General Aviation Manufacturers Association

2008 General Aviation

Statistical Databook & Industry Outlook
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) represents 65 of the world’s leading manufacturers of fixed-wing general 

aviation airplanes, engines, avionics, and components. In addition to building nearly all of the general aviation airplanes flying worldwide 

today, GAMA member companies also operate fleets of airplanes, fixed-based operations, pilot / technician training centers, and 

maintenance facilities worldwide. 

Headquartered in Washington, DC, GAMA represents the interests of its members to government agencies throughout the world. These interests include 

legislation, safety regulations and standards, market access, development of aviation infrastructure, and aviation security. 

GAMA also works with national and international industry groups and regulatory authorities to promote the interests of general aviation worldwide through 

a variety of means including the development of worldwide standards at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Through its public information and education programs, GAMA promotes better understanding of general aviation and the important role it plays in 

economic growth and in serving the transportation needs of communities, companies and individuals.

+ Over 320,000 general aviation airplanes worldwide, ranging from 

two-seat training aircraft to intercontinental business jets, are flying 

today; 231,000 of those airplanes are based in the United States.

+ General aviation contributes more than $150 billion to the U.S. 

economy annually and employs more than 1,265,000 people. 

+ In the U.S., general aviation aircraft fly over 27 million hours and 

carry 166 million passengers annually. 

+ There are nearly 4,000 paved general aviation airports open to the 

public in the U.S. By contrast, scheduled airlines serve less than 

500 airports. 

+ Nearly two-thirds of all the hours flown by general aviation aircraft 

are for business purposes.

+ General aviation is the primary training ground for most commercial 

airline pilots.

General aviation has become one of the world’s 

most important and dynamic industries. It touches 

every aspect of our lives, our economy, and our future. 

It represents over one million jobs, billions of dollars 

in revenue, and the growth of thousands of cities, 

businesses, services, and manufacturing facilities 

around the world. General aviation is defined as all 

aviation other than military and scheduled commercial 

airlines. Consider the scope of general aviation:
2008 General Aviation

Statistical Databook & Industry Outlook

General Aviation Manufacturers Association
2 General aviation manufacturers association

Contents

02 | General Aviation Fleet and Flight Activity 27

2.1 General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 Number of 

Aircraft by Primary Use by Aircraft Type (2007)

28

Figure 2.1 General Aviation and On-Demand 

FAR 135 Aircraft by Type (2007)

28

2.2 General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 

Total Hours Flown (in Thousands) by Actual Use and 

Aircraft Type (2007)

29

Figure 2.2 General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 Aircraft 

by Type and Hours Flown (in Thousands) (2007)

29

2.3 General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 Estimated 

Hours Flown (in Thousands) by Type (1980-2007)

30

2.4 General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 Estimated 

Active Aircraft by Type (1980-2007)

30

2.5 Active General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 

Aircraft and Average Hours Flown (in Thousands) per 

Aircraft by Type (2003-2007)

31

2.6 Total Fuel Consumed and Average Fuel Consumption 

Rate by Aircraft Type (2007)

32

2.7 Average Age of Registered General Aviation Fleet 

(2005-2008)

32

2.8 Active General Aviation Aircraft by U.S. Region and 

State (2000-2007)

33

2.9 Summary of U.S. General Aviation Operations and 

Contacts (in Thousands) (1994-2007)

34

2.10 Summary of U.S. General Aviation Operations 

(in Thousands) at FAA and Contract Control Towers 

(1994-2007)

34

2.11 Estimated Active Experimental Aircraft Fleet (1994-2007) 34

2.12 Estimated Hours Flown (in Thousands) of Experimental 

Aircraft Fleet (1994-2007)

34

Figure 2.3 Worldwide Turbine Airplane Fleet 35

Figure 2.4 Worldwide Turbine Business Airplane Operators 35

Figure 2.5 Fractional Aircraft and Share Owners 35

2008 Market Review 4

Industry Outlook 6

2009 GAMA Agenda 8

2008 General Aviation Statistical Databook

01 | General Aviation Shipments and Billings 11

GAMA Statistics Summary 12

1.1 General Aviation Airplane Shipments by Type 

of Airplane Manufactured Worldwide (1994-2008)

13

1.2 Estimated Billings (in Millions) for General Aviation 

Airplane Shipments by Type of Airplane Manufactured 

Worldwide (1994-2008)

13

Figure 1.1 General Aviation Airplane Shipments and Billings 

Worldwide (1994-2008)

13

1.3 Worldwide Business Jet Shipments by Manufacturer 

(1997-2008)

14

1.4 Worldwide Turboprop Airplane Shipments by 

Manufacturer (1997-2008)

15

1.5 Worldwide Piston Engine Airplane Shipments by 

Manufacturer (1997-2008)

16

1.6 U.S. Manufactured General Aviation Airplanes by Units 

Shipped, Number of Companies Reporting and Factory 

Net Billings (1946-2008)

18

1.7 General Aviation Airplane Shipments by Type 

Manufactured in the U.S. (1960-2008)

20

Figure 1.2 General Aviation Shipments of Airplanes 

Manufactured in the U.S. (1974-2008)

21

Figure 1.3 General Aviation Billings of Airplanes Manufactured 

in the U.S. (1974-2008)

21

1.8 Estimated Billings (in Millions) for New U.S. Manufactured 

General Aviation Airplane Shipments by Type (1978-2008)

22

1.9 U.S. Manufactured General Aviation Airplane Shipments 

by Year and Quarter (1978-2008)

24

1.10 U.S. Civil Airplane Imports and Dollar Value (in Millions) 

(2003-2007)

24

1.11 New U.S. Manufactured General Aviation Airplane 

Exports (1978-2008)

25

1.12 New U.S. Manufactured General Aviation Airplane 

Exports by Type (1978-2008)

25
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 3

06 | General Aviation Safety Data 57

6.1 U.S. General Aviation Accidents, Fatal Accidents, 

and Fatalities (1938-2008)

58

Figure 6.1 Total Accidents and Fatal Accidents in U.S. 

General Aviation (1982-2008)

59

Figure 6.2 Accident Rates in U.S. General Aviation 

(1982-2007)

59

6.2 U.S. On-Demand FAR 135 Accidents, Fatal Accidents, 

and Fatalities (1987-2007)

60

Figure 6.3 Accident Rates in U.S. On-Demand 135 

Operations (1987-2007)

60

07 | International GA Statistical Information 63

7.1 Australia – Hours Flown (in Thousands) in General 

Aviation by Flying Activity (1992-2007)

64

7.2 Australia – Number of General Aviation and Regional 

Aircraft by Category (1995-2007)

64

7.3 Australia – Number of Aircraft and Hours Flown (in 

Thousands) in General Aviation and Regional Airline 

Operations by Age of Aircraft (2007)

64

7.4 Brazil – Number of Aircraft Registrations by Type 

(1988-2003)

65

7.5 Canada – Number of Aircraft Registrations by Type and 

Weight Group (1980-2006)

65

7.6 Germany – Number of General Aviation Aircraft by Type 

(2001-2008)

66

7.7 New Zealand – Number of General Aviation Aircraft 

by Type and Airmen Certificates (1933-2005)

66

7.8 South Africa – Number of General Aviation Aircraft by 

Type (1999-2008)

67

7.9 Switzerland – Number of General Aviation Aircraft by 

Type and Airmen Certificates (1990-2006)

67

7.10 United Kingdom – Number of General Aviation Aircraft 

by Type (1990-2008)

68

7.11 ICAO Summary of General Aviation Aircraft (1985-1997) 68

7.12 ICAO Summary of General Aviation Hours Flown 

(in Thousands) (1985-1997)

68

2008 Executive Committee 70

2008 GAMA Staff 71

GAMA Member Companies 72

03 | U.S. Pilot Population 37

3.1 Active U.S. Pilots and Non-Pilot Certificates Held 

(1987-2008)

38

3.2 Estimated Active Pilots and Flight Instructors by 

FAA Region and State (December 31, 2008)

39

3.3 Estimated FAA Active Pilot Certificates Held by Category 

and Age Group of Holder (December 31, 2008)

40

3.4 Average Age of Active U.S. Pilots by Category (1993-2008) 40

3.5 Active U.S. Women Pilots and Non-Pilot Certificates 

Held (1998-2008)

40

3.6 Estimated Total Active and Instrument-Rated Pilots 

(1982-2008)

42

3.7 Pilot Certificates Issued by Category (1978-2008) 42

U.S. Civil Airmen Definitions 43

04 | Airports and Aeronautical Facilities 45

4.1 U.S. Civil and Joint Use Airports, Heliports, 

Stolports, and Seaplane Bases by Type of Ownership 

(December 31, 2008)

46

4.2 FAA Air Route Facilities and Services (1972-2005) 47

4.3 U.S. Airports by Type and Equipment (1999-2008) 47

4.4 Airports by European Country, 2002-2006 Estimates 48

4.5 U.S. Airports Ranked by Number of General Aviation 

Operations (2008)

49

05 | Forecast Information 51

5.1 FAA Forecast – U.S. General Aviation and On-Demand 

FAR 135 Aircraft

52

5.2 FAA Forecast – U.S. General Aviation and On-Demand 

FAR 135 Aircraft Hours Flown (in Thousands)

53

5.3 FAA Forecast – U.S. General Aviation and On-Demand 

FAR 135 Aircraft Fuel Consumption (in Millions of Gallons)

54

5.4 FAA Forecast – U.S. Pilot Population 55
4 General aviation manufacturers association

Due in large part to a dynamic array of new product offerings and strong 

growth in key international markets, our industry has experienced five 

years of remarkable expansion in general aviation airplane billings. 

However, the global economic crisis has completely changed the 

aviation landscape and our industry is now faced with challenging 

times. The aggregate 2008 general aviation billings numbers signify this 

cycle’s high water mark.

2008 Market Review
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 5

Shipments and Billings

Industry billings reached $24.8 billion, a 13.4 percent increase over 

2007. This is the fourth straight year of record industry billings. 

Worldwide shipments of general aviation airplanes showed a decline 

with a total of 3,969 units delivered in 2008. This is a 7.1 percent 

decrease over the previous year’s total of 4,272 airplanes and the third 

strongest year since 1981. 

Business jet shipments once again were very strong. The industry 

shipped a total of 1,315 airplanes, up 15.6 percent over the previous 

year’s figure of 1,138 units. Given the time lag between new orders and 

shipments, the strength of this segment generally reflects corporate 

profits and the health of the economy in prior years. Going forward in 

light of the global economic slowdown, GA airplane manufacturers 

are carefully handling their backlogs to maximize stability throughout 

the next few years. 

