# Survey: Attitudes toward General Aviation **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 8, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-attitudes-toward-general-aviation/621318 "2012-05-08T20:03:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-attitudes-toward-general-aviation/621318/21 "2012-05-09T21:40:26Z")
For what it’s worth, my answers for commercial/military pilots would have differed somewhat from those I gave (for general aviation pilots, more like weekend hobbyists). Also, in case it matters, without any formal training I have operated a Cessna in the air and at take-off (time at the controls = a grand total of about one hour). 1. A 2. B 3. B 4. B 5. C 6. B 7. A – 4 B – 2 C – 2 D – 2 E – 3 F – 2 G – 3 H – 2 I – 5 ETA: Sorry, the formatting for #7 didn’t hold up in posting. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-attitudes-toward-general-aviation/621318/22 "2012-05-09T23:59:14Z")
1. Are you a General Aviation pilot? That is, do you hold a pilot’s certificate, whether or not you currently exercise the privileges, or are you a student pilot or former student pilot? (If ‘Yes’, skip to Question 3.) \*\* 2. If you are not a pilot, as described in Question 1, do you aspire to be one? \*\*N/A \*\* 3. When considering General Aviation pilots’ egos: ``` **A. They have over-developed egos, often to the point of arrogance. ** ``` **See question 1. 😉** 1. In terms of personal wealth and/or income: **Every GA pilot I know has a above-average income (or generous relatives)** 1. If you were hiring a person for a non-flying job, would you be more likely or less likely to hire a pilot to fill the position, or would it not be a factor? **C. Not a factor.** 2. When considering General Aviation (GA) pilots in relation to the general population: 3. Please rate the following statements on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being ‘strongly agree’, 2 being ‘somewhat agree’, 3 being ‘neither agree nor disagree’, 4 being ‘somewhat disagree’, and 5 being ‘strongly disagree’. Reply With Quote ---
**Author:** ![silk1976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@silk1976](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silk1976)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-attitudes-toward-general-aviation/621318/23 "2012-05-10T20:55:15Z")
1. Yes 2. C (at the most - D and E are common as well) 3. D (they may be middle class, but having the disposable income to fly is often a challenge) 4. C 5. C 6. A. 3 B. 2 C. 4 D. 3 E. 3 F. 2 G. 3 H. 2 I. 4 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-attitudes-toward-general-aviation/621318/24 "2012-05-10T22:21:43Z")
1. A 2. C 3. B 4. C 5. C 6. a. 3 b. 2 c. 2 d. 3 e. 3 f. 2 g. 4 h. 2 i. 5 I know several GA pilots, but only through work, so we share a lot of similarities: upper-middle to high incomes, above average intelligence, fairly conservative lifestyles, etc. Obviously this is a biased sample. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-attitudes-toward-general-aviation/621318/25 "2012-05-10T22:32:15Z")
> [@cornflakes](#): > > Who the heck is down on GA anyway? It seems like a fairly benign thing to do. Many people are down on the airports, and this translates to being down on the pilots. A [local airport](http://www.reidhillview.com/) has a semi-organized opposition force. It’s a big deal to a lot of people. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-attitudes-toward-general-aviation/621318/26 "2012-05-10T22:33:29Z")
Sorry, **Johnny** , recusing myself. I know enough pilots, and I think you do too, to find the full range of personality types, and almost the full range of income levels, in the air that I find on the ground. The common feature is merely a love of flying. You may find pilots being, well, more supportive of each other than of non-pilots, but that’s true of any affinity group. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-attitudes-toward-general-aviation/621318/27 "2012-05-11T02:15:03Z")
Yep. That’s why I ask if the respondent is a pilot. I haven’t thought of how I’ll do the graphs yet, but I’m interested in seeing how pilots’ opinions differ from non-pilots’ opinions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survey-attitudes-toward-general-aviation/621318.md?page=1)