Originally published in 2002
- General aviation (GA) is all flying except military and scheduled airline flights .
- There are 221,000 general aviation aircraft in the U.S., approximately 92 percent of the total civilian aircraft fleet. Approximately 78 percent of all GA aircraft have fewer than six seats, and weigh less than a compact automobile.
- General aviation generates some $65 billion a year in total national economic activity.
- General aviation aircraft are used for personal and business transportation, much like personal automobiles. More than 65 percent of all GA flights are conducted for business, commercial, and public service purposes.
- Under normal circumstances, there are approximately 132,000 GA flights per day.
- General aviation accounts for 59 percent of civil aviation hours and 80 percent of all takeoffs and landings.
- General aviation connects the majority of communities with the national air transportation system. General aviation serves more than 5,300 public-use airports in communities large and small. Scheduled airlines go to about 660 U.S. airports. Seventy five percent of major airline flights operate out of just 46 big-city airports. Half of those flights move passengers between 29 hub airports.
- There are 645,000 active pilots in the United States. More than 535,000 pilots fly general aviation aircraft.
Source: AOPA, 2001, www.aopa.org