Thought it would be prudent to post the results that have been returned from
the University survey we were requested to fill by the pfa a few weeks ago
for those that have not viewed them..
Cheers Paul -- xs558
Owner-build aircraft survey - November, December 2002
Our electronic survey was sent to about 5,000 British pilots. In all, we
were absolutely delighted by the level of response. Over 1 in 10 people
filled in the survey, which is very high for a survey of this sort.
In all there were 34 questions, covering personal details, aircraft
ownership, flying experience and preferences for aircraft attributes. What
follows is a one-page summary of the results:
Almost all respondents were male. 90% were between 35 and 65, with 32% in
the range 46-55. Of those who answered, 64% earned 60,000 or less per year,
8% earned more than 100,000 per year. 38% of those surveyed have whole
ownership of an aircraft, whereas 29% own a part share, and another 5% gain
part ownership through a flying club. A further 28% do not own an aircraft.
Respondents were asked, what type of flying they prefer. The two most common
responses were touring and local flying, which together account for 85% of
all responses (25% and 60% respectively.) When it comes to time in the air,
24% had 100 hours or fewer, 45% had flown 101-500 hours, and 31% more than
500 hours.
Pilots who like to tour tend to earn more money than the average, with the
largest proportion (43%) earning between 35,000 and 60,000. Over 15% earn
more than 100,000. Moreover, these pilots tend to be more experienced. 41%
have more than 500 hours of flying. They also tend to be more interested in
an aircraft with a long range, though they rated this with a lower
importance than speed.
Pilots who prefer to stay close to home, tend not to earn as much. The
largest proportion (35%) earn between 25,000 and 35,000, and just 6% more
than 100,000. They seem slightly less experienced than pilots who are into
touring, with only 22% having more than 500 flying hours. Just 20% of these
pilots are qualified to fly at night.
Pilot preferences on the most important qualities of an owner-built plane
were explored. The results suggest that speed, ease of construction and
level of builder support are the most important qualities for a kit-plane.
Certified aircraft pilots rate similar aspects slightly higher than
owner-build aircraft pilots.
35% of respondents indicated that "the satisfaction of flying my own
creation" was the central reason for buying an owner-built plane. It seems
that a significant number of pilots choose owner-built planes in order to
obtain features that certified aircraft simply don't provide. 25% cited
"features not available in the certified market". Only 16% cited lower cost
as their reason for choosing an owner-build over a certified aircraft.
Of all respondents who had owned an owner-built plane, 50% had taken over
1,000 hours to complete the build. Over 25% had taken over 2000 hours.
Approximately 1 in 6 of the respondents of all types said that they intended
to buy in the next 12 months, and an additional 40-50% of in the next five
years.
Again, thank you very much indeed for your support. Based on the
enthusiasm you've demonstrated, the consistent growth in recreational flying
in the UK is no surprise.
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