The efficiency, reliability and capability of turboprops continue to drive 

positive numbers in this sector of the general aviation manufacturing 

industry. In 2008, deliveries totaled 535 units, a 16.6 percent increase 

over 2007 and the best year since 1981. 

Being the most susceptible to economic changes, the piston engine 

airplane sector was down 20.8 percent in 2008. Piston deliveries totaled 

2,119 units this year, as compared to 2,675 airplanes in 2007. This was 

the second year that we have seen lower shipments in this segment, 

which has traditionally been a lead indicator of the business cycle.

Exports

The general aviation airplane industry remains a bright spot in U.S. 

manufacturing exports and continues to contribute positively to the 

U.S. trade balance. In 2008, our member companies generated $5.9 

billion in new airplane export revenue for the United States, which was 

a 27.8 percent increase over 2007. The exports accounted for 43.9 

percent of the total value of U.S. manufactured airplanes in 2008.

The overall growth of international markets continued to have a 

positive effect on global business jet deliveries in 2008. While the North 

American market share declined slightly to 54 percent, this was more 

a reflection of the strong growth of other regional markets. Once again 

this year, Europe took delivery of business jets at a very brisk rate. This 

region accounted for 26 percent of the business jet shipments in 2008, 

followed by Latin and South America at nine percent, the Middle East 

and Africa with six percent, and Asia Pacific at five percent. 

Corporate and Fractional Ownerships

According to JETNET, LCC, the number of worldwide corporate 

operators and fractional share owners once again grew this past 

year. Corporate operators of general aviation airplanes grew 4.9 

percent from 16,238 to 17,040 operators. The worldwide corporate 

fleet grew to 28,367 aircraft, with 17,523 of those based in the 

United States. Fractional share owners reached 5,179 as compared 

to 5,168 in 2007. The number of aircraft operating in fractional 

programs grew 6.2 percent to 1,094 in 2008.

Safety

Safety is always the top priority. Once again, the number of fatal 

accidents in 2008 reached an all-time low, making 2008 the year 

with the lowest number since World War II. This also represents a 

reduction in fatal accidents of over 40 percent over the past two 

decades. This improvement in general aviation safety is due to our 

manufacturers’ diligence in bringing the newest and most advanced 

technology to the cockpits of even the light end of general aviation 

airplanes, and to continuous improvements in pilot training.

Pilot Population

A long-term, significant challenge that our industry continues to 

face is the decline in pilot population. While there was a slight 

comeback in the private pilot population from the previous year’s 

low-point, the student pilot population yet again saw a decrease 

in 2008 by nearly four percent. Our industry took on an increased 

effort to generate interest in flying with GAMA’s “Look Up!” 

program, AOPA’s introduction of “Let’s Go Flying”, as well as 

EAA’s continued efforts with the “Young Eagles” program. These 

programs, among others, will be vital in maintaining and increasing 

the current pilot population.

While our industry is challenged in the current economic 

climate, it continues to plan for the future. As we look back on 

2008, the rate at which jet manufacturers have launched, continued 

to develop or completed clean-sheet programs is unprecedented. 

We have learned from history that investing in our own future is the 

best way to build our way out of tough economic times. GAMA 

looks to a number of new airplane programs that will result in 

exciting product offerings to take our industry into a new period of 

growth and prosperity.

As the year drew to a close, our members felt the impact of a slowing worldwide economy and announcements of layoffs 

and furloughs were all too frequent. Robust shipments and billings in 2008 are a reflection of orders placed during the strong economic 

growth over the past few years. Unfortunately, the economic slowdown and availability of credit have now had the opposite affect on 

orders. Although our members prudently managed growth during this past decade and are doing their best to mitigate the impact of 

this slowdown, aggregate employment among GAMA’s airplane manufacturers declined 2.8 percent in 2008. GAMA’s manufacturers 

will continue to innovate to ensure product demand and minimize employment losses.
6 General aviation manufacturers association

Industry Outlook

FAA Reauthorization and NAS Modernization

Delays in the FAA reauthorization process have slowed the United 

States’ ability to meet future air traffic demands. As the new 

Congress revisits the reauthorization bill in 2009, it is imperative 

that they make a renewed commitment to finish this bill, capitalize 

on financing compromises made in the previous Congress, and 

make the development of a modernized national airspace system 

a top priority.

To facilitate many of the economic and environmental benefits of a 

modernized air transportation system, new aircraft equipment must 

be installed on commercial and general aviation aircraft. Incentives 

to support avionics implementation would accelerate the economic 

benefits of a modernized transportation system as well as hasten 

emissions reductions and capacity gains while increasing safety. 

Environment

The general aviation industry has long been committed to improving 

the efficiency, and therefore reducing the environmental impact, 

of its products. GAMA’s member companies have intensified 

that effort through improvements in airplane and engine design 

and the development of advanced avionics, which make flight 

operations more efficient, thus reducing carbon emissions. GAMA’s 

Environment Committee is working with our members and other 

industry groups on strategies to reduce general aviation’s already 

low contribution to total greenhouse gas emissions. We will ensure 

that the debate over climate change is informed by sound science 

and facts, and that it recognizes general aviation’s strong record of 

efficiency improvements. 

GAMA believes that any policies to reduce aviation greenhouse gas 

emissions must be subject to thorough debate, including consideration 

of their impact on the economy and on the health and vitality of our 

industry specifically. Unilateralism in environmental regulation for 

aviation must be avoided. The International Civil Aviation Organization 

(ICAO) should remain the international body where initiatives for 

aviation and the environment are developed through international 

cooperation. All national or regional aviation environmental measures 

should be in conformance with ICAO standards. 

Environmental and economic factors will both have an affect on the 

continued availability of leaded avgas for piston powered general 

aviation airplanes in the future. This will require a safe transition to an 

environmentally friendly unleaded aviation gasoline. GAMA’s members 

are committed to working with authorities and stakeholders to define 

and ensure a safe transition to a solution that is technically feasible 

and economically realistic. 

International Cooperation

GAMA will work to ensure that leading aviation safety authorities, 

particularly the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European 

Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), reinvigorate their commitment to 

move cooperatively and aggressively toward the reduction, and 

where possible, elimination of differences in the safety regulation of 

certification, maintenance, operations, training, and operation of third 

country aircraft through robust bilateral aviation safety agreements. 

GAMA will also continue to work with authorities and stakeholders 

in emerging markets around the world to ensure that aviation safety 

The general aviation manufacturing industry, which has enjoyed a period of strong growth over the last several years, 

now faces a number of serious challenges brought on by the sharp decline in economic activity worldwide. Our industry’s future is 

dictated by the strength of our order books, but the global financial crisis is presenting our collective sales force with unprecedented 

challenges. Many of GAMA’s member companies have been forced to downsize their workforce as they manage their backlogs to 

compensate for the weakness in orders. As a new Administration and Congress begin to establish new policies and regulations, we 

will work aggressively to ensure that the economic contributions of our industry are well known and that decision makers realize how 

additional burdensome regulations will impede our recovery.
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 7

oversight is focused on safety alone and not on the protection or 

promotion of domestic interests. We continue to strongly support 

equal access to all markets for general aviation as a means of meeting 

transportation infrastructure and economic development objectives. 

Security

During the past eight years, enhancing security has been a priority 

of the aviation community. To date, our industry has developed 

and implemented over a dozen mandatory and voluntary programs 

based on an assessment of general aviation vulnerabilities in the 

broader context of transportation security policy. 

Today we are faced with a proposal, the Large Aircraft Security 

Program (LASP), from the last Administration which has caused 

broad concerns, particularly over its “one size fits all” approach to 

aircraft operations. GAMA will work with the new Administration 

and Congress to ensure they are aware of the universal outcry from 

the industry against this proposal and press the Transportation 

Security Administration to promulgate a risk-based program for the 

industry which does not impede the utility of GA or pose a risk to 

jobs within the industry.

Looking to the Future

Despite a strong revenue year for the general aviation manufacturing 

industry that was a product of orders placed two to three years 

ago, our member companies now face a deteriorating economic 

environment that has the potential to threaten the industry in the long 

term. GAMA will continue to work aggressively to inform government 

and key decision makers about the role general aviation plays as 

an essential form of transportation and as a vital productivity tool 

for business. Similarly, we will work to ensure that the opportunity 

to progress toward worldwide modernization of air transportation 

systems is not squandered. Most importantly, as GAMA and its 

manufacturers work through these challenges, they remain devoted 

to their number one priority - the steady improvement in general 

aviation’s safety record.

Transportation is the lifeblood of an economy and in many places 

around the world, general aviation plays a vital role in basic economic 

development. In this time of uncertain economic conditions, GAMA’s 

manufacturers are willing and ready to take the steps necessary to 

keep our industry a viable and powerful economic engine for global 

economic growth, competitiveness and employment. 
8 General aviation manufacturers association

Increase the Margin of Safety of GA Operations 

GAMA supports policy and funding initiatives to further aviation safety 

based on a data driven analysis of accidents and incidents. We also 

promote risk based, targeted interventions including dissemination of 

safety information and improved pilot training. We work with NTSB 

and other accident investigation bodies to ensure they have the 

competence, resources, regulations and legal structure to conduct 

timely, thorough and objective on-scene accident investigations. 

Safeguard GA Growth and Vitality

GA commits to pay its share of the costs of U.S. air traffic control 

(ATC) system modernization through the current system of excise 

taxes and a general treasury contribution. We will continue to protect 

the General Aviation Revitalization Act. GAMA will also educate the 

public, policy makers and the media about the vital role general 

aviation plays in the economy and air transportation system. To 

ensure competitiveness, GAMA will advocate for fundamental 

government research and for tax measures that support economic 

growth for the industry.

Continuous Improvement in Aircraft

Certification Processes

GAMA works to continuously improve aircraft certification processes 

and airworthiness safety standards. In coordination with FAA and 

EASA, we will enhance the safety and efficiency of certification 

through implementation of robust delegation systems, international 

cooperation, and development of safety management systems. 

GAMA also advocates that authorities have sufficient manpower and 

resources to ensure safety oversight and timely certification activities. 

Maintain GA Security

To address legitimate security enhancements, GAMA will work to 

ensure that aviation security policies affecting GA are based on risk 

analysis, are cost effective and do not place unwarranted burdens 

on the community.

Transform the Air Transportation System 

GAMA works in the U.S. and Europe to transform ATC systems 

to address airline congestion, ensure continued general aviation 

airspace access, and to achieve tangible environmental benefits. 

