Airwork: Something for Everyone

Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 10:40 PM ET

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Despite stories in the press, 74 percent of business jet flights are actually time-critical trips by sales, technical and middle management employees. Tom Benenson

Key Takeaways:

The article counters the public's narrow perception of general aviation (GA) as solely a luxury for the wealthy, by illustrating its diverse applications.
Through personal anecdotes, the author showcases GA's broad spectrum, from business jets as essential corporate tools for efficient travel to accessible recreational flying, community events, and affordable personal transportation with older aircraft supported by type clubs.
Beyond individual and business use, general aviation provides crucial societal services like medevac, disaster relief, agricultural operations, and public safety, demonstrating its widespread benefit to everyone.

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It seems, from recent media reports, that the general public has a myopic view of general aviation. Voices have been raised castigating executives for flying in business jets and decrying the expenditure of funds that go to rural and “underused” general aviation airports.

There’s an unfortunate disconnect between who and what we are and the general public’s perception of us. If some of those who are skeptical about the value of general aviation could have tagged along with me during a couple of recent weeks, their misconceptions might have been rectified.