What is General Aviation?
General aviation is civilian aviation, non-commercial flight.
It describes things like sport aviation, business travel, humanitarian aid, agriculture, environmental conservation, and bush flying.
What counts as general aviation?
General aviation is:
- Sport and recreational aviation
- Business travel
- Flying in support of humanitarian aid, environmental conservation, or agriculture
- Bush flying
- and much more!
General aviation is not:
- Military air operations
- Scheduled airline flights
- Scheduled commercial air cargo flights
There are more than 340,000 general aviation aircraft around the world—U.S. pilots operate 204,000 of them.
Public Air Operations (PAO), such as the U.S. Forest Service firefighting division, operate under their own flight rules but are still broadly considered part of general aviation.
There are about 591,000 civilian pilots in the United States—and 70% fly general aviation planes.
Pilots fly all types of craft, including gliders, helicopters, corporate jets, and backcountry floatplanes.
The Origins of General Aviation
The first flights were all general aviation. The first commercial airlines in the U.S. didn't take off until 1914. World War I was the first major war fought in the air.
In the early 1900s, flight was a novelty, and few people owned planes. After World War I, there was a surplus of former military planes. Pilots called "barnstormers" put on shows, delighting crowds, and spreading excitement about flying.
However, the cost of flying was still prohibitive. "The Big Three" aircraft manufacturers changed the game by introducing more affordable aircraft in the 1930s.
The Big Three Dominate General Aviation Aircraft Production
Three U.S. aircraft companies formed the backbone of general aviation aircraft: Beechcraft, Cessna, and Piper.
In the 1930s, these manufacturers created both the aircraft and helped swell the pool of pilots that transformed general aviation.
Walter & Olive Beech and the Beechcraft Corporation
Walter Beech risked his life savings by marketing the Staggerwing, an expensive cabin biplane, during the Great Depression. Its beautiful lines and performance prevailed, setting Beech Aircraft on the road to success. Walter co-founded Beech Aircraft Corporation with his wife Olive Ann (pictured, left). After Walter's death in 1950, Olive Ann guided the company to steady growth, becoming the first female executive of an aircraft company.
Clyde Cessna
Clyde Cessna began building aircraft in 1911. He formed Travel Air Manufacturing Company with Walter Beech and Lloyd Stearman in 1925. He founded Cessna Aircraft in 1927, but the company closed when his single-wing light aircraft design failed. His nephew Dwayne Wallace later rescued the company with the Airmaster and T-50 Bobcat. Generations of pilots learned to fly in Cessna high-wing trainers, from the bare-bones Model 120 to the ubiquitous 150/152 and 172 trainers.
G.C. Taylor designed an easy-to-fly light aircraft, the Taylor E-2, in 1930. By 1937, investor William Piper had supervised its transformation into the Piper J-3 Cub. It became the most popular light aircraft for training civilian pilots before World War II. A simple and inexpensive machine with gentle flying features, the Piper Cub fostered the rise of private flying and the light plane industry.
General Aviation Takes Off After World War I
The 1920s and 1930s found the nation "air-minded," excited about air travel. Record-setting flights commanded headlines. Exploratory flights introduced learning about science and people in the farthest reaches of the globe.
Pilots and the airplane community who believed in aviation's future shifted into high gear. They aimed to prove that aircraft were sound, versatile, and safe—and encourage investment in the field.
Barnstorming
Barnstorming refers to how pilots would fly to anywhere with an open field to put on daring air shows. These aviators, known as barnstormers, gave rides to the public and performed stunts. Through spectacles in the skies, they spread excitement about flying.
"We Had Been Flying in the Land of the Midnight Sun"
Charles and Anne Lindbergh
In 1931 and 1933, Charles and Anne Lindbergh explored possible airport locations and air routes to Asia and Europe. The Lindberghs flew their own Lockheed Sirius aircraft 40,000 miles (64,400 kilometers), treasuring the experience. Anne, the co-pilot and radio operator, wrote two books, North to the Orient and Listen! The Wind, about their flights. Planes still fly their air routes today.