GAMA will strive for harmonization of avionics equipage to 

ensure these upgrades are achieved in a cost effective manner. 

GAMA advocates for aeronautics research programs at NASA 

and the FAA, as well as incentives for equipage of aircraft to 

further modernization.

Preserve and Expand GA Access

to Airports and Airspace

GAMA fights efforts to deny GA access to airports and airspace and 

promotes adherence to existing national, federal, and other legal 

processes to deal with such issues. 

Aviation and the Environment 

We will work to mitigate aviation’s carbon footprint while ensuring 

the industry’s continued growth and vitality. GAMA will strive to 

ensure the debate over aviation’s role in climate change is based 

on science and recognizes the industry’s strong record of efficiency 

improvements. GAMA is also focused on ensuring a safe, timely 

and predictable transition to an environmentally friendly unleaded 

aviation gasoline.

Foster Open Markets and International Standards

GAMA works toward free trade and open markets for aviation 

products globally. We strongly support the International Civil 

Aviation Organization as the appropriate forum for the development 

and adoption of compatible standards and practices regarding 

safety, the environment, and security. We work cooperatively with 

EU institutions and agencies to ensure that aviation trade and 

activity is not disrupted as the European Aviation Safety Agency 

expands its authority over operations, flig ht crew licensing and third 

country aircraft.

2009 Gama Agenda
2008 General Aviation

Statistical Databook 
01

10 General aviation manufacturers association
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 11

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) 

tracks general aviation airplane shipments in three different 

industry segments: business jets, turboprops, and piston 

engine airplanes. In the fifteen years since the General Aviation 

Revitalization Act (GARA) was enacted in 1994, the general 

aviation industry has seen a rebirth spurred by new technologies, 

new companies entering the market, and a strong economy. 

Since 1994, manufacturers of general aviation (GA) airplanes 

have produced and shipped over 41,000 type certificated, 

fixed-wing general aviation airplanes worth over $182 billion. 

During this same period, the size of the piston engine airplane 

manufacturing industry has grown by over 240 percent, 

generating tens-of-thousands of high-tech manufacturing jobs 

in the United States and around the world.

In the first section of this databook, we publish an overview of 

general aviation shipment and billings data. The data includes 

a twelve year review of worldwide airplane shipments by 

manufacturer and model, and a review of general aviation 

airplane manufacturing in the United States since 1946.

General Aviation

Shipments and Billings
12 General aviation manufacturers association

GAMA Statistics Summary

Airplane Shipments by Type: 

Manufactured Worldwide

 2007 2008 Change

Pistons 2,675 2,119 -20.8%

Turboprops 459 535 +16.6%

Business Jets 1,138 1,315 +15.6%

Total Shipments 4,272 3,969 -7.1%

Total Billings $21.91B $24.84B +13.4%

Note: Airplanes are considered to be manufactured in the U.S. if they are produced under a FAA production certificate

Note: Exports reflect U.S. manufactured airplanes shipped outside the U.S.

Airplane Shipments by Type: 

Manufactured in U.S.

 2007 2008 Change

Pistons 2,174 1,791 -17.6%

Turboprops 290 333 +14.8%

Business Jets 815 955 +17.2%

Total Shipments 3,279 3,079 -6.1%

Total Billings $11.94B $13.35B +11.8%

U.S. exports

2007 2008 Change

Shipments 1,142 1,161 +1.7%

Billings $4.59B $5.86B +27.8%

U.S. exports 2008 

Percentage of

Total Shipments

Percentage of

Total Billings

37.7%

43.9%

01 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 13

1.1 General Aviation Airplane Shipments by Type of Airplane Manufactured Worldwide (1994-2008)

Year Grand Total Single-Engine Multi-Engine Total Piston Turboprop Turbojet/ Turbofan Total Turbine

1994 1,132 544 77 621 233 278 511

1995 1,251 605 61 666 285 300 585

1996 1,437 731 70 801 320 316 636

1997 1,840 1,043 80 1,123 279 438 717

1998 2,457 1,508 98 1,606 336 515 851

1999 2,808 1,689 112 1,801 340 667 1,007

2000 3,147 1,877 103 1,980 415 752 1,167

2001R 2,998 1,645 147 1,792 422 784 1,206

2002 2,677 1,591 130 1,721 280 676 956

2003 2,686 1,825 71 1,896 272 518 790

2004R 2,961 1,999 52 2,051 319 591 910

2005R 3,590 2,326 139 2,465 375 750 1,125

2006R 4,053 2,513 242 2,755 412 886 1,298

2007 4,272 2,417 258 2,675 459 1,138 1,597

2008 3,969 1,943 176 2,119 535 1,315 1,850

R = Revised Source: GAMA

1.2 Estimated Billings (in Millions) for General Aviation Airplane Shipments by Type of Airplane 

Manufactured Worldwide (1994-2008)

Year Grand Total Single Engine Multi-Engine Total Piston Turboprop Turbojet/ Turbofan Total Turbine

1994 3,749 * * 111 714 2,924 3,638

1995 4,294 * * 169 774 3,351 4,125

1996 4,936 * * 191 864 3,881 4,745

1997 7,170 * * 238 913 6,019 6,932

1998 8,604 * * 377 1,011 7,216 8,227

1999 11,560 * * 440 930 10,190 11,120

2000 13,496 * * 512 1,323 11,661 12,984

2001 13,868 * * 541 1,210 12,117 13,327

2002 11,778 * * 483 868 10,427 11,295

2003 9,998 * * 545 837 8,616 9,453

2004 11,918 * * 692 997 10,229 11,226

2005 15,156 * * 805 1,189 13,161 14,350

2006 18,815 * * 857 1,389 16,569 17,958

2007 21,911 * * 897 1,582 19,431 21,013

2008 24,837 * * 945 1,947 21,946 23,893

Some totals do not add up due to rounding. Source: GAMA

Figure 1.1 General Aviation Airplane Shipments and Billings Worldwide (1994-2008)

4,500

4.000

3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

Units

199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

10,000

5,000

0

$ Millions

Units

$ Millions

General Aviation Shipments and Billings
14 General aviation manufacturers association

1.3 Worldwide Business Jet Shipments by Manufacturer (1997-2008)

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Airbus 0 0 0 0 5 2 0 0 9 10 12 9

 Airbus Corporate Jet - - - - 5 2 0 0 9 10 12 9

Avcraft (form. Fairchild) 0 0 0 0 4 4 9 9 1 0 0 0

 Envoy 3 - - - - 4 4 9 9 1 - - -

Boeing Busines Jet 0 7 29 14 16 11 7 3 4 13 7 6

 Boeing Business Jet - 7 29 14 11 9 4 2 3 12 7 3

 Boeing Business Jet 2 - - - - 5 2 3 1 1 1 0 1

 Boeing Business Jet 3 - - - - - - - - - - - 2

Bombardier Business Aircraft 78 100 173 207 179 101 70 129 188 213 226 247

 Learjet 31A 21 22 24 27 17 9 2 - - - - -

 Learjet 40/XR - - - - - - - 17 21 26 57 48 Learjet 45/XR - 7 43 71 63 27 17 22 28 30

 Learjet 60 24 32 32 35 29 17 12 9 18 15 23 26

 Challenger 300 - - - - - - 1 28 50 55 51 60

 Challenger 604 / 605 33 36 42 39 41 31 24 29 36 29 35 44

 Global 5000 - - - - - - - 4 17 18 48 52 Global Express - 3 32 35 29 17 14 20 13 22

 CL 850/870/890 - - - - - - - - 5 18 12 17

Cessna Aircraft Company 174 195 216 252 306 305 196 181 247 307 388 466

 C510 Citation Mustang - - - - - - - - - 1 45 101

 C525 Citation CJ1 63 64 59 56 61 30 22 20 14 - - -

 C525 Citation CJ1+ - - - - - - - - 4 25 34 20

 C525A Citation CJ2 - - - 8 41 86 56 27 23 1 - -

 C525A Citation CJ2+ - - - - - - - - - 36 44 56

 C525B Citation CJ3 - - - - - - - 6 48 72 78 88

 C550 Citation Bravo 28 34 36 54 48 41 31 25 21 18 - -

 C560 Citation Ultra 47 41 32 - - - - - - - - -

 C560 Citation Encore - - - 6 37 36 21 24 13 12 - -

 C560 Citation Encore+ - - - - - - - - - - 23 28

 C560 Citation Excel - 15 39 79 85 81 48 23 - - - -

 C560 Citation XLS - - - - - - - 32 64 73 82 72

 C560 Citation XLS+ - - - - - - - - - - - 8

 C650 Citation VII 8 11 14 12 - - - - - - - -

 C680 Citation Sovereign - - - - - - - 9 46 57 65 77

 C750 Citation X 28 30 36 37 34 31 18 15 14 12 17 16

Dassault Falcon Jet 51 47 69 73 75 66 49 63 51 61 70 72

 Falcon 50EX 10 13 11 18 13 10 8 5 5 5 2 1

 Falcon 900B 7 5 8 - - - - - - - - -

 Falcon 900C - - - 6 6 4 3 3 1 - - -

 Falcon 900EX 16 15 16 23 21 17 6 1 - - - -

 Falcon 900DX - - - - - - - - 2 4 10 4

 Falcon 900EX EASy - - - - - - 4 14 16 16 18 19

 Falcon 2000 18 14 34 26 35 35 12 11 6 6 1 -

 Falcon 2000DX - - - - - - - - - - - 3

 Falcon 2000EX - - - - - - 16 10 - - - -

 Falcon 2000EX EASy - - - - - - - 19 21 30 33 24

 Falcon 7X - - - - - - - - - - 6 21

Eclipse Aviation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 98 161

 Eclipse 500 - - - - - - - - - 1 98 161

Embraer 0 0 0 0 0 8 13 14 20 27 36 38

 Phenom 100 - - - - - - - - - - - 2

 Legacy Executive - - - - - 8 13 24 20 27 36 36

Emivest (prev. Sino Swearingen) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

 SJ30-2 - - - - - - - - - 1 1 0

Gulfstream Aerospace 57 75 80 88 101 85 74 78 89 113 138 156

 G100/150 (prev. IAI Astra) 6 14 9 11 5 9 24 22 26 42 59 68 G200 (prev. IAI Galaxy) - - 1 6 25 15

