Author Archives: RFA

China’s first electric light aircraft soars close to launch

https://www.techinasia.com/china-rx1e-light-aircraft-flying-sales/

FAA withdraws ATD rule — General Aviation News

http://generalaviationnews.com/2015/02/12/faa-withdraws-atd-rule/

China’s Push For Pilots

A Sign that there will be some changes in pilot pay over time as the demand increases, perhaps a while to happen here but already happening overseas.

From AVweb.com
Some Chinese airlines, reacting to rapid industry growth, are seeking to attract experienced pilots by offering salaries and benefits roughly double that of the average U.S. airline captain, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Top salaries offered by some Chinese airlines exceed $225,000, and the country’s current pay leader, Hainan Airlines, is advertising pay packages up to $270,000 per year. That push is part of a surge that has over the past 18 months seen pay offers to foreign pilots rise by up to 30 percent, the Journal said. But with the pay comes a price.

According to one pilot who worked for a major Chinese airline in 2010 and 2011, the pay comes at the price of some of the longest duty times in the industry. And that situation may continue. China is only part of the Asian-Pacific region forecast by Boeing to need more than 180,000 new pilots by 2031. By Boeing’s estimate, the Asian-Pacific region will account for 40 percent of total pilot demand worldwide in the next two decades. And competition for attracting pilots may be on the rise globally. Currently, the foreign presence in China’s commercial pilot workforce accounts for only about 6 percent. In the U.S., the Bureau of Labor Statistics lists average pay for pilots serving as captains for major U.S. airlines at about $135,000, but it’s not clear if that number, too, may be on the rise. Recent changes to training requirements for airline pilots in the U.S. and forecast pilot retirements may put pressure on U.S. carriers to attract pilots, as well. That could further complicate matters for China, but may also lead to changes in how U.S. carriers seek to attract and retain pilots.

Air Force aims to land more top guns amid pilot shortage

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fighter-pilot-wanted-20130722,0,2152468.story

By W.J. Hennigan
July 22, 2013, 5:00 a.m.
Help wanted: At least 130 veteran military aviators for nine-year commitment to fly fighter jets.

Salary: $34,500 to $97,400. Plus good benefits and a $225,000 signing bonus — guaranteed.

Contact: U.S. Air Force by Sept. 30.

That’s the offer from the Pentagon, which is so short of Air Force fighter pilots that it’s boosting its salary package to make the job more enticing.

It may be hard to imagine that life as a high-flying fighter jock has lost its swagger, but the Air Force revealed it has a shortage of 200 fighter pilots this year. And if something isn’t done, the Air Force, which has about 3,000 fighter pilots, fears it may face a shortfall of 700 by 2021.

PHOTOS: Fighter jets

Empty cockpits are bad news for the military, which is already shoveling money into the development of the world’s most expensive program, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet — expected to cost nearly $400 billion. The cost is a double whammy for taxpayers, because the Air Force said it costs taxpayers about $6 million to train a fighter pilot.

Several factors are behind the exodus of pilots, officials said, including a surge in demand for better-paying commercial pilots, the stresses of deployments and reassignments to fly combat drones, the remote-controlled technology that has reshaped modern warfare.

As a result, the Air Force is offering a souped-up incentive package under something called the Aviator Retention Program, which was first rolled out in 1989. The program now offers a $25,000 signing bonus per year for nine years — nearly twice as long as the usual contract.

“Were it not for the program, there would be a greater problem than the one we currently have,” said Lt. Col. Kurt Konopatzke, who oversees the program. “Senior leadership is aware of the problem and is very concerned.”

The Air Force wants to get as many of the 200 to 250 eligible fighter pilots to take the deal. Some already have signed on.

Today, just 65% of pilots are deciding to extend their service past their 11th year, when they choose whether to stay for an additional five years. That’s compared with 80% in 1993.

Air Force pilots typically earn about $90,000 by the time they complete their 11th year. The median annual wage of airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers is $103,210, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest numbers.

There have been fighter pilot shortages in the past, but the competition promises to be fierce in the years to come as airlines hunt for young talent because of a surge in retirements.

Last year, passenger jet maker Boeing Co. released a report that estimated a global need for 460,000 new commercial pilots over the next two decades. There are currently more than 71,000 active airline pilots in the United States.

F-22 program produces few planes, soaring costs

Neither US Airways nor American Airlines, which are in the middle of merging, has hired pilots in more than a decade, and are now beginning a large-scale recruiting effort to fill spots.

US Airways and American are anticipating the retirement of more than 2,100 pilots within five years because of the mandatory retirement age of 65.

“The airlines are going to have more money to pay for pilots than the government,” said Rob Streble, 52, secretary and treasurer for the US Airline Pilots Assn., a labor union that represents US Airways pilots.

Streble knows firsthand, having left the Air Force as a pilot in the early 1990s for US Airways.