were women in 2014: 6.63%
Total female pilots in 2013: 39,621
Number of U.S. Presidents who were pilots: 3 (Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush)
Number who flew in wartime: 1 (the elder Bush; 58 combat missions in WWII)
Number of student pilots in the United States in 1975: 176,978
Number of student pilots in the United States in 2014: 120,546
Number of private pilots in 1975: 305,863
Number of private pilots in 2014: 174,883
Number of commercial pilots in 1975: 189,342
Number of commercial pilots in 2014: 104,322
Number of Airline Transport Pilots in 1975: 42,592
Number of Airline Transport Pilots in 2014: 15,511
Number of female Airline Transport Pilots in 2013: 6,205
Number of flight instructors in 1975: 44,777
Number of flight instructors in 2014: 100,993
Percentage of female flight instructors in 2013: 6.46%
Total number of Sport Pilots in the United States: 5,134
Total number of active non-U.S. FAA-certified pilots: 46,962
Total number of non-U.S. Sport Pilots: 23
Number of active FAA-certified pilots, ages 14-15: 140
Number of active FAA-certified pilots, ages 80 and over: 4,760
Number of student pilots, age 80 and over: 140
Average age of active FAA-certified pilots in 1993: 41.3
Average age of active FAA-certified pilots in 2014: 44.8
Average age of Sport Pilots in 2014: 55.8
Average age of student pilots in 1993: 33.7
Average age of student pilots in 2014: 31.5
Most hours by a male pilot: 65,000, Ed Long, Alabama
Most hours by a female pilot: 57,635, Evelyn Johnson, Tennessee
State with the most active FAA-certified pilots: California, 59,213
State with the least active FAA-certified pilots: Rhode Island: 975
Total number of pilots in Alaska: 8,382
Number of FAA student pilot certificates issued in 1978: 137,032
Number of FAA student pilot certificates issued in 2013: 49,566
Average cost of obtaining a private pilot's license: $9,900
Average cost of obtaining a recreational pilot's license: $7,700
Hours of flight training the FAA requires for a private pilot certificate: 40
National average of flight training hours to obtain a private pilot certificate: 75-80
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