industry Flight hours on the rise F ollowing up on last month's NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, Jeff Richards, JSfirm. com manager, recently announced the results of the company's first Business Aviation Survey. "We conducted this survey to check the pulse of the business aviation industry," Richards said. "This segment is doing well; flight hours are up, so repair facilities will be kept busy with general maintenance and refurbs. For our industry to continue trending in this direction, we need to get serious about addressing the pilot shortage." Founded in 1999, JSfirm.com is one of the largest aviation job websites with resume database access. Richards summarized the report as follows: * More than 300 Part 91 and 135 operations were surveyed. * 57 percent experienced an increase in flight hours in 2015. * 35 percent will refurb existing aircraft in the next 20 months. * 47 percent will acquire new or preowned aircraft. * 32 percent report operations being impacted by the pilot shortage. * Further supporting the survey's findings, JSfirm.com has experienced a 25 percent increase in job posting activity. For more information, visit JSfirm.com. 36 avionics news * december 2015 SURVEY RESULTS 1) Which of the following best describes your title? Answers Owner Chief pilot Pilot Flight department manager Director of aviation Vice president of flight operations Other Responses Percent 34 101 43 64 49 11 14 10.76% 31.96% 13.61% 20.25% 15.51% 3.48% 4.43% 2) What Federal Aviation Regulations Part do you operate under? Answers Part 91 Part 135 Both Other Responses Percent 211 29 73 3 66.77% 9.18% 23.10% 0.95% 3) How many employees support your flight department? Answers Responses Percent 1 - 10 11 - 30 31 - 50 51 - 100 101 - 200 201 + 214 58 18 13 0 11 68.15% 18.47% 5.73% 4.14% 0.00% 3.50%http://www.JSfirm.com http://www.JSfirm.com http://www.JSfirm.com