Is General Aviation important?
General Aviation (GA) covers a broad spectrum of activity. For some core facts, read on:
Scale
Mention aviation to most people and their minds will turn immediately to the airline industry – because they see it, hear it, and probably use it – and then, depending on where they live, they may think about military aviation. Yet both these sectors are very small compared with the size and scale of the GA movement.
The commercial airlines in the UK operate about 850 aircraft (20% fewer than in 1950 according to Civil Aviation Authority records) and use 23 airports – some of those only occasionally. The UK GA fleet comprises more than 10,000 aircraft that operate from 140 licensed airports and aerodromes and more than 350 private airstrips.
While more than 70% of all GA activity has some business or safety purpose, 85% of all seats sold by airlines are for purposes of holiday travel – or personal pleasure.
Transport
General Aviation plays a vital role in a country’s transportation system, as do roads, railways, the airlines and shipping. Think of business aviation, flying in support of the emergency services, such as police, air ambulance and medical repatriation. Add to these flying training, for both professional and private pilots, aerial photography and survey, pipeline and electricity cable patrols and you have the measure of the contribution that General Aviation makes to the economy. A GA aeroplane is really a car with wings and, as with the car, may be used jointly for business or pleasure. Its practicality depends on access to airports and airspace; unreasonable restrictions on either can be seriously detrimental to the economic and social welfare of the community – both nationally and locally. A mile of road leads nowhere; a mile of runway leads everywhere.
Helicopters
There are more than 1000 helicopters on the civil register in the United Kingdom. Most play vital roles at the forefront of the emergency services (air ambulance, police,
fire, search and rescue) or in providing support for essential economic tasks. Helicopters are essential in the offshore oil and gas industry, which constitutes some 2.5% of the national GDP.
Other, diverse, roles include aerial survey, pipeline inspections, filming, loadlifting and passenger transport. Modern commercial helicopters are safe and reliable; also, they are becoming noticeably quieter.
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