Search Results for: general aviation inc

Since last September, general aviation manufacturers in the United States have reduced their employment rolls by almost 12,400. Another 7,000 jobs have been eliminated elsewhere in the world. The numbers do not include 850 workers left without a paycheck when Eclipse declared bankruptcy. Despite the beginnings of economic good news, the culling of jobs in […]

The general aviation world was anxiously watching this year’s kickoff event. The annual Sun ‘n Fun fly-in opened last week and the results are mostly good for airplane aficionados. With the economy fighting its way back to its feet, and general aviation in the crosshairs of public opinion, we were holding our collective breath. Though […]

The NTSB in early April released preliminary general aviation accident data for 2008. No one should be happy. For example, there were 1559 accidents involving Part 91 operations, 275 of which involved fatalities. Those fatal accidents killed a total of 495 persons, one fewer than the previous year. One. After all the training improvements, the influx of new, well-equipped aircraft, all the new, high-tech equipment being installed in older ones, after weather-forecasting and observation enhancements on the ground and in the air, only one. And the accident rate jumped up, from 6.92 accidents per 100,000 hours in 2007 to 7.11 in 2008. This is despite an overall reduction in accidents, from 2007s 1650 to 1559 last year, and stems from fewer flying hours, a reduction of almost 10 percent. These results are pretty sorry for an industry desperate to be taken seriously.

One of the sad realities of general aviation becomes apparent upon reading a score or so NTSB accident reports: While true in-flight emergencies are rare, pilots who do not fly for a living have a less-than-stellar record of success when they stare one in the face. It is a blunt corollary to the simple fact that anything a human doesnt practice regularly doesnt get done well the next time its needed. Thats why pilots who take recurrent training every six months tend to have far, far fewer accidents than pilots who only grudgingly take a flight review every 24. No matter how we try to sweep the mess under the rug, skills atrophy fast and anything we dont practice regularly we, sadly, screw up. Those who study human behavior have long been telling us this stuff, they just use bigger words. We know it. We know perfectly well that if we are faced with an emergency when we go flying tomorrow that how we handle it has already been determined. If weve thought about that particular emergency (or one very similar) and how we will deal with it, the odds of handling it correctly are astronomically higher than if we havent given it any thought. If weve actually rehearsed dealing with the emergency in the last six months, the odds that well deal with it correctly go way, way up. Being human, we do well what we do often. We do landings all the time. We dont do fires in flight nearly as frequently.

General aviation might not be climbing out of its hole, but at least there are signs that the excavation has stopped. Business consultancy firm UBS Investment Research has reported that the inventory of pre-owned business jets for sale could be leveling off after soaring for several months. The number of pre-owned jets for sale is […]

I worked as the graduate placement officer at an A&P school many years ago. The students would perform the annual inspections on my little Grumman Yankee; under the supervision of their properly licensed instructors, of course. Like now, general aviation was in a down cycle, and I remember nervously addressing the graduating class, explaining how […]

“The industry is trying to stimulate interest in flying, but the data suggest that more needs to be done.” That may be an understatement, but the FAA’s annual aviation forecast, released last week, included this bit of wisdom. What’s encouraging is that the tone of the statement-and the attitude apparent throughout the rest of the […]

The most recent AOPA Air Safety Foundation’s Joseph T. Nall Report on general aviation safety was released late last week, and the message is mixed. In statistics analyzed from 2007, the report shows that overall accidents increased, despite declining flight hours, but fatalities declined. The rate of fatal accidents was also lower, evidence that pilots […]

General aviation groups are cheering the nomination of Randy Babbitt to lead the FAA through difficult skies ahead, including the upcoming modernization of its air traffic control system. Babbitt is a pilot and former president of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). Among his most profound challenges will be to push permanent funding legislation through […]

The importance of careful flight planning is drummed into our heads from our first flight. The very first regulation in FAR 91, Subpart B, on Flight Rules (91.103) states that “each pilot in command shall, before beginning a flight, become familiar with all available information concerning that flight.” It then continues with a list of […]