general aviation

1. The operation of civilian aircraft for purposes other than commercial passenger transport, including personal, business, and instructional flying.
2. The aircraft flown for these purposes.

All aircraft activity not associated with major airlines or the military. Among all classifications of aviation in the United States, general aviation consists of the largest number of aircraft and pilots and accounts for the largest number of flying hours.

Of the more than 220,000 active general aviation aircraft registered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), almost 80% are single-engine vehicles powered by intermittent-combustion engines. Although many of these aircraft carry fewer than three passengers at speeds below 150 mi/h (240 km/h), most can carry four to six passengers at speeds up to 200 mi/h (320 km/h). Approximately 11% of the general aviation fleet are twin-engine aircraft, powered by intermittent-combustion engines and capable of cruising at speeds of 180–250 mi/h (290–400 km/h) with six to ten passengers. See also Airplane; Reciprocating aircraft engine.

In addition, approximately 6000 multiengine aircraft are powered by turboprop engines and 4500 by turbojet or turbofan power plants. Jet aircraft employed within general aviation usually carry from five to fifteen passengers, depending on the model, with a crew of two pilots. Turboprop aircraft may also be flown by two pilots, although this is not required for all models; passenger capacity typically ranges from six to nine. See also Jet propulsion; Turbofan; Turbojet; Turboprop.

Rotorcraft number about 7000. There are also approximately 7000 gliders in the general aviation fleet. See also Glider; Helicopter.

Business travel accounts for more flying hours than any other branch of general aviation. Approximately 70% of all general aviation is associated with some commercial activity, such as business travel, construction, aerial application of fertilizer and pesticides, or flight instruction.

Because of the characteristics of hub-and-spoke systems, business people have increased their demand for general aviation, which also offers more control over travel arrangements. With a small single-engine aircraft accommodating four or five passengers, a business person with a private license and perhaps an instrument rating can escape many of the limitations of airline schedules based on the hub-and-spoke system.

Commuter and regional airlines supplement the hub-and-spoke scheduling typical of commercial air travel since deregulation. Small airlines offer the only scheduled service in some communities, and often cooperate with major airlines by sharing code designations used in computer reservation systems and by travel agencies. Air taxis provide on-demand air transportation for hire in a wide variety of aircraft. General aviation is widely used in agriculture; aerial seeding, fertilizing, and spraying are efficient and widely used by farmers. Flight instruction represents about 15% of all general aviation activity and is the principal source of professional pilots. See also Agricultural aircraft.

About 30% of general aviation involves the personal use of small aircraft for transportation and leisure purposes as well as some of the proficiency flying required by the Federal Aviation Administration of pilots who wish to maintain their licenses. Most personal flying employs small single-engine craft.

General aviation has often been the testing ground for innovation. Voyager (see illustration) was designed and constructed to circumnavigate the globe by air without refueling, a feat that had never been accomplished. Voyager carried nearly 9000 lb (4000 kg) of fuel in a structure that was built of advanced composite materials and weighed less than 1000 lb (450 kg) when empty. Voyager took off from Edwards Air Force Base, California, on December 14, 1986, and landed there 9 days later without refueling, the crew having completed their global circumnavigation without mishap or physical injury.

Voyager after takeoff on world flight. (Jeffrey Vock/Visions)

Modern attempts to achieve human-powered flight were stimulated in 1959 when H. Kremer posted a prize for the first British aircraft to fly solely by means of human power, without the aid of power storage or buoyancy, around a figure-eight course. (The prize was later opened to all nationalities.) In 1977, the Kremer prize was won by the Gossamer Condor aircraft, which was designed by P. D. MacCready, Jr., and flown by B. Allen. The team of MacCready and Allen subsequently accomplished many significant events in human-powered flight, including the 1979 flight of the Gossamer Albatross across the English Channel.

A general aviation scene at Kemble Airfield, England. The aircraft in the foreground is a homebuilt Vans RV-4

Aircraft at general aviation airport Helsinki-Malmi, Finland.

The General Aviation Terminal at Raleigh Durham International Airport. Terminal A is in the background.

General aviation (GA) is one of two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights. As a result, the majority of the world's air traffic falls into this category, and most of the world's airports serve general aviation exclusively.

In the United States, there are almost 20,000 airports and heliports, of which around 5,300 are available for public use by pilots of general aviation aircraft. In comparison, scheduled flights operate from around 600 airports in the U.S.^[1] According to the U.S. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, general aviation provides more than one percent of the United States' GDP, accounting for 1.3 million jobs in professional services and manufacturing.^[2]

Main article: List of general aviation activities

General aviation covers a huge range of activities, both commercial and non-commercial, including private flying, flight training, air ambulance, police aircraft, aerial firefighting, air charter, bush flying, gliding, and many others. Experimental aircraft, light-sport aircraft and very light jets have emerged in recent years as new trends in general aviation.

Contents 1 Regulation and safety 2 See also 3 References 4 External links

Regulation and safety

Most countries have authorities that oversee all civil aviation, including general aviation, adhering to the standardized codes of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Examples include the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in Great Britain, the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) in Germany, and Transport Canada in Canada.

Since it includes both non-scheduled commercial operations and private operations, with aircraft of many different types and sizes, and pilots with a variety of different training and experience levels, it is not possible to make blanket statements about the regulation or safety record of general aviation. At one extreme, in most countries business jets and large cargo jets face most of the same regulations as scheduled air transport and fly mostly to the same airports. Commercial bush flying and air ambulance operations normally do not operate under as heavy a regulatory burden, and often only use small airports or off-airport strips, where there is less governmental oversight.

Aviation accident rate statistics are necessarily estimates. According to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, in 2005 general aviation in the United States (excluding charter) suffered 1.31 fatal accidents for every 100,000 hours of flying in that country, compared to 0.016 for scheduled airline flights.^[3] In Canada, recreational flying accounted for 0.7 fatal accidents for every 100,000 hours, while air taxi accounted for 1.0 fatal accident for every 100,000 hours.^[4]

See also

• General aviation in the United Kingdom
• General aviation in Europe
• Light aircraft

References

1. ^ http://www.gaservingamerica.org/Serving_Your_Community/airport_near_you.htm
2. ^ AOPA USA's General Aviation website.
3. ^ "NTSB accident rates by flying category". Ntsb.gov. http://www.ntsb.gov/aviation/Table1.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-16. 
4. ^ ""Transport Canada accident rates by flying category"". Tc.gc.ca. 2008-12-19. http://www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/flight2005/tp13521/indicators.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-16. 

External links

• International Aircraft Owners and Pilots Associations
• European General Aviation Safety Team (EGAST)
• Colombian General Aviation Association

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)