Pilots' Pandemic Views Have Changed Dramatically In Past 5 Months

Have your pandemic flying views changed since the spring?

When the realization that the coronavirus pandemic was a serious threat to both health and business, we wanted to see how it was affecting you. So we asked. The results of that first survey were revealing. They showed that pilots are pretty much what you'd expect them to be---thoughtful, cautious and analytical. Few respondents, for instance, had much hope that Sun 'n Fun or Oshkosh would go on as planned, while about two-thirds thought the Covid-19 effect on aviation would be substantial and prolonged, as it has indeed turned out to be. Then again, things are better, at least in GA, which we in a separate piece discussed as being, if not immune to the pandemic, then at least constitutionally resistant to it. Small planes with small numbers of occupants are not the stuff of super-spreader events. And thank goodness, too.

The big takeaway from comparing the results from the two surveys is that it's all a fascinating look into the attitudes that pilots have about facing and accepting risk. And every question yielded its own surprising kernels of insight. Here they are.

1. What best describes your flying activity now compared to 2019? There was good news and bad news here. Whereas nearly twice as many of our survey takers said they're flying less than before (28-15%), there was a sharp decline in those reporting that they were flying less (55% now versus 81% five months ago), and more than four times as many reported that they were flying more than before the pandemic.

2. What's the biggest impediment to your flying now? There was really good news in this department, as far fewer respondents reported that airport access was a hurdle to their flying as much as they wanted to. Only 14% said that it was hard to get access to the airport compared to 45% who said stay-at-home orders made it hard previously. And twice as many of you said that the pandemic hasn't changed your flying activity.

3. When do you think your flying will get back to normal levels? More than any other question in our survey, this one showed how polarized the views of aviation's future are within our community, with pilots just about evenly divided between optimism and skepticism. Forty-nine percent of survey takers thought that flying is already or would within a few weeks be back to normal. Fifty-one percent were far more skeptical, fearing that it would be a year or longer before flying returned to former levels of activity.

4. Do you plan to attend any airshows in 2020/2021? We changed this question to reflect the fact that the dates for most of the larger shows have already come and gone, and those shows were almost all canceled by organizers. Based on your survey responses from April, that would have come as no surprise to most of you. Just five percent of respondents said that they expected to be able to make their usual airshows, whereas about 90% of regular airshow goers expected them to be canceled. In our most recent survey, pilots were far more optimistic, with a full half of them saying that they expected airshows to be open for the 2021 season.

5. If you're not flying much these days, what are you doing? (paraphrased) The great news here is that 38% of those who answered the survey say that they are flying quite a bit. Fewer than 10% reported that the lack of flying has kept them away from most flying activities, though they're clearly reading Plane & Pilot eNews, so there's that.

6. By when do you expect the world of private aviation to get back to normal? Two-thirds believed that it will be a year or longer before private aviation gets back to normal. At the same, four times as many respondents were very optimistic five months down the line: 20% believed that things would get back to normal quickly, whereas in our original survey only five percent felt that way.

Again, thanks to all who participated in the survey, and here's to getting flying back to normal as soon as possible.

Plane & PilotStaff