Is GA Dying or Thriving, With Tom Charpentier

By John Zimmerman
May 18, 2026
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Pilot's Discretion Podcast, episode 130

More new pilots, more flying hours, and fewer accidents—that’s the positive picture EAA’s Tom Charpentier sees when he looks at the latest FAA numbers. He shares how to be an optimist about aviation, why the 1970s are not a fair comparison, and what issues could disrupt the current growth cycle. Tom is deeply involved in EAA’s regulatory work, and he explains the importance of FAA orders and what to expect from MOSAIC. In the Ready to Copy segment, Tom talks about his favorite part of AirVenture, flying the Cessna 170, and wilderness canoeing.

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Quotes:

Being realistic: “if you want to reminisce about the good old days, you can, but… we’ve got to build on what we have right now—and we are building.”
The long shadow of the 1940s: “World War II was the single biggest pilot training event in history, right? And we certainly don't want to rely on national emergencies to fill out our pilot numbers.”
Why today’s airline pilots could be tomorrow’s GA pilots: “the tail of this flight training boom is going to last a very long time. And it's going to be the foundation that we're going to build the next couple of decades of general aviation on.”
Improving safety trends: “The original goal of the GAJSC was to reduce the fatal accident rate by 10% over 10 years. I believe we ended up more than doubling that initial goal.”
Talking about GA safety: “You can be extremely safe as a pilot—much better than average—or you can be much worse than average; it's up to you to determine that. And that's one of those wonderful expressions of freedom and personal responsibility that we have in general aviation.”
The importance of an unleaded avgas transition: “If we don't find a way to replace 100LL, airports are going to start going away.”
Why drones could actually help GA airports: “there are gonna be a lot of these unmanned aircraft that are going to need runways. That makes the local airport relevant.”
What successful airport groups do: “they are engaging with their local leadership on a routine basis in the absence of any problems that are going on. They're having their airport days, their pancake breakfast”
An overlooked benefit of MOSAIC: “I really hope you're going to see more sport pilot CFIs that get certified under the rule.”
Tom’s favorite place at AirVenture: “vintage is like a classic car show with aircraft. It's very much the same mentality.”
How to give a good airplane ride: “Pay attention to the body language of your passenger… that's good advice for any pilot, but certainly for kids.”