 G300/350/400/450 (p. GIV/IVSP) 22 32 39 37 36 29 50 56 63 71 79 88 G500/G550 (p. GV / VSP) 29 29 31 34 35 32

Hawker Beechcraft Corporation 78 91 100 118 98 94 100 115 141 140 162 160

 Premier I/A - - - - 18 29 29 37 30 23 54 31

 Hawker 400XP 43 43 45 51 25 19 24 28 53 53 41 35

 Hawker 750XP - - - - - - - - - - - 23

 Hawker 800XP 33 48 55 67 55 46 47 50 58 8 - -

 Hawker 850XP - - - - - - - - - 56 35 15

 Hawker 900XP - - - - - - - - - - 32 50

 Hawker 1000 2 - - - - - - - - - - -

 Hawker 4000 - - - - - - - - - - - 6

Total Number of Airplanes 438 515 667 752 784 676 518 591 750 886 1,138 1,315

 % Change 39% 18% 30% 13% 4% -14% -23% 14% 27% 18% 28% 16%

Total Billings for Airplanes ($M) 6,019 7,216 10,190 11,661 12,117 10,427 8,616 10,229 13,161 16,555 19,431 21,946

 % Change 55% 20% 41% 14% 4% -14% -17% 19% 29% 26% 17% 13%

01 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 15

1.4 Worldwide Turboprop Airplane Shipments by Manufacturer (1997-2008)

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Britten-Norman 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

 BN-2T Islander 2 3 0 - - - - - - - - -

Cessna Aircraft Company 78 102 87 92 75 80 57 64 86 67 79 101

 C208 Caravan 675 14 22 20 16 19 14 8 13 11 8 11 12

 C208B Grand Caravan 64 80 67 76 56 66 49 51 75 59 68 89

Hawker Beechcraft Corporation 158 169 177 205 130 82 81 102 114 140 157 172

 Beechcraft King Air 90 41 37 41 46 41 21 18 27 35 52 46 66

 Beechcraft King Air 200 45 45 55 59 46 26 38 39 37 42 58 54

 Beechcraft King Air 350 30 42 45 46 32 24 24 36 42 46 53 52

 Beechcraft 1900D 42 45 36 54 11 11 1 - - - - -

Maule Air Incorporated 0 0 1 0 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 1

 M-7-420AC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

 MT-7-420 0 0 1 0 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 0

Pacific Aerospace Corporation 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 8 10 5 10 15

 PAC 750XL - - - - 1 0 2 8 10 5 10 15

Piaggio 0 0 0 6 12 14 12 16 14 19 21 30

 P.180 Avanti n/a n/a n/a 6 12 14 12 16 13 - - -

 P.180 Avanti II - - - - - - - - 1 19 21 30

Pilatus 32 51 55 69 70 45 61 70 80 90 92 97

 PC-12 32 51 55 69 70 45 61 70 80 90 92 97

Piper Aircraft, Inc. 0 0 0 18 98 25 24 26 40 49 53 52

 PA-46-500 TP Meridian - - - 18 98 25 24 26 40 49 53 52

Quest Aircraft Company 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7

 Kodiak 100 - - - - - - - - - - 1 7

SOCATA 9 11 20 25 33 34 34 31 31 42 46 60

 TBM 700 9 11 20 25 33 34 34 31 31 - - -

 TBM 850 - - - - - - - - - 42 46 60

Total Number of Airplanes 279 336 340 415 422 280 272 319 375 412 459 535

 % Change -13% 20% 1% 22% 2% -34% -3% 17% 18% 10% 11% 17%

Total Billings for Airplanes ($M) 913 1,011 930 1,323 1,210 868 837 997 1,189 1,389 1,582 1,947

 % Change 6% 11% -8% 42% -9% -28% -4% 19% 19% 17% 14% 23%

n/a – Manufacturer did not report

General Aviation Shipments and Billings
16 General aviation manufacturers association

1.5 Worldwide Piston Engine Airplane Shipments by Manufacturer (1997-2008)

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Adam Aircraft 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 3 0

 A500 - - - - - - - - 2 4 3 0

Alpha Aviation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 13 1

 120T - - - - - - - - - - 2 0

 160A - - - - - - - - - 5 9 1

 160Ai - - - - - - - - - - 2 0

American Champion 46 74 91 96 56 53 63 94 89 60 70 54

 7EC Champ - - - - - - - - - 1 21 7

 7ECA Aurora 6 6 9 3 2 3 2 2 3 2 4 3

 7GCAA Adventurer 2 11 19 23 8 12 9 12 12 6 6 2

 7GCBC Citabria Explorer 11 18 31 22 21 13 12 24 26 16 8 8

 8GCBC Scout 7 14 5 23 6 11 8 18 9 14 8 10

 8KCAB Super Decathlon 20 25 27 25 19 14 32 38 39 21 23 24

Aviat Aircraft 61 85 83 91 57 38 47 42 47 0 0 0

 A-1 Husky - - - - - - - - - - - -

 A-1A Husky 54 58 23 4 - - - - - - - -

 A-1B Husky - 6 44 76 50 34 37 30 41 n/a n/a n/a

 Husky P u p - - - - - - 3 3 1 n/a n/a n/a

 S-1 11B Pitts 1 1 - - - - - - - - - -

 S-2B Pitts 6 3 - - - - - - - - - -

 S-2C Pitts - 17 16 11 7 4 7 9 5 n/a n/a n/a

Bellanca 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

 Super Viking 17-30A 2 1 1 1 1 - - - - - - -

Britten-Norman 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

 BN-2B Islander 0 1 1 2 - - - - - - - -

Cessna Aircraft Company 360 775 899 912 821 559 588 654 822 865 807 733

 Cessna 172R Skyhawk 287 358 180 150 107 57 58 32 37 87 133 55

 Cessna 172S Skyhawk - 64 272 340 341 258 291 204 314 322 240 228

 Cessna 182T Skylane 73 338 248 267 142 109 118 196 241 140 161 109

 Cessna T182T Turbo Skylane - - - - 96 79 47 133 118 187 140 105

 Cessna 206H Stationair - 12 79 53 41 18 16 22 29 25 20 17

 Cessna T206H Turbo Stationair - 3 120 102 94 38 58 67 83 104 111 95

 Cessna 350 Corvalis - - - - - - - - - - 1 14

 Cessna 400 Corvalis TT - - - - - - - - - - 1 110

Columbia Aircraft (prev. Lancair) 0 0 0 5 27 24 51 78 114 185 152 0

 Columbia 300 - - - 5 27 24 19 - - - - -

 Columbia 350 - - - - - - 32 28 25 39 34 -

 Columbia 400 - - - - - - - 50 89 146 118 -

Cirrus Design Corporation 0 0 9 95 183 397 469 553 600 721 710 549

 Cirrus SR-20 - - 9 95 59 105 112 91 116 150 112 115

 Cirrus SR-22 - - - - 124 292 355 459 475 565 588 427

 Cirrus SR-V - - - - - - 2 3 9 6 10 7

Commander Aircraft 14 13 13 20 11 7 0 0 0 0 0 0

 Commander 114AT - - - - - - - - - - - -

 Commander 114B 10 8 8 - - - - - - - - -

 Commander 114TC 4 5 5 1 - - - - - - - -

 Commander 115 - - - 11 5 1 - - - - - -

 Commander 115TC - - - 8 6 6 - - - - - -

Diamond Aircraft 88 0 0 0 0 155 228 261 329 438 471 308

 DA-20 88 n/a n/a n/a n/a 70 75 58 54 55 58 69

 DA-40 - - - - n/a 85 153 203 207 220 232 154

 DA-42 - - - - - - - - 68 163 181 85

Embraer 24 30 17 17 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

 EMB-201A Ipanema 16 22 - - - - - - - - - -

 EMB-202 Ipanema - - 12 15 1 - - - - - - -

 EMB-720 Minuano 1 1 2 - - - - - - - - -

 EMB-810 Seneca II 7 7 3 2 - - - - - - - -

Gippsland Aeronautics 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 20 22 20 17 19

 GA-8 Airvan - - - - - - 19 20 22 20 17 19

n/a – Manufacturer did not report Continued next page »

01 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 17

1.5 Worldwide Piston Engine Airplane Shipments by Manufacturer (1997-2008) (Continued)

1997 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008

Hawker Beechcraft Corporation 134 137 144 153 136 83 82 93 99 118 111 103

 Beechcraft Bonanza A/G36 85 73 77 85 63 51 55 62 71 80 73 63

 Beechcraft Bonanza B36TC 14 22 20 18 26 5 - - - - - -

 Beechcraft Baron B/G58 35 42 47 50 47 27 27 31 28 38 38 40

Liberty Aerospace 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 29 38 33

 XL2 - - - - - - - - 2 29 38 33

Maule Air Incorporated 54 63 68 57 54 46 31 25 27 38 36 27

 M-4-180A - - - - - - - - 1 - - -

 M-4-180V - - - - - - - - - 7 5 -

 M-6-235 - - - 1 - - - - - - - -

 M-7-235, A, B, C 18 11 24 24 19 21 12 8 11 8 6 7

 M-7-260, C - 2 16 10 11 3 4 3 4 2 4 4

 MT-7-235 2 6 4 5 16 12 7 1 2 9 2 6

 MT-7-260 - - 2 1 4 1 - - 2 4 - -

 MX-7-160, C - - 1 - - - - - - - - -

 MX-7-180, A, B, C, AC 9 11 3 3 1 4 6 5 3 4 6 4

 MXT-7-160 - 5 - - - - - - - - - -

 MXT-7-180, A, AC 25 28 18 13 3 5 2 8 4 4 12 6

 M-8-235 - - - - - - - - - - 1 -

Micco 0 0 0 6 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

 SP-20 - - - 5 - - - - - - - -

 SP-26 - - - 1 10 - - - - - - -

Mooney 86 93 97 100 29 10 36 37 85 75 79 65

 M20J Allegro 19 17 - - - - - - - - - -

 M20K Encore 15 18 - - - - - - - - - -

 M20M Bravo 18 17 25 26 8 - 5 9 20 5 1 -

 M20R Ovation 34 41 24 - - - - - - - - -

 M20R Ovation 2 - - 10 55 16 8 30 28 65 63 20 21

 M20S Eagle - - 38 - - - - - - - - -

 M20S Eagle 2 - - - 19 5 2 1 - - - - -

 M20TN Acclaim - - - - - - - - - 7 58 44

Piper Aircraft, Inc. 222 295 341 377 343 265 205 163 193 189 168 216

 PA-28-161 Warrior III 10 20 20 43 32 29 31 18 37 19 27 23

 PA-28-181 Archer III 47 90 107 102 88 38 49 19 16 29 16 7

 PA-28R-201 Arrow IV 3 2 6 18 23 26 16 12 9 5 8 1

 PA-32-301FT Piper 6X - - - - - - 10 24 18 10 12 0

 PA-32-301XTC Piper 6XT - - - - - - 11 14 16 11 - -

 PA-32R-301 Saratoga II HP 38 27 28 28 22 5 9 9 8 10 - -

 PA-32-301T Saratoga II TC 26 45 52 70 68 45 28 31 37 37 39 12

 PA-34-220T Seneca V 38 54 57 42 38 43 28 10 12 26 22 27

 PA-44-180 Seminole 7 2 8 11 62 60 16 11 29 11 14 24

 PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage 53 55 63 63 10 19 7 15 11 31 30 21

