What age groups are represented here?

[DrZoos]

The RAAus annual report has a great breakdown of the members locations and ages and much more

 

 

[Kununurra]

Where's the button to tick that says only as old as you feel ?

 

 

[DrZoos]

Where the button for only as old as the ------- ya feeling!

 

 

[planedriver]

Forget the women, just get on with the story:tongue in cheek:

 

 

[Keith Page]

The pilot's average age is getting up there.

 

However if the pilots age is getting up there, what is happening in the ranks of the instructors?

 

The answer.. They are getting older as well.

 

With that said,, RAAus would be better off implementing a succession plan to encourage new members and flyers..

 

Instead we have a big police man attitude with a big stick.. I can tell you that regime with make people run a mile, so when someone is thinking about taking up flying and is surprised/shocked with that rot they run away and never to return.

 

Regards,

 

KP.

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

I couldn't find an age break-up in the Annual Report, except for the statement on page 22 that the average age is now 50yrs 3months, down from 51 years (excluding the under 16yr members). If it hasn't remained stagnant (average age now 52yrs), that is an indication that; older members are retiring, or younger members are being recruited, or a combination of both. There are less women, down to 5.9% or 540 members (loss of 144) .

 

 

 

The other interesting statistic is the growth in flying per person - from 10.77 hours in 2011 to 24.72 hours in 2014. It was noted that under reporting might be responsible for part of that. Sum total - less members, more aircraft, more flying.

 

If instructors aren't getting older, we should be promoting flying as the Elixir of Youth, bottling it and promoting it.

 

 

 

The CFIs might be getting on, but I have met a number of younger people, bitten by the flying bug, and getting into Instructing as a way of passing on the disease, an excuse to fly more and a way to financially assist with that. The last few years have been disruptive, the RPL, Jab restrictions, RAA debacle / CASA audits; which may have influenced membership trends. Despite the 3% drop, the Board are looking at ways of promoting recreational flying which may translate to more and younger members. Some more flying females would be nice too.

 

 

 

Sue

 

 

[Teckair]

The pilot's average age is getting up there.However if the pilots age is getting up there, what is happening in the ranks of the instructors?

The answer.. They are getting older as well.

 

With that said,, RAAus would be better off implementing a succession plan to encourage new members and flyers..

 

Instead we have a big police man attitude with a big stick.. I can tell you that regime with make people run a mile, so when someone is thinking about taking up flying and is surprised/shocked with that rot they run away and never to return.

 

Regards,

 

KP.

Keith I think it is mainly about money the AUF was based on affordable aviation. Now we are so close to GA the average onlooker would not be able to tell the difference. The average young person paying off a house, raising a family will not be able to afford what we have now.

 

 

[Geoff13]

Keith I think it is mainly about money the AUF was based on affordable aviation. Now we are so close to GA the average onlooker would not be able to tell the difference. The average young person paying off a house, raising a family will not be able to afford what we have now.

The affordable is still there. Look at the for sales, the Drifters and the like are still around and the affordable flying is still around.

 

It just seems to me that the majority of members choose a slightly more expensive version.

 

 

[bexrbetter]

I would say that AusFly was represented by the vote results above in exaggerated form.

 

 

[Teckair]

The affordable is still there. Look at the for sales, the Drifters and the like are still around and the affordable flying is still around.It just seems to me that the majority of members choose a slightly more expensive version.

Yes they do but they are getting older nearly everybody I know is 60 plus. what is offered at most schools?

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

Bruce...my wife lets me have a offical "girlfriend" so I can spend whatever I like on her :)

 

 

[pmccarthy]

Many members may be flying GA much of the time so their hours don't appear in RAA records.

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

My girlfriend :)

[DrZoos]

[ATTACH=full]38635[/ATTACH] My girlfriend :)

My god you look like Rick off Pawn Stars

 

 

[Jabiru Phil]

Yes I agree Bruce, in fact I can't ever remember paying anything for my Jab. , but blxxdy inconsiderate of SD , in fact I'm thinking of taking the matter to the anti Discrimination Tribunal , may finish up getting a few hundred acres off him . I used to have to show my Seniors card once upon a time , but now they're very nice ,and when I offer to show it they just say .... " Oh, that's alright Sir , don't worry ".

Dubbo Zoo a while ago. Asked for my senior card.

 

Undid my top shirt button, " have a nice day"

 

 

[K-man]

With that said,, RAAus would be better off implementing a succession plan to encourage new members and flyers..Instead we have a big police man attitude with a big stick.. I can tell you that regime with make people run a mile, so when someone is thinking about taking up flying and is surprised/shocked with that rot they run away and never to return.

Regards,

 

KP.

