The nation's airlines are going to need to hire about 60,000 new pilots over the next dozen years, because of retirements and industry growth.

"As the Vietnam era group of military pilots have now begun to hit 65, many of these folks are required to retire," says aviation expert Mark Rosenker.  Some current pilots are also retiring early because their pensions are frozen, and the job isn't as enjoyable as it used to be.

Rosenker says the airlines may need their own farm system, "The airlines will probably begin looking at perhaps cadet program where the bring in people that have no experience what so ever and try to train them themselves.

New federal rules set to take effect next summer will require that newly hired pilots have at least 1,500 hours flight experience, six times the current requirement. Retired pilot Chesley Sullenberger, who set US Airway Flight 1549 down in the Hudson Rive in January 2009, says that's still not enough, "If my first officer, Jeff Skiles and I on the Hudson River flight hadn't been as experienced; if we'd had much less time, we could not have had the same outcome and people likely would have died."

Sullenberger says the airlines will get the applicants they need if the pay and working conditions are decent.