 PA-46R-350T Matrix - - - - - - - - - - - 101

Quartz Mountain Aerospace 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11

 QMA 11E - - - - - - - - - - - 11

Symphony Aircraft (prev. OMF) 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 1 10 5 0 0

 Symphony 160 - - - - - - 19 1 10 5 - -

Pacific Aerospace Corporation 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0

 CT/4E Airtrainer - - - - - - - 6 - - - -

SOCATA 32 39 37 48 63 70 40 5 9 0 0 0

 TB-9 Tampico 14 14 0 2 2 3 2 0 1 - - -

 TB-10 4 0 2 5 8 7 7 3 4 - - -

 TB-20 11 20 31 26 33 44 19 0 1 - - -

 TB-21 1 2 4 8 12 14 9 2 3 - - -

 TB-200 2 3 0 7 8 2 3 0 0 - - -

Tiger Aircraft 0 0 0 0 0 14 18 19 15 3 0 0

 AG-5B Tiger - - - - - 14 18 19 15 3 - -

Total Number of Airplanes 1123 1606 1801 1980 1792 1721 1896 2051 2465 2755 2675 2119

 % Change 40% 43% 12% 10% -9% -4% 10% 8% 20% 12% -3% -21%

Total Billings for Airplanes ($M) 238 377 440 512 541 483 545 692 805 857 897 945

 % Change 25% 58% 17% 16% 6% -11% 13% 27% 16% 6% 5% 5%

General Aviation Shipments and Billings
18 General aviation manufacturers association

1.6 U.S. Manufactured General Aviation Airplanes by Units Shipped, Number of Companies Reporting

and Factory Net Billings (1946-2008)

Year Units Shipped Companies Reporting Factory Net Billings ($Millions)

1946 35,000 - 111.0

1947 15,594 15 57.9

1948 7,037 12 32.4

1949 3,405 11 17.7

1950 3,386 13 19.1

1951 2,302 12 16.8

1952 3,058 8 26.8

1953 3,788 7 34.4

1954 3,071 7 43.4

1955 4,434 7 68.2

1956 6,738 8 103.7

1957 6,118 9 99.6

1958 6,414 10 101.9

1959 7,689 9 129.8

1960 7,588 8 151.2

1961 6,778 8 124.3

1962 6,697 7 136.8

1963 7,569 7 153.4

1964 9,336 8 198.8

1965 11,852 8 318.2

1966 15,768 10 444.9

1967 13,577 14 359.6

1968 13,698 14 425.7

1969 12,457 14 584.5

1970 7,292 13 337.0

1971 7,466 11 321.5

1972 9,774 12 557.6

1973 13,646 12 828.1

1974 14,166 12 909.4

1975 14,056 12 1,032.9

1976 15,451 12 1,225.5

1977 16,904 12 1,488.1

1978 17,811 12 1,781.2

1979 17,048 12 2,165.0

1980 11,877 12 2,486.2

1981 9,457 12 2,919.9

1982 4,266 11 1,999.5

1983 2,691 10 1,469.5

1984 2,431 9 1,680.7

1985 2,029 9 1,430.6

1986 1,495 9 1,261.9

1987 1,085 9 1,363.5

1988R 1,212 11 1,922.9

1989 1,535 11 1,803.9

1990 1,144 14 2,007.5

1991 1,021 14 1,968.3

1992 941 16 1,839.6

1993 964 16 2,143.8

1994 928 13 2,357.1

1995 1,077 13 2,841.9

1996R 1,115 13 3,047.5

1997R 1,549 12 4,592.9

1998 2,200 12 5,761.2

1999 2,504 13 7,843.0

2000 2,816 15 8,558.4

2001R 2,634 14 8,641.1

2002R 2,207 12 7,719.2

2003 2,137 13 6,433.9

2004 2,355 13 6,815.7

2005 2,857 13 8,666.8

2006R 3,147 16 10,367.3

2007 3,279 16 11,940.8

2008 3,079 15 13,348.1

R = Revised Source: GAMA

01 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 19
20 General aviation manufacturers association

1.7 General Aviation Airplane Shipments by Type Manufactured in the U.S. (1960-2008)

Year Grand Total Single-Engine Multi-Engine Total Piston Turboprop Turbojet/ Turbofan Total Turbine

1960 7,588 6,569 1,019 7,588 0 0 0

1961 6,756 5,995 761 6,756 0 0 0

1962 6,697 5,690 1,007 6,697 0 0 0

1963 7,569 6,248 1,321 7,569 0 0 0

1964 9,336 7,718 1,606 9,324 9 3 12

1965 11,852 9,873 1,780 11,653 87 112 199

1966 15,768 13,250 2,192 15,442 165 161 326

1967 13,577 11,557 1,773 13,330 149 98 247

1968 13,698 11,398 1,959 13,357 248 93 341

1969 12,457 10,054 2,078 12,132 214 111 325

1970 7,292 5,942 1,159 7,101 135 56 191

1971 7,466 6,287 1,043 7,330 89 47 136

1972 9,774 7,898 1,548 9,446 179 149 328

1973 13,646 10,780 2,413 13,193 247 206 453

1974 14,166 11,562 2,135 13,697 250 219 469

1975 14,056 11,439 2,116 13,555 305 196 501

1976 15,449 12,783 2,120 14,903 359 187 546

1977 16,907 14,057 2,195 16,252 428 227 655

1978 17,811 14,398 2,634 17,032 548 231 779

1979 17,050 13,286 2,843 16,129 639 282 921

1980 11,860 8,640 2,116 10,756 778 326 1,104

1981 9,457 6,608 1,542 8,150 918 389 1,307

1982 4,266 2,871 678 3,549 458 259 717

1983 2,691 1,811 417 2,228 321 142 463

1984 2,431 1,620 371 1,991 271 169 440

1985 2,029 1,370 193 1,563 321 145 466

1986 1,495 985 138 1,123 250 122 372

1987 1,085 613 87 700 263 122 385

1988 1,143 628 67 695 291 157 448

1989 1,535 1,023 87 1,110 268 157 425

1990 1,144 608 87 695 281 168 449

1991 1,021 564 49 613 222 186 408

1992 941 552 41 593 177 171 348

1993 964 516 39 555 211 198 409

1994R 929 444 55 499 208 222 430

1995 1,077 515 61 576 255 246 501

1996R 1,171 607 42 649 289 233 522

1997R 1,562 898 86 984 236 342 578

1998R 2,212 1,434 94 1,528 271 413 684

1999R 2,530 1,634 114 1,748 265 517 782

2000R 2,816 1,810 103 1,913 315 588 903

2001R 2,631 1,581 147 1,728 303 600 903

2002R 2,207 1,366 130 1,496 187 524 711

2003 2,137 1,519 71 1,590 163 384 547

2004 2,355 1,706 52 1,758 194 403 597

2005 2,857 2,024 71 2,095 240 522 762

2006R 3,147 2,208 79 2,287 256 604 860

2007 3,279 2,097 77 2,174 290 815 1,105

2008 3,079 1,700 91 1,791 333 955 1,288

R = Revised

This table was updated for turboprops in the 2008 data book for the years 1994 and 1996 through 2002 due to an entry error in earlier data books.

Source: GAMA

01 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 21

Figure 1.3 General Aviation Billings of Airplanes Manufactured in the U.S. (1974-2008)

Figure 1.2 General Aviation Shipments of Airplanes Manufactured in the U.S. (1974-2008) 14,166 14,056 15,451 16,904 17,811 17,048 11,877 9,457 4,266 2,691 2,431 2,029 1,495 1,085 1,212 1,535 1,144 1,021 941 964 928 1,077 1,115 1,549 2,200

2,5042,8162,6322,2072,1372,3552,8573,1473,2793,079

20,000

18,000

16,000

14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0

Units

19741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987

1988R

1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001

2002R

200320042005200620072008

9091,0331,2261,4881,7812,1652,4862,9202,0001,4701,6811,4311,2621,3641,9231,8042,0081,9681,8402,1442,3572,8423,0484,5935,7617,8438,5588,6417,7196,4346,8168,66710,36711,94113,348

14,000

13,000

12,000

11,000

10,000

9,000

8,000

7,000

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0

$ Millions

19741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987

1988R

1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001

2002R

200320042005200620072008

R = Revised Source: GAMA

General Aviation Shipments and Billings

R = Revised Source: GAMA
22 General aviation manufacturers association

1.8 Estimated Billings (in Millions) for New U.S. Manufactured General Aviation Airplane Shipments by Type (1978-2008)

Year Grand Total Single-Engine Multi-Engine Total Piston Turboprop Turbojet/ Turbofan Total Turbine

1978 $1,781 $516 $493 $1,009 $394 $378 $772

1979 2,165 523 555 1,078 548 540 1,088

1980 2,486 391 403 794 875 816 1,691

1981 2,920 327 348 675 1,120 1,125 2,245

1982 2,000 200 220 420 590 990 1,580

1983 1,470 145 115 260 460 750 1,210

1984 1,681 147 133 280 436 966 1,402

1985 1,431 126 68 194 524 713 1,237

1986 1,262 80 43 123 430 709 1,139

1987 1,364 80 18 98 477 789 1,266

1988 1,918 66 12 78 596 1,242 1,838

1989 1,804 104 24 128 524 1,149 1,673

1990 2,008 68 24 92 644 1,272 1,916

1991 1,968 * * 93 527 1,348 1,875

1992 1,840 * * 96 460 1,284 1,744

1993 2,144 * * 76 595 1,473 2,068

1994 2,357 * * 81 595 1,681 2,276

1995 2,842 * * 123 653 2,066 2,719

1996 3,048 * * 142 715 2,191 2,906

1997 4,580 * * 200 727 3,653 4,380

1998 5,761 * * 330 763 4,668 5,431

1999 7,843 * * 385 658 6,800 7,458

2000 8,558 * * 446 934 7,178 8,112

2001 8,641 * * 471 742 7,428 8,170

2002R 7,719 * * 389 487 6,843 7,330

2003 6,434 * * 440 411 5,583 5,994

2004 6,816 * * 568 555 5,693 6,248

2005 8,667 * * 712 749 7,205 7,954

2006R 10,367 * * 722 853 8,792 9,645

2007 11,941 * * 712 1,001 10,227 11,228

2008 13,348 * * 836 1,172 11,340 12,513

R = Revised

Some totals do not add up due to rounding.

