NAAA is excited to announce that its 2019 NAAA Pilots Survey
Report is finished and now available for members to download. The survey
revealed that the average age for a pilot is 47 years old. In the 2012 survey,
the average age of a hired agricultural pilot was 50 years old. The reduction
in age for pilots from the 2012 to the 2019 survey was also reflected in the
percentage of pilots in the 20-29 year old age group. In the 2012 survey, 7
percent of pilots were 20-29 years old. In the 2019 survey, that had doubled to
14 percent of pilots. Pilots 30-39 years old increased from 19 percent of all
pilots in the 2012 survey to 25 percent in the 2019 survey. The percentage of
pilots in both the 50-59 and 60-69 year old age classes decreased between the
2012 and the 2019 surveys.
The 2019 NAAA Pilots Survey Report is a companion to the
2019 NAAA Operators Survey Report, which was released in May 2019. This second
report is based on the responses collected from hired pilots, while the earlier
Operators report is based on responses from operators.
To download a copy, login as a member on NAAA’s webpage
(agaviation.org) and go to the Resource Center on the top menu bar. Just over
half way down the page is the listing for “NAAA Industry Surveys”. Select the
link just to the right that says “Publications (5).” The 2019 NAAA Aerial Application Industry Survey: Pilots is the second
link on the next page. The 2019 NAAA Operators Survey Report as well as older
industry surveys are also available on this page.