General Aviation Serving America

[Johnny_L.A]

The latest issue of AOPA Pilot says:

More than ever, general aviation is affected by public perception. Abstract fears about “little” airplanes being used by terrorists to cause havoc or take lives have only added to the long-standing fears that these same airplanes simply fall out of the sky. Such misperceptions can be dangerous.

So AOPA has put up a website called GA Serving America to “[teach] those with little or no knowledge of general aviation exactly what it is and how it serves their communities.”

The site seems a little “News Lite” to me. From reading threads on these boards I think that people want to know more about GA than is immediately available on AOPA’s site. Still there are some interesting things (my bolds):

General Aviation-which includes all flying except for military and airline operations-makes up over 1% of the U.S. GDP, making it almost as big as the petroleum industry. As a result, General Aviation supports over 1.3 million high-skill, high-wage jobs in professional services and in manufacturing.

And:

One state recently found that more than 70% of new or expanded manufacturing firms had intentionally located themselves within ten miles of a public use airport so that they could exploit the speed and access only General Aviation can provide.

[snip]

Every dollar spent on airport improvements generates $6.70 in off-airport economic gains for the surrounding community.

Since there are so many pilot-Dopers and Dopers who ask questions about “little airplanes”, this site will make a good resource when someone says, “Cite!”

I especially like the chart that shows how a Beechcraft (Raytheon) Bonanza can make a trip in eight hours, while a commercial flight would take 16. I was thinking about that on my last trip to Washington (state). Alaska Airlines took about 10 hours from door-to-door because of security and scheduling. A Cessna 172 Skyhawk, by my estimation, would have taken about 12 hours with fuel stops. Airlines are much better at longer flights (say, more than 400 or 500 miles); but it would definitely have been more fun to fly myself! (And I wouldn’t have to worry about removing the deadly weapon – I mean my 1-inch-blade Swiss Army knife – from my keychain.)

[Broomstick]

I think maybe no one replied to this thread because:

1. It’s a strictly factual thing, so it’s hard to argue about it. I mean sure, you could argue about what the website says, but not about its existance.

2. Nobody but us lil’ pilots cares about lil’ airplanes >sniff!< ~whimper~

[RTFirefly]

*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. *
Since there are so many pilot-Dopers and Dopers who ask questions about “little airplanes”, this site will make a good resource when someone says, “Cite!”

No offense, Johnny, but that was exactly my reaction when I went to their site and read the things you quoted.

[Johnny_L.A]

RTFirefly: I went back to the site after I started this thread, then I e-mailed them at that time suggesting that they add factual information including numbers and citations.

So I agree that they could do a better job supporting their statements. On the other hand, this is the AOPA we’re talking about and not a UFO Encounters site; so their statements are likely to be correct.

In any case, the site is designed for non-pilots and I think it’s a good primer for people who are looking for basic information.

Broomstick: Just some mundane stuff I felt like sharing.

[RTFirefly]

Lobbying outfits never exaggerate. Nosir.