This extensive research study on Teaching Women to Fly suggested several studies other aviation education researchers might consider to build on this original research.

* Do female general aviation students have a higher success rate (solo or earned private certification), if they participate in ground school first before air training?

* Do female general aviation students have a higher Ground School success rate if taught in a classroom/seminar setting vs. self-study?

* Do female general aviation students with simulator hours before air training have a higher success rate than those with air training only? 

* Do female general aviation students have a higher success rate with male or female instructors? Several experienced female flight instructors indicated in their experience, women earn certification more often with female instructors, especially in private instruction instead of flight schools/FBOs.

* Is the female success rate higher with either gender of instructor in private instruction vs. flight school settings?

* Do female general aviation students have a higher success rate in college/university programs vs. FBO/On-airport flight schools? If so, is it because of more easily available financial assistance? Is it college/university programs tend to point toward aviation careers? Is it the more social interaction setting of classroom/college-based programs?

* Another area of study should be, even though this and past research has indicated that a male pilot family member or close friend has a very strong positive influence on a woman’s decision to pursue flight training and to succeed, is it because there are just more male pilots and a female pilot partner/family member/mentor has just as strong, if not greater influence on flight training decisions?

Is it because a male pilot introduced the female to flying, perhaps in a gradual process and the female’s comfort level at the controls was increased over time? (As in the story of the “boiled frog!”)

Was it that she has access and perhaps, less expense, to general aviation experience because a plane was more readily available and rental expense and even instructional time was less costly?

Was it that often families owning a plane are in a higher income bracket so therefore flight instruction/training cost was not as burdensome?

Does having a pilot as a relative or friend “normalize” the desire to pursue certification? Is the family more supportive of the decision of a female pursuing certification/flight training?    

Next Page