General Aviation in Popular Culture
Toys Help Create the Next Generation of Aviators
Airplane toys have been popular with children since the 1920s. Through movies, celebrities, toys, and games, children reveled in a state of “air-mindedness.” Adventure stories based on World War I barnstormers enthralled them.
Early aviation toys inspired kids like Neil Armstrong, who later became the first person to walk on the Moon.
Flying on the Homefront During World War II
Like World War I, World War II was a war fought on land, on sea, and in the air. While many military pilots flew missions on the front, at home in the United States civilians contributed to the war effort. They trained potential pilots and flew missions in the United States, so more pilots could fly and fight abroad.
Beyond U-Boat spotting (and dropping the occasional bomb), the private pilots of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) performed search and rescue, medical flights, and border patrol--roles the organization still serves today.
The US government created the program to train students to fly in the lead up to World War II.
When military aged men went off to fight in World War II, those left at home didn’t sit by. American aviators at home found their skills in demand.
General Aviation After World War II
Manufacturers expected a post-WWII boom in aircraft sales, but it never came. Like car manufacturers, aircraft companies offered "improved" models every few years with only small creative changes.
By 1980, disposable income in the United States had risen. Dealers and flying clubs helped bring the number of American pilots to an all-time high of 827,000. But the numbers slipped from there. Lawsuits and a glut of airplanes closed some manufacturers.
At the turn of the 21st century the market changed again. New aircraft with cutting-edge equipment sparked interest and imagination.
General Aviation as an Avenue for Change
Prior to World War II, women aviators and aviators of color could not fly for the U.S. military or for commercial airlines. However, they could fly as civilians. Women pilots and aviators of color made a name for themselves in general aviation. Many used the attention they received to advocate for change.
Bessie Coleman
Bessie Coleman was the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license. She had to travel to France to find someone to train her. She earned her license in 1921.
After earning her license, she performed as a barnstormer and hoped to open a flying school in the United States.
Bessie Coleman, the first African American licensed pilot shown here on the wheel of a Curtiss JN-4 "Jennie" in her custom designed flying suit (circa 1924).
The Ninety-Nines
In 1929, 20 women flew in the Women’s Air Derby, the first transcontinental female race. The women hoped to earn respect for their flying skills, and maybe aviation jobs. Although Derby proved women could fly a rugged, cross-country race, the women were not always respected.
What came out of the derby was an organization of women pilots supporting women pilots. Ninety-nine women became charter members, giving the organization its name. Amelia Earhart was their first president.
Today the Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots promotes mentoring and scholarships.
Meet Members of the Ninety-Nines
Breaking the Color Barrier
In the lead up to World War II, Black aviators used general aviation to generate press and attention to advocate for more opportunity, especially allowing Black pilots to fly for the military.
Discover how pioneering group of Black aviators improvised, innovated, and overcame societal barriers to fulfill their dreams of flight in Jim Crow's America.
Banning and Allen were the first African Americans to complete a transcontinental (coast-to-coast) flight.
In 1939, Chauncey Spencer and Dale White flew to Washington, DC to advocate for opportunities for Black pilots in the military.
After a chance encounter with a World War I barnstormer, Cornelius Coffey knew he wanted to fly. However, Coffey was also born during the era of Jim Crow in the United States. Coffey, a skilled mechanic, would have to forge his own way in aviation.
In 1941, The Pittsburgh Courier described Brown as “the highest-ranking colored woman in the field of aviation.” This was an understatement. Throughout her life, Brown was a fierce advocate for Black aviators and taught countless people to fly, all while be an accomplished pilot in her own right.
A Black woman in segregated America, Janet Bragg faced barriers at nearly every turn. When she overcame them, Bragg made history … and paved the way for other aviators.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Aviation
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned racial and sex-based discrimination in hiring. Military and commercial aviation finally began allowing female pilots into their ranks in the 1970s. People practicing general aviation helped at every stage of the way.
