What percentage of current commercial airline (passenger) pilots received pilot 
training in an armed service?  I'm looking for a general figure here backed by 
some reputable reference/cite.

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Clarification of Question by jack70-ga on 24 Apr 2002 14:09 PDT

I'm primarily interested in us-figures for this question.

Jack70,

According to testimony given in 2001 by Nicholas Lacey, the Director of Flight 
Standards Service at the FAA:

"(…) In addition, military downsizing will ultimately reduce the importance of 
ex-military pilots as a source for civilian airlines. From World War II through 
the mid-90s, approximately 80 percent of major airline new hires were military 
trained. Today, civilian pilots make up approximately 60 percent of all pilots 
hired. Non-military sources for pilots are persons with commercial pilot 
certificates, general aviation pilots, and the more than 200 colleges and 
universities that offer aviation programs."
http://www.faa.gov/apa/TESTIMONY/2001/313tenl.htm


There are more details at:

"Ex-military pilots used to fill between 70 percent and 80 percent of the 
vacancies in airline cockpits. But there are fewer in service -- the Air Force 
had 39,052 pilots in 1970; it has 11,705 today -- and the services require a 
longer commitment from the pilots they train. Today, military pilots make up 
fewer than half the new fliers entering commercial aviation."
http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/story1a060701.html

"Many commercial airline pilots have extensive military flying experience. 
While the percentage of prior military piloting experience has declined in 
recent years, it is nevertheless quite high."
http://www.aviationtoday.com/reports/gunsandpilots.htm


Best regards,
Cindy


Other relevant URLs:

From RAND - An article on the current shortage of military pilots
http://www.rand.org/paf/highlights/lossofpilots.html

Requirements to obtain a commercial pilot certificate
http://www.gleim.com/Aviation/commercialcertificate.html

Search terms used:

"commercial pilots" OR "commercial airline pilots" military -lasik
://www.google.com/search?q=%22commercial+pilots%22+OR+%
22commercial+airline+pilots%22+military+-lasik

percent commercial pilot military
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=percent+commercial+pilot+military

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Request for Answer Clarification by jack70-ga on 24 Apr 2002 15:01 PDT

Cindy,

Ok so the answer seems to be somewhere around 40-50% of current commercial 
pilots learned to fly in the military?

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Request for Answer Clarification by jack70-ga on 24 Apr 2002 15:13 PDT

so the answer is 40-50% ?

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Clarification of Answer by cindy-ga on 24 Apr 2002 15:36 PDT

Jack70,

I would consider the Federal Aviation Administration to be the most reliable 
source for these statistics.  According to the statement made by Nicholas 
Lacey, the percentage of military-trained pilots employed by commercial U.S. 
airlines in 2001 was approximately 40%.  

Regards,
Cindy

Worldwide figures or US-figures?

I would note Jack70 that your question asked what percentage of CURRENT pilots 
were trained in the armed forces. The quote from Nicholas Lacey stated that as 
of 2001, 60 percent of all pilots HIRED were civilian pilots. This does not 
necessarily mean that only 40% of today's employed pilots were trained in the 
military. Indeed, the quote states that as late as the mid-90s, "80 percent of 
major airline new hires were military trained." This statement would suggest 
that the actual number of current pilots trained in the military is 
substantially higher (though dwindling).

Another site with some detailed data is:

http://books.nap.edu/books/0309056764/html/54.html#pagetop 
 
Page 54 through 61 detail a study of commercial pilots with military 
backgrounds.

Best,

randomwalk

I would note Jack70 that your question asked what percentage of CURRENT pilots 
were trained in the armed forces. The quote from Nicholas Lacey stated that as 
of 2001, 60 percent of all pilots HIRED were civilian pilots. This does not 
necessarily mean that only 40% of today's employed pilots were trained in the 
military. Indeed, the quote states that as late as the mid-90s, "80 percent of 
major airline new hires were military trained." This statement would suggest 
that the actual number of current pilots trained in the military is 
substantially higher (though dwindling).

Another site with some detailed data is:

http://books.nap.edu/books/0309056764/html/54.html#pagetop 
 
Page 54 through 61 detail a study of commercial pilots with military 
backgrounds.

Best,

randomwalk