Interesting comment. Years back when I first joined the ranks of RAA I felt that the members had the support of the organisation. Last year I contacted RAA over an issue I thought RA might be able to help and was made to feel like a leper by the RAA staff. Just by accident I was communicating with Michael Monk and he was most concerned to hear of what transpired. I felt that at least our representatives were on the side of the members. Then recently I had reason to once again contact staff and once again was made to feel that I wasn't in anyway worth helping. In fact it was totally the opposite. I could not believe the attitude. Now, I know that there is a tight budget and I know the workload has increased, but, wtf are we doing as an organisation employing people who do not want to help the members? I reckon I would have got a much better hearing from staff at CASA.

[Keith Page]

M-man what you are saying is so very true and many people have the same view as you.. What the sad thing here is RAAus is a member based organisation and when there are no members there will be nothing, those office police people will be very proud as they killed RAAus.

 

Regards,

 

KP.

 

 

[Bruce Tuncks]

I blame CASA for making RAAus into an officious organization. Then I blame the litigation climate for making CASA an officious organization.

 

The Forsyth review said CASA was failing in its charter by being so nasty people withheld information from them out of fear. But under Truss, nothing happened as a result of that inquiry.

 

 

[DrZoos]

I blame CASA for making RAAus into an officious organization. Then I blame the litigation climate for making CASA an officious organization.The Forsyth review said CASA was failing in its charter by being so nasty people withheld information from them out of fear. But under Truss, nothing happened as a result of that inquiry.

Here here...from my dealings and almost every person I know closely enough to hear the absolute truth form, that has had a dealing with CASA....they are so difficult and inflexible that if i had to make a choice between doing the right thing and hiding it from CASA, I now would unquestionably hide everything from CASA in every situation...

When i first got into flying , I was shocked by peoples attitude towards CASA and I honestly thought they were making it up, exaggerating, sour grapes etc... but after dealing with them on several issues now, I realise they are a far worse than anything I could have comprehended...

 

They are seriously the most dysfunctional confused mess of an organisation where there rules are so complex and so everchanging , that even their own staff cannot or will not answer questions..how on earth they expect pilots from all over the world , pilots who fly part time to ever have an understanding of even 10% of these issues is beyond me.

 

The whole system is so over complicated that it dramatically inhibits its own safety objectives. As evidenced by the fact that even simple questions cannot be agreed remotely upon within flight training facilities, forums or even within cASA

 

 

[planet47]

I'd be curious to find out the reason/s for 144 women leaving membership flying vizla?

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

My god you look like Rick off Pawn Stars

I am a lot thinner these days I can carry much more fuel with a pax now

 

 

[Keith Page]

Hello Dr. Zoos,

 

It is a tough one however we have to live with it.

 

CASA has been given the duty by the government of administering aviation activity in Australia. With that said CASA pulls the strings.

 

That is the reason we must have people with good vision at all cost at the head of CASA we must not have those with great egos and it is their egos which run the aviation in Australia and that is quite obvious with the mess we are in.

 

Why not have people going about and showing others how to fix things instead of what we have this great police presence with a big whacking stick.

 

An interesting point people resent vicious officialdom and only thing happens is toxic retaliatory action.

 

At some flyins I have seen a big step in the correct direction there is a CASA presence talking to people and doing seminars on the correct procedures this I believe is a large step in the correct direction. I think this is a hard exercise for these people as they have to get rid of the toxic views which were incubated by those who have gone before them.

 

Regards.

 

KP

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

I'd be curious to find out the reason/s for 144 women leaving membership flying vizla?

 

 

This figure is not certain, as the information was a bit vague. The Annual Report says "Over the past 5 years ... male membership hovering between 93.5% to 94.1%" therefore females between 6.5% to 5.9%. The membership figures are not published for 5 years, so I took 2010/11 from other sources (the Annual Report for that year overstated membership as 11,079). At the end of 2010, according to John Brandon, membership was 9,674 coming off growth of 13% the previous year and he expected it would reach 10,000 in 2011. Membership 30 June 2015 = 9,117. Not knowing if 6.5% was 2011 or 2015, makes an accurate figure unlikely.

 

 

 

Over 5 years RAA has lost far more male members - the Annual Report says 175 per month (2,100) of which (on the percentages) approx 1,970 are male; 130 female. This is offset by new younger members (the average age of pilots is actually going DOWN).

 

 

 

As for why females are not renewing membership - there are just as many reasons as the men. The concerning thing is that, all things being equal, there is one female for every male, yet they find RAA & ultralight flying so unattractive there's only one female to every 16 males. Plenty of scope for growth.

 

 

 

Sue

 

 

[fly_tornado]

That's the RAA byline "plenty of room for growth; just no one knows who to get there" Its going to be hard going now, most of exGA pilots with medical issues are now members so no growth from that demographic anymore.

 

 

[Yenn]

The bad reviews of CASA are ongoing. The latest Australian Flying has an article about flying in the US, which as an aside states that the FAA regs are much easier to understand than CASAs. All the rules are basically in one volume, the AIM.

 

Another article i recently saw by an American adviser on maintenance states that CASA is trying to kill off GA, by making the Cessna directives on ageing aeroplanes compulsory. In the USA there is no directive to carry out all the ageing aircraft checks, just keep the plane airworthy.