Plane Facts: Pilots

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