Why General Aviation is Important
The Cradle, the Lab, the Passion
The sun has not yet crested the horizon as I pull my airplane out of the hanger. Birds chirp in the still, chill morning air not yet touched by the May sun. The smell of metal and oil intrudes into my morning lassitude, waking me faster than the coffee. The airport is silent as I strap in and close the canopy. With a turn of the key, and an inch of throttle and mixture, the engine roars to life and I taxi forward. On the runway now, warmed up and ready, I throttle up to full power, and my airplane rolls down the empty runway and into the clear, empty, morning sky. All without talking to a soul, or filling out a single piece of paper. This is the freedom that defines general aviation.
The FAA defines general aviation (GA) as operations of aircraft not covered by rules that govern air carriers or charter aircraft. Most non-aviators believe that GA is simply light airplane operations, but the reality is far more complex, and far more crucial to the future of transport. GA performs three critical functions: the cradle of future airline transport pilots, an experimental laboratory where the most advanced aircraft are built (usually by amateurs), and the bulwark of a lifestyle filled with passion and wonder.
The incubator
GA is where future airline pilots are born. An aspiring air transport pilot begins his or her career as a private pilot, saving spare cash for weekend flights with a rented Cessna or Piper. After a year or so, the future aviator has built enough hours to earn an instrument rating. Some additional training ensues, and two tests later our junior birdman is a certified flight instructor (CFI). Now, he or she can build hours for the airlines while earning a living, teaching those coming after him or her.
The air transport pilot (ATP) license is the highest level of certification, required for all airline pilots. 1500 hours of total flight time is required and the applicant must be at least 23 years old. Once earned, the prospective airline pilot can apply for jobs with the “minors” — commuter carriers. After landing a job with a commuter, the new airline pilot builds his or her resume, flight time, and seniority until they can apply to the “majors”. This is a grueling process of long hours, tedious schedules, and low pay. Without a healthy GA ecosystem, this process dies on the vine.
The lab
GA is a laboratory of the most advanced aircraft flying. The Wright Flyer was a homebuilt aircraft, and the art of building your own airplane gained popularity in the mid-1920's. The experimental category of special airworthiness certificates was formalized by the FAA during the litigious environment of 1980's aviation. Some argue the experimental category saved GA from dying a slow death from lawsuits. Today, the experimental community is a vibrant group of pilots flying everything from warbirds to homebuilts.
Homebuilt aircraft today are equipped with advanced avionics and autopilots similar to the most modern airliners.The demand for affordable, modern avionics is slowly entering the standard aircraft category, although at a much higher cost. This panel is more advanced than many airliners flown today.
The experimental category yields innovative designs that trickle down to standard certificated aircraft. The Icon A5, for example, is a two-place amphibious aircraft that aims to take general aviation into the realm of watersports by building an airplane anyone can fly. This airplane, like every airliner, Cessna, and all other standard-certificated aircraft are born experimental-certificated while undergoing flight test.
The benign flight characteristics and stall resistance of this airplane are simply amazing. For simple joy of flying, Richard VanGrunsven’s RV series is the most popular metal-construction kitplane of all time. It’s simple construction, robust airplane, and high performance make it popular among homebuilders.
Considering aerodynamic performance, the Lancair Evolution is a turboprop equipped advanced composited monoplane capable of 24,000' an 380 knots, stupendous performance for a propellor-driven aircraft, considering it will cost you north of $1.2 MM.
Achieving this level of technical sophistication, flexibility, joy, or sheer performance in a standard certificated airplane is extremely difficult, and incredibly expensive. The experimental certificated category is the lab of new technologies for the aviation industry.
The passion
The most compelling, yet least concrete reason that GA is important is the lifestyle. Aviation enables a compelling existance. Imagine the freedom of flying to wherever you want to go, whenever you want to do it. Imagine looking down on cloud formations as a thunderstorm builds over east Texas, when the lightning goes from cloud to cloud. Imagine looking at an airliner flying overhead, as the landbound masses stream unknowingly around you, looking up, putting yourself in the pilots seat, and knowing what it’s like, up there.
