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Essay on The Impact Of Aviation On American Military, The Economy And/Or Society
General aviation (GA) is an important element of our socio-economic system, yet it is largely unrecognized and unappreciated by the general public. The term general aviation is itself difficult to define with precision because it encompasses such a diverse range of aviation activities. In fact, there is no legal definition for the term general aviation; it is commonly referred to in negative terms such as "all civil aviation except that carded out by the commercial airlines." (R. W. Meyer, Jr., (2002))General aviation includes all aircraft that are not flown by scheduled airlines or the military. The GA industry comprises the light aircraft segment, the business aviation segment, and the regional/charter aircraft segment. The Utility Airplane Council, forerunner of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), invented the term "general aviation" to give light "utility" aircraft an identity and to differentiate the industry from large aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing, Lockheed, and McDonnell Douglas.( R. W. Meyer, Jr., (2002)
General aviation refers to all aircraft operated by private pilots for business and/or recreational purposes. The activities of general aviation include the training of new pilots, crop dusting, emergency medical evacuation, business executives traveling in corporate aircraft, and a host of other important missions. General aviation includes single and multi-piston-engine-powered fixed-wing airplanes generally weighing less than 12,500 pounds (light aircraft) as well as turboprop and jet-powered aircraft (popularly known as business or executive aviation). Historically approximately 75 percent of the entire world's light general aviation aircraft operate in the United States. The U.S. has always dominated the market for general aviation aircraft.
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of general aviation, since it provides the base upon which all other segments of the aviation industry build. General aviation forms an important component of both the national transportation system and our national economy....