Source: GAMA

01 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 23
24 General aviation manufacturers association

1.9 U.S. Manufactured General Aviation Airplane Shipments by Year and Quarter (1978-2008)

Year Quarter I Quarter II Quarter III Quarter IV Year End

1978 4,176 4,621 4,672 4,342 17,811

1979 4,259 4,602 4,426 3,761 17,048

1980 3,512 2,756 2,796 2,813 11,877

1981 2,389 2,631 2,529 1,908 9,457

1982 1,390 1,126 890 860 4,266

1983 659 709 717 606 2,691

1984 523 563 681 664 2,431

1985 455 519 581 474 2,029

1986 285 364 393 453 1,495

1987 227 330 239 289 1,085

1988 260 291 252 340 1,143

1989 304 361 425 445 1,535

1990 269 294 274 297 1,144

1991 250 262 237 272 1,021

1992 193 200 238 225 941

1993 170 194 246 260 964

1994 181 225 209 266 928

1995 208 248 257 315 1,077

1996 229 284 230 310 1,115

1997 253 337 367 525 1,549

1998 481 486 546 602 2,200

1999 502 611 606 702 2,504

2000 613 704 685 712 2,816

2001 568 711 586 673 2,632

2002 442 576 510 641 2,207

2003 393 526 492 679 2,137

2004 416 466 641 790 2,355

2005 496 726 700 888 2,857

2006R 676 785 786 900 3,147

2007 628 790 787 1,074 3,279

2008 558 878 860 783 3,079

R = Revised 

Quarterly figures do not add up to annual because some manufacturers reported annual shipments only.

Source: GAMA

1.10 U.S. Civil Airplane Imports and Dollar Value (in Millions) (2003-2007)

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Units Dollars Units Dollars Units Dollars Units Dollars Units Dollars

Single-Engine 334 $205.7 293 $228.8 313 $255.5 394 $334.4 388 $304.7

Multi-Engine 

Under 4,400 lbs 1 $0.3 1 $0.1 0 $0.0 37 $17.5 81 $37.7

Multi-Engine 

4,400-10,000 lbs 10 $29.4 9 $33.8 13 $57.2 19 $87.8 20 $105.4

Multi-Engine-Turbojet/Turbofan 

10,000-33,000 lbs. 320 $5,805.0 237 $4,275.0 184 $3,367.0 189 $3,496.0 219 $3,998.3

Multi-Engine-Other-Including Turboshaft 

10,000-33,000 lbs. 0 $0.0 4 $63.8 2 $6.2 6 $50.7 4 $69.5

Total 665 $6,040.4 544 $4,601.5 512 $3,679.8 645 $3,986.3 712 $4,515.7

Note: DoC data includes regional jets and regional turboprop airplanes in the 10,000 - 33,000 lbs category.

01 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 25

1.11 New U.S. Manufactured General Aviation Airplane Exports (1978-2008)

Year Units Exported % of Total Production Factory Net Billings (in Millions) % of Total Billings

1978 3,612 20.3% $486.7 27.3%

1979 3,995 23.4% 600.9 27.8%

1980 3,555 29.9% 756.4 30.4%

1981 2,270 24.0% 749.0 25.7%

1982 1,162 27.2% 650.2 32.5%

1983 513 19.1% 316.5 21.5%

1984 334 13.7% 260.7 15.5%

1985 354 17.4% 230.0 16.1%

1986 441 29.5% 343.6 27.2%

1987 439 40.5% 469.3 34.4%

1988 425 37.2% 626.8 32.7%

1989 566 36.9% 587.0 32.5%

1990 458 40.0% 872.2 43.4%

1991 382 37.4% 807.0 41.0%

1992 353 39.0% 608.7 33.0%

1993 349 36.2% 856.8 40.0%

1994 277 29.8% 684.2 29.0%

1995 315 29.3% 815.9 28.7%

1996 345 30.5% 903.0 28.9%

1997 449 28.6% 1,504.6 32.2%

1998R 535 24.1% 1,640.1 27.9%

1999 562 22.3% 2,503.8 31.6%

2000 569 20.2% 1,957.5 22.9%

2001 505 19.2% 2,380.6 27.5%

2002R 372 16.8% 1,980.9 25.4%

2003 336 15.7% 1,218.2 18.9%

2004 333 14.1% 1,419.6 20.8%

2005 557 19.5% 2,585.9 29.8%

2006 891 28.3% 4,395.5 42.4%

2007 1,142 34.8% 4,587.0 38.4%

2008 1,161 37.7% 5,863.8 43.9%

R = Revised Source: GAMA

1.12 New U.S. Manufactured General Aviation Airplane Exports by Type (1978-2008)

Year Single-Engine Piston Multi-Engine Piston Turboprop Turbojet/ Turbofan

1978 2,712 652 166 82

1979 2,942 774 181 98

1980 2,565 635 245 110

1981 1,546 363 259 102

1982 718 227 135 82

1983 298 119 66 30

1984 199 79 25 31

1985 208 69 49 28

1986 272 69 68 32

1987 252 60 78 49

1988 220 52 91 62

1989 385 46 78 57

1990 224 57 86 91

1991 204 25 74 79

1992 196 16 90 51

1993 149 23 109 68

1994 84 42 84 67

1995 130 30 85 70

1996 126 24 135 60

1997 199 25 126 99

1998 268 30 131 106

1999 237 23 42 158

2000 285 24 112 148

2001 175 42 118 170

2002 135 23 79 136

2003 168 22 52 94

2004 181 9 55 88

2005 301 18 66 172

2006 535 30 74 252

2007 665 33 131 313

2008 556 40 175 410

Source: GAMA

General Aviation Shipments and Billings
02

26 General aviation manufacturers association
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 27

In the United States there are over 231,000 active aircraft which 

are used in corporate and business aviation, in emergency 

medical service and for personal recreation. These aircraft fly 

over 27 million hours each year, two-thirds of which are for 

business purposes. Around the world, an estimated 320,000 

general aviation aircraft are in operation, flying in excess of 35 

million hours per year.

This section provides a detailed overview of the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA) General Aviation and Part 135 

Activity Survey data, including an overview of the active 

general aviation fleet and the hours flown based on primary 

operating category.

The FAA’s GA survey categorizes the uses of general aviation 

aircraft as follows: personal and recreational flying; corporate 

and executive flying (flying with a paid, professional crew); and 

business transportation (individual use of an airplane without 

a paid, professional crew). In addition, the following forms of 

business operations are included in general aviation operations: 

instructional flying (operations under the supervision of a flight 

instructor); sight-seeing (commercial sight-seeing operations 

under FAR Part 91); and on-demand Part 135 operations 

including air taxi, charter, and aero-medical operations.

General Aviation 

Fleet and Flight Activity
28 General aviation manufacturers association

Piston Engine Airplanes 166,907

Turboprop Airplanes 9,514

Turbojet Airplanes 10,385

Rotorcraft 9,567

Gliders 1,947

Lighter-Than-Air 3,993

Experimental 23,228

Light Sport Aircraft 6,066

2.1 General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 Number of Aircraft by Primary Use by Aircraft Type (2007)

General Aviation FAR Part 91 Use On-Demand FAR Part 135 Use

Aircraft Type

Total

Active

Personal Business Corporate InstructionalAerial

Apps

Aerial

Obs

Aerial

Other

External

Load

Other

Work

Sight

See

Air

Med 1 Other

Air

Taxi 2

Air

Tours

Air

Med

Total All Aircraft 231,607 152,514 24,993 10,864 14,650 4,164 5,188 1,358 188 936 1,275 222 5,776 7,942 880 657

% Std. Error 1.5 2.0 1.8 0.9 1.7 1.4 1.3 1.2 0.8 1.3 1.5 0.9 1.3 0.7 1.0 0.8

Piston Total 166,907 118,180 21,094 2,433 12,129 2,435 2,795 626 0 413 560 25 2,982 2,774 404 56

% Std. Error 2.4 3.1 2.3 2.2 2.0 5.3 2.1 2.5 0.0 2.2 3.6 0.8 2.3 0.8 1.2 0.6

 One Engine 147,569 109,372 15,543 934 11,284 2,397 2,482 405 0 411 560 18 2,413 1,413 323 15

 Two Engine 19,337 8,808 5,551 1,499 845 38 313 222 0 2 0 7 569 1,361 81 41

Turboprop Total 9,514 1,687 1,822 2,224 117 1,047 471 131 6 85 4 26 428 1,281 31 151

% Std. Error 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.3

 One Engine Total 4,059 961 883 306 44 1,038 30 77 0 36 0 10 91 547 31 4

 Two Engine Total 5,456 726 939 1,918 74 8 441 54 6 49 4 16 337 735 0 147

Turbojet Total 10,385 749 880 5,472 54 3 19 15 0 73 24 7 407 2,594 0 87

% Std. Error 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.4 0.0 0.5 0.4 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.0 0.3

Rotorcraft Total 9,567 1,492 567 537 1,083 585 1,760 505 175 69 97 159 585 1,196 396 362

% Std. Error 0.7 1.0 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.9 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.9

 Piston Total 2,769 910 235 21 866 236 232 33 6 12 63 0 86 54 11 3

 Turbine Total 6,798 582 332 516 217 349 1,528 472 169 56 34 159 499 1,142 384 359

 - One Engine Turbine 5,431 552 304 312 212 342 1,455 391 134 51 34 82 313 738 372 139

 - Two Engine Turbine 1,367 30 28 204 5 7 73 80 35 5 0 77 186 404 12 220

Gliders Total 1,947 1,635 2 10 211 0 0 0 2 8 44 0 34 0 0 0

Lighter-Than-Air Total 3,993 3,091 2 13 119 0 3 2 0 123 513 0 85 2 39 0

Experimental Total 23,228 20,404 594 168 422 93 106 78 4 147 18 4 1,084 95 11 1

 Amateur Built 19,538 17,895 428 5 353 45 26 34 2 70 11 0 670 0 0 0

 Exhibition 2,101 1,807 42 7 29 4 7 7 0 23 0 0 175 0 0 0

 Other 1,589 702 123 156 40 44 73 36 2 54 7 4 240 95 11 1

Light-Sport Total 3 6,066 5,277 32 7 514 2 32 0 0 17 14 0 171 0 0 0

1 Excludes Air Medical Services conducted under FAR Part 135.

2 Excludes Air Tour and Air Medical FAR Part 135.

3 Estimated number of light-sport aircraft has increased significantly in 2007 due to mandatory regulation process changes.