Building on Legacies of Flight
Wagstaff, a longtime airshow pilot, was a world-class competition aerobatics pilot 30 years ago. In September 1991, she was the United States National Aerobatic Champion, competing in the Extra 260. She defended her title in 1992 and again in 1993. Notably, Wagstaff is the first woman to win the combined men’s and women’s U.S. competition title. Wagstaff’s achievements were the culmination of years of aerobatic flying by the women who preceded her, including champions Betty Skelton and Mary Gaffaney.
Examples of General Aviation Today
Learn about a few of the of ways people participate in general aviation in the 21st century.
Homebuilt Aircraft
By World War I, factory workers were building airplanes. The cost to buy and maintain these aircraft was beyond the means of most enthusiasts. Therefore, enthusiasts began to design, build, and fly their own aircraft.
Today, thousands of people build sport aircraft from kits or detailed construction plan.
Utility Flight
Utility flight includes getting people, goods, and services to remote areas, managing crops, mapping, fighting wildfires, and more.
Many airplanes, helicopters, and remotely piloted aircraft (RPA, or drones) in the air right now are flying utility missions. They are truly the jack-of-all-trades of aviation.
There are a lot of different aircraft that fight wildfires. In this episode of the AirSpace podcast, learn about a truly unique, purpose-built firefighting airplane: the Super Scooper. This plane skims the surface of a body of water, collects a shocking amount through tiny scoop ports, flies off, and dumps it on a wildfire.
Wildfires season is getting longer. The devastating fires are also getting more intense, making firefighting a bigger, more vital operation each year. In this episode of the AirSpace podcast, explore how professionals fight wildfires with everything from helicopters to large water-carrying airtankers and daring smokejumpers who parachute into the blaze.
Ultralights and Animal Conservation
The first practical hang glider appeared over 100 years ago. In the 1970s, an engine-powered glider called an ultralight came on the scene.
In 1994, Canadians Bill Lishman and Joe Duff founded Operation Migration to teach captive-reared birds to migrate following their ultralight aircraft the Cosmos Phase II. Their work inspired the movie Fly Away Home (1996).
Operation Migration was able to help bring the extremely endangered Whooping Crane back from the brink, until the program ended in 2016.
Business Aviation
Corporate aircraft transport people and cargo for two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies. Aircraft save time, provide security and privacy, and fly into and out of airports of all sizes. Plus, they run on the company’s schedule. Some corporations have offices or plants in three or more locations far from major airports. Business aircraft can guarantee face-to-face connections when they’re needed most.
Nicknamed “Mickey Mouse One”—or just “The Mouse”—the Grumman Gulfstream I became an integral part of the Disney realm, transporting Walt Disney wherever he needed to go to create his next film, attraction, or resort.
Corporations around the world depend on airplanes. Business aviation gets people where they need to go—faster than a traditional commercial flight with an airline. It’s part of a flexible and timesaving business plan.
Humanitarian Flight
For people who need aid—vital medical help, relief services, and transportation—humanitarian flights can mean survival. Nonprofit and religious organizations, foundations, and individuals fly these critical missions. Examples of humanitarian flight include providing disaster relief to remote areas, flying adoptable pets to places where they are more likely to find a home, and transporting and providing supplies, medicine, and access to medical care.
Sports Aviation
Sports aviation is all about flying for pleasure—rather than for military, commercial, or business purposes. Sport pilots fly gliders, sailplanes, hang gliders, ultralights, homebuilts, and other types of aircraft.
Six decades—that’s how long they’ve been racing in Reno, Nevada. Six decades of outrageous speed. Six decades of remarkable innovations. Six decades of gut-wrenching calamities.
The Nemesis NXT air racer has a custom engine any gearhead would envy: a six-cylinder, 350-horsepower, twin-turbocharged and intercooled Thunderbolt TSIO-540-NXT. The NXT is…fast. So fast, in fact, that in 2008 it became the first kit-built airplane to surpass 400 mph.
