AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 28

GUEST EDITORIAL

Getting Washington
on board

BY SEN. JAMES INHOFE

The federal government must help with pilot shortages
ACROSS THE AVIATION INDUSTRY, we're facing an unfortunate reality: Too few young Americans are starting
careers in aviation. The industry is experiencing a
shortage in all aviation jobs-from pilots to aviation
maintenance professionals and mechanics.
Pilot advocacy associations, like AOPA, dedicate
time, energy, and effort to encourage young people to
explore aviation. Just a few years ago, AOPA launched
You Can Fly, a successful program to support science
and technical education (STEM) in high schools, understanding that it would increase the qualified workforce
for aviation careers. Sparking an early interest in flying

This bill will make it possible to close the skills gap
by incentivizing businesses, labor groups,
educational institutions, and local governments to
develop innovative ways to recruit and educate the
next generation of America's aviation workforce.

SEN. JAMES INHOFE

represents the state
of Oklahoma and is
a commercial pilot.

28 | AOPA PILOT August 2018

is a key to encouraging more people to enter the aviation workforce.
Yet, to ensure the viability of general aviation for
future generations, we must look beyond expanding
general STEM education. We need to commit to fresh
approaches and modernizing FAA curriculum to make
it relevant for the twenty-first century.
To start, I've introduced legislation that would make
a career in flying more accessible for young Americans
by enabling high school students to take ground school
classes. Ground school is the first step for most careers
in aviation, and teaches key, widely-applicable skills
about flight, aeronautics, and physics. Working with
aviation professionals to create model curriculum for
aviation education, we can prepare students for a career
as a commercial pilot or as pilot of an unmanned aircraft. My bill would enable schools across the country
to benefit from grants that would bring ground school
education into classrooms.
We also know that our aviation industry needs
skilled workers and the aviation maintenance industry provides high-paying, high-skilled jobs across the

country. Without action, in the next 20 years, we'll be
faced with a shortage of more than 100,000 aviation
maintenance technicians to support America's growing
aviation industry. We can't afford to let these skilled jobs
go unfilled, so earlier this year I introduced the Aviation
Maintenance Workforce Development Act.
This bill will make it possible to close the skills gap
by incentivizing businesses, labor groups, educational
institutions, and local governments to develop innovative ways to recruit and educate the next generation of
America's aviation workforce. It also specifically supports veterans who are leaving the military as they
pursue careers in aviation maintenance. This bill is an
investment in the future workforce needed by the general aviation community, plain and simple.
Finally, we need to modernize FAA regulations.
Today's general aviation fleet is a mix of new and established airframes with engines, avionics, and components
to be installed, upgraded, repaired, or otherwise maintained, but the FAA still mandates technical schools
teach antiquated and inconsequential subject areas
or maintenance protocols-forcing aspiring aviation
mechanics and technicians to go through retraining
immediately upon graduation before they are able to
maintain modern, sophisticated aircraft. I have cosponsored legislation to modernize the FAA's antiquated
curriculum regulations to ensure our next generation
of trained technicians can hit the ground running in
their new careers.
Aviation legend Bob Hoover used to share his stories
and encourage men and women to pursue their dreams
of becoming pilots. He'd say, "Don't let anybody tell you
can't do it. You learn how to do it. You figure out how
to do it. And you are the only one who can make it happen." While becoming a pilot requires a great deal of
individual determination, we can enable more young
people to pursue their aviation dreams by modernizing and making the beginning stages of flight training
accessible to them.
EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh brings together individuals who are passionate about flying and understand the
importance of expanding access to aviation to the next
generation. I look forward to attending again, as I do
each year, to hear firsthand how Washington can support the future of aviation.
AOPA

AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018