The Use Categories are defined as part of the FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity survey. Starting in 2004, FAR Part 135 Air Taxi, Air Tours, Air Medical, and Commuter use categories were 

added and tabulated separately from other general use categories. Beginning in 2004, commuter activity is excluded from all estimates. 2003 and prior, commuter activity was included in the Air 

Taxi use category. Table cells that are populated by a small number of aircraft may display relatively high standard errors for the corresponding estimates. Estimates in these types of categories also 

may vary noticeably from year to year and should be interpreted with caution. Columns may not add to totals due to rounding procedures.

In 2004, the FAA expanded the General Aviation Air Taxi Activity & Avionics Survey to include 100 percent of turbine and non-scheduled Part 135 airplanes. Similarly, 100 percent of aircraft in Alaska 

were also surveyed. Furthermore, the FAA Registry sample was also adjusted. This change in survey methodogy resulted in improved accuracy in the GAATAA information.

Source: FAA

Figure 2.1 General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 Aircraft by Type (2007)

Piston Engine Airplanes

Turboprop Airplanes

Turbojet Airplanes

Rotorcraft

Gliders

Lighter-Than-Air

Experimental

Light Sport Aircraft

02 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 29

2.2 General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 Total Hours Flown (in Thousands) by Actual Use and Aircraft Type (2007)

General Aviation FAR Part 91 Use On-Demand FAR Part 135 Use

Total

Hours

Personal Business Corporate InstructionalAerial

Apps

Aerial

Obs

Aerial

Other

External

Load

Other

Work

Sight

See

Air

Med 1 Other

Air

Taxi 2

Air

Tours

Air

Med

Total All Aircraft 27,852 8,676 3,094 3,214 3,804 1,415 1,364 371 152 145 160 118 1,305 3,113 508 412 

% Std. Error 1.0 0.9 2.0 3.3 3.5 5.1 5.0 7.4 17.4 14.3 9.6 12.5 5.4 3.9 11.5 9.5 

Piston Total 16,257 6,901 2,321 637 3,076 809 567 143 16 37 74 47 417 1,002 181 28 

% Std. Error 1.8 1.6 3.4 13.3 6.6 11.3 11.5 19.0 49.3 26.6 15.4 12.8 7.8 10.9 25.1 47.5 

 One Engine 13,571 6,281 1,720 302 2,739 807 498 80 16 35 71 43 341 489 142 8 

 Two Engine 2,686 620 601 335 337 2 70 63 - 2 3 5 77 513 39 21 

Turboprop Total 2,661 228 280 539 49 427 174 70 10 20 1 8 181 567 24 84 

% Std. Error 1.2 2.3 2.5 2.4 9.3 3.7 5.1 5.4 13.3 21.3 20.7 7.8 4.3 15.8 9.3 9.1 

 One Engine Total 1,118 113 131 83 21 426 14 16 1 11 0 2 39 233 24 3 

 Two Engine Total 1,544 115 148 456 28 1 160 53 9 10 1 5 142 334 0 82 

Turbojet Total 3,938 250 353 1,818 20 0 6 3 0 17 16 4 387 1,008 0 54 

% Std. Error 0.8 3.2 3.1 1.2 14.2 62.2 21.0 26.8 12.6 21.7 22.0 2.5 2.2 49.9 10.0 0

Rotorcraft Total 3,245 118 72 154 518 149 582 135 123 42 29 57 225 504 296 242 

% Std. Error 1.5 4.9 9.5 7.9 5.2 6.8 4.0 6.8 9.6 18.2 9.3 11.6 10.2 4.2 8.4 5.5 

 Piston Total 704 68 31 4 429 42 61 4 3 3 17 0 18 17 5 2 

 Turbine Total 2,541 51 41 151 89 107 522 130 119 39 12 56 207 486 291 240 

 - One Engine Turbine 1,991 48 37 86 83 104 497 97 96 36 12 32 129 334 286 112 

 - Two Engine Turbine 550 2 4 64 6 3 25 34 23 2 0 24 78 152 5 128 

Gliders Total 108 69 0 2 27 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 4 - - - 

Lighter-Than-Air Total 107 60 0 2 4 - 0 0 0 3 31 0 5 1 2 - 

Experimental Total 1,275 855 65 60 64 29 32 20 3 23 4 2 77 32 4 3 

 Amateur Built 896 733 43 1 48 9 5 10 1 10 2 0 35 - - - 

 Exhibition 102 76 2 2 3 2 1 2 1 2 0 - 11 - - - 

 Other 277 46 20 57 13 18 26 8 1 11 2 2 31 32 4 3 

Light-Sport Total 3 260 195 3 1 46 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 10 - - - 

1 Excludes Air Medical Services conducted under FAR Part 135.

2 Excludes Air Tour and Air Medical FAR Part 135.

3 Estimated number of light-sport aircraft has increased significantly in 2007 due to mandatory regulation process changes.

The Use Categories are defined as part of the FAA General Aviation and Part 135 Activity survey. Starting in 2004, FAR Part 135 Air Taxi, Air Tours, Air Medical, and Commuter use categories were 

added and tabulated separately from other general use categories. Beginning in 2004, commuter activity is excluded from all estimates. 2003 and prior, commuter activity was included in the Air 

Taxi use category. Table cells that are populated by a small number of hours may display relatively high standard errors for the corresponding estimates. Estimates in these types of categories also 

may vary noticeably from year to year and should be interpreted with caution. Columns may not add to totals due to rounding procedures.

In 2004, the FAA expanded the General Aviation Air Taxi Activity & Avionics Survey to include 100 percent of turbine and non-scheduled Part 135 airplanes. Similarly, 100 percent of aircraft in Alaska 

were also surveyed. Furthermore, the FAA Registry sample was also adjusted. This change in survey methodogy resulted in improved accuracy in the GAATAA information.

Source: FAA

Piston Engine Airplanes

Turboprop Airplanes

Turbojet Airplanes

Rotorcraft

Gliders

Lighter-Than-Air

Experimental

Light Sport Aircraft

Figure 2.2 General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 Aircraft by Type and Hours Flown (in Thousands) (2007)

Piston Engine Airplanes 16,257

Turboprop Airplanes 2,661

Turbojet Airplanes 3,938

Rotorcraft 3,245

Gliders 108

Lighter-Than-Air 107

Experimental 1,275

Light Sport Aircraft 260

General Aviation Fleet and Flight Activity
30 General aviation manufacturers association

2.3 General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 Estimated Hours Flown (in Thousands) by Type (1980-2007)

Calendar Year Total Hours

Airplane Rotorcraft Balloons, 

Dirigibles, 

Gliders Experimental

Light Sport 

Piston Turboprop Turbojet Piston Turbine Aircraft

1980 41,016 34,747 2,240 1,332 736 1,603 359 * *

1981 40,704 34,086 2,155 1,387 930 1,754 391 * *

1982 36,457 29,950 2,168 1,611 579 1,771 379 * *

1983 35,249 28,911 2,173 1,473 572 1,700 420 * *

1984 36,119 29,194 2,506 1,566 592 1,903 358 * *

1985 31,456 25,666 1,921 1,498 521 1,468 382 * *

1986 31,782 24,805 2,661 1,527 742 1,682 364 * *

1987 30,883 24,969 2,010 1,411 602 1,506 384 * *

1988 31,114 24,291 2,195 1,554 533 1,974 568 * *

1989 32,332 24,907 2,892 1,527 692 1,918 396 * *

1990 32,096 25,832 2,319 1,396 716 1,493 341 * *

1991 29,862 23,919 1,628 1,071 549 2,214 483 * *

1992 26,747 21,417 1,582 1,076 423 1,842 407 * *

1993 24,455 19,321 1,192 1,212 391 1,308 338 785 *

1994 24,092 18,823 1,142 1,238 369 1,408 388 724 *

1995 26,612 20,251 1,490 1,455 337 1,624 261 1,194 *

1996 26,909 20,091 1,768 1,543 591 1,531 227 1,158 *

1997 27,713 20,744 1,655 1,713 344 1,740 192 1,327 *

1998 28,100 20,402 1,765 2,226 430 1,912 295 1,071 *

1999 31,231 22,529 1,797 2,721 552 2,077 309 1,246 *

2000 29,960 21,493 1,986 2,648 530 1,661 362 1,280 *

2001 27,017 19,194 1,773 2,654 474 1,479 287 1,157 *

2002R 27,040 18,891 1,850 2,745 454 1,422 333 1,345 *

2003 27,329 19,013 1,922 2,704 448 1,687 263 1,292 *

2004 28,126 18,142 2,161 3,718 514 2,020 249 1,322 *

2005 26,982 16,434 2,106 3,771 617 2,439 267 1,339 9

2006 27,705 16,525 2,162 4,077 918 2,528 211 1,218 66

2007 27,852 16,257 2,661 3,938 704 2,541 215 1,275 260

R = Revised

Starting in 1993 commuters were excluded.

In 2004, the survey coverage was expanded for turbine airplanes and rotorcraft, accounting for part of the increase in hours.

Estimated number of light-sport aircraft has increased significantly in 2007 due to mandatory regulation process changes.

