ok not to dampen anyone's outlook for the foreseeable future, but the financial forecast for the next year, or three, is shaping up to be the financial equivalent of a cat 5 hurricane; it's out there somewhere and could be heading our way soon. what the economy is experiencing right now is the equivalent of a tropical storm-nothing too devastating, yet.... however, another three years things could be quite different. what I'm saying is that what the av industry is encountering is not just typical cyclic downturn. the shape of the industry could look very different in a few years; the industry may have downsized considerably by then. if things get really bad, unless the gov't bails out the whole industry, then some big players may no longer be around to be hiring. there is talk that the economy could take 5 years to recover. so when taking into account the predicted increase in the number of pilots retiring in 5 years (of those still employed, that is), as the age 65 rule buffer runs it's course by around early 2012 , then depending on the level of the economic recovery there may or may not be a huge hiring frenzy at that time. so until then it's a wait and see game.