Source: FAA

2.4 General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 Estimated Active Aircraft by Type (1980-2007)

Calendar Year Total Aircraft

Airplane Rotorcraft Balloons, 

Dirigibles, 

Gliders Experimental

Light Sport 

Piston Turboprop Turbojet Piston Turbine Aircraft

1980 211,039 193,012 4,089 2,992 2,794 3,207 4,945 * *

1981 213,219 193,367 4,659 3,170 3,250 3,724 5,049 * *

1982 209,778 189,195 5,186 3,996 2,419 3,749 5,233 * *

1983 213,292 191,479 5,453 3,898 2,541 3,998 5,923 * *

1984 220,941 197,442 5,808 4,320 2,936 4,160 6,275 * *

1985 210,853 188,191 5,607 4,374 2,877 3,541 6,263 * *

1986 219,325 195,647 5,244 4,481 2,921 4,022 7,010 * *

1987 217,202 194,454 5,274 4,358 2,813 3,520 6,783 * *

1988 210,246 187,536 5,259 4,188 2,584 3,822 6,857 * *

1989 219,738 193,815 6,324 4,402 3,244 4,232 7,721 * *

1990 212,230 187,774 5,652 4,375 3,459 3,938 7,032 * *

1991 196,874 173,518 4,941 4,126 2,390 3,848 8,051 * *

1992 185,650 162,881 4,786 4,004 2,348 3,631 8,000 * *

1993 177,120 149,156 4,116 3,663 1,846 2,875 5,037 10,426 *

1994 172,935 142,152 4,092 3,914 1,627 3,101 5,906 12,144 *

1995 188,089 152,788 4,995 4,559 1,863 3,967 4,741 15,176 *

1996 191,129 153,551 5,716 4,424 2,507 4,063 4,244 16,625 *

1997 192,414 156,056 5,619 5,178 2,259 4,527 4,092 14,680 *

1998 204,710 162,963 6,174 6,066 2,545 4,881 5,580 16,502 *

1999 219,464 171,923 5,679 7,120 2,564 4,884 6,765 20,528 *

2000 217,534 170,513 5,762 7,001 2,680 4,470 6,701 20,407 *

2001 211,446 163,314 6,596 7,787 2,292 4,491 6,545 20,421 *

2002R 211,244 161,087 6,841 8,355 2,351 4,297 6,377 21,936 *

2003 209,708 160,938 7,689 7,997 2,123 4,403 6,008 20,550 *

2004 219,426 165,189 8,379 9,298 2,315 5,506 5,939 22,800 *

2005 224,352 167,608 7,942 9,823 3,039 5,689 6,454 23,627 170

2006 221,942 163,743 8,063 10,379 3,264 5,895 6,278 23,047 1,273

2007 231,607 166,907 9,514 10,385 2,769 6,798 5,940 23,228 6,066

R = Revised

Starting in 1993 commuters were excluded.

In 2004, the survey coverage was expanded for turbine airplanes and rotorcraft, accounting for part of the increase in hours.

Estimated number of light-sport aircraft has increased significantly in 2007 due to mandatory regulation process changes.

Source: FAA

02 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 31

2.5 Active General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 Aircraft and Average Hours Flown (in Thousands) 

per Aircraft by Type (2003-2007)

Aircraft Type

Estimated Active Aircraft Estimated Average Hours / Aircraft / Year

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

All Aircraft Total 209,708 219,426 224,352 221,943 231,607 130 128 120 125

Piston Total 160,938 165,189 167,608 163,743 166,907 118 110 98 101 97

One Engine 143,265 146,613 148,101 145,036 147,569 116 105 93 96 92

1-3 seats 38,497 39,283 39,671 37,733 36,366 92 94 79 79 76

4 + seats 104,768 107,330 108,430 107,303 111,203 125 109 98 103 97

Two Engine 17,491 18,469 19,412 18,708 19,337 133 150 138 136 139

1-6 seats 12,816 13,024 13,192 12,919 14,342 116 131 117 118 122

7 + seats 4,675 5,445 6,220 5,788 4,996 179 194 182 178 188

Other Piston 182 107 92 n/a n/a 87 146 191 n/a n/a

Turboprop Total 7,689 8,379 7,942 8,063 9,514 250 258 265 268 280

One Engine 1,821 2,468 2,595 2,576 4,059 285 308 326 331 275

Two Engine 5,790 5,858 5,307 5,487 5,456 242 238 236 239 283

1-12 seats 4,736 5,027 4,427 4,744 4,567 221 225 223 229 266

13 + seats 1,054 831 880 744 889 339 315 300 302 370

Other Turboprop 78 54 40 n/a n/a 10 139 208 n/a n/a

Turbojet/fan Total 7,997 9,298 9,823 10,379 10,385 338 400 384 393 379

Two Engine 7,465 8,649 9,097 n/a n/a 333 401 384 n/a n/a

Other Turbojet/fan 532 650 727 n/a n/a 410 391 389 n/a n/a

Rotorcraft Total 6,525 7,821 8,728 9,159 9,567 327 324 350 376 339

Piston 2,123 2,315 3,039 3,264 2,769 211 222 203 281 254

Turbine 4,403 5,506 5,689 5,895 6,798 383 367 429 429 374

One Engine 3,550 4,376 4,537 4,627 5,431 360 352 411 423 367

Two Engine 853 1,130 1,151 1,268 1,367 482 426 501 450 402

Gliders Total 2,002 2,116 2,074 1,975 1,947 59 56 58 54 55

Lighter-than-air Total 4,006 3,823 4,380 4,303 3,993 36 34 33 24 27

Experimental Total 20,550 22,800 23,627 23,047 23,228 63 58 57 53 55

Amateur 17,028 19,165 19,817 19,316 19,538 57 52 50 47 46

Exhibition 2,031 2,070 2,120 2,103 2,101 51 56 53 49 48

Other 1,491 1,565 1,691 1,629 1,589 151 138 142 132 174

Light Sport Aircraft 0 0 170 1,273 6,066 0 0 55 52 43

Columns may not add due to rounding and estimation procedures

Estimated number of light-sport aircraft has increased significantly in 2007 due to mandatory regulation process changes.

Source: FAA

General Aviation Fleet and Flight Activity
32 General aviation manufacturers association

2.7 Average Age of Registered General Aviation Fleet (2005-2008)

Aircraft Type Engine Type Seats

Average Age in 2005 

in Years

Average Age in 2006 

in Years

Average Age in 2007 

in Years

Average Age in 2008

in Years

Single-Engine Piston 1-3 37 38 38 48

4 35 36 36 38

5-7 30 31 32 34

8+ 44 44 43 49

Turboprop All 13 10 14 14

Jet All 34 34 35 44

Multi-Engine Piston 1-3 32 32 33 49

4 35 35 35 36

5-7 36 36 39 39

8+ 38 39 40 42

Turboprop All 25 26 27 29

Jet All 16 16 16 16

All Airplanes 34 35 35 39

Source: GAMA

2.6 Total Fuel Consumed and Average Fuel Consumption Rate by Aircraft Type (2007)

Fuel Type

Fixed Wing Rotorcraft

Other Aircraft Experimental Light Sport

Total All 

Piston Turboprop Turbojet Piston Turbine Aircraft

Jet Fuel

Avg. Rate (GPH) 57.7 86.1 291.7 27 56 * 150.2 75 162.3

Estimated Fuel Use (Thousand Gal.) 5,222.1 202,704.1 1,133,627.7 498.8 141,567.8 * 32,744.7 10.7 1,516,375.9

% Standard Error 21.3 1.6 1.1 10.4 3.1 * 8.5 0 1.1

100 Low-Lead

Avg. Rate (GPH) 14.4 33.4 198.3 13 22.8 8 11.1 5.4 14.3

Estimated Fuel Use (Thousand Gal.) 256,800.2 13,550.9 1,088.8 7272.1 3,829.2 26.8 9,371.9 221.7 292,161.6

% Standard Error 3.8 6.8 14.4 3.5 7.8 * 6 3.6 2.9

100 Octane

Avg. Rate (GPH) 21 26.1 * 11.6 15.5 * 11.7 4.7 20.1

Estimated Fuel Use (Thousand Gal.) 21,289 223.3 * 561.8 37.3 * 447 14.9 22,573.3

% Standard Error 8.3 14.6 * 14.1 43.6 * 14.1 21.3 6.5

Automotive Gasoline

Avg. Rate (GPH) 9.6 * * 8.7 * * 5.6 4.4 7.1

Estimated Fuel Use (Thousand Gal.) 6,719.8 * * 17.5 * * 969.5 999.8 8,706.6

% Standard Error 16.8 * * 36.5 * * 3.7 3.9 4.3

Other Fuel

Avg. Rate (GPH) 9.9 * * * * 18 10.7 3.7 16.6

Estimated Fuel Use (Thousand Gal.) 302.9 * * * * 1,967.9 61 11.8 2,343.5

% Standard Error 17.5 * * * * 5.9 14 11.2 5

Total Fuel Use

Avg. Rate (GPH) 14.8 77.8 291.5 13.2 52.1 18 17.7 4.5 31.1

Estimated Fuel Use (Thousand Gal.) 290,506.4 216,478.3 1,134,269.7 8,370 145,434.3 1,994.7 43,596.6 1,258.9 3.2

% Standard Error 3.5 1.6 1.1 3.3 3 6 8.4 3.2 2.4

A new methodoloy was used for fuel information in the 2005 General Aviation and Air Taxi Actvity survey compared to previous years.

Columns may not add to totals due to rounding procedures. An asterisk indicates no active aircraft of that type reporting use of the fuel.

Source: FAA Survey

02 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 33

2.8 Active General Aviation Aircraft by U.S. Region and State (2000-2007)

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Alaskan – Total 5,925 5,714 5,718 5,489 6,207 6,217 6,201 6,111

Central – Total 12,173 11,939 11,486 11,694 12,622 12,156 12,560 12,769

Iowa 2,772 3,156 2,742 2,899 3,035 2,943 2,798 2,982

Kansas 3,611 3,361 3,122 3,141 3,750 3,330 3,393 3,044

Missouri 3,777 3,503 3,893 3,919 3,902 3,774 4,312 4,616

Nebraska 2,013 1,919 1,729 1,734 1,936 2,109 2,057 2,127

Eastern – Total 25,606 25,595 25,688 25,969 25,999 26,986 25,903 25,888

Delaware 2,068 1,938 1,957 2,256 2,365 2,596 2,409 2,494

District of Columbia 152 39 11 30 37 48 34 41

Maryland 3,436 2,784 2,367 3,214 2,550 3,123 2,317 2,699

New Jersey 3,791 3,917 3,647 3,341 3,466 3,944 3,683 3,369

New York 6,082 5,570 6,180 6,205 5,959 5,437 5,829 5,661

Pennsylvania 5,648 5,825 5,806 5,590 6,281 6,041 5,865 5,881

Virginia 3,354 4,451 4,524 4,472 4,455 4,590 4,809 4,642

West Virginia 1,075 1,071 1,196 862 888 1,208 957 1,101

Great Lakes – Total 37,915 36,743 36,067 34,997 35,602 36,777 36,616 37,703

Illinois 7,478 6,041 5,976 5,895 6,942 6,283 5,841 6,872

Indiana 3,964 4,143 3,574 4,550 4,173 3,987 3,909 4,862

Michigan 7,236 6,234 7,375 5,694 6,975 6,274 6,229 6,443

Minnesota 5,141 5,928 5,229 4,241 4,861 5,728 5,414 5,086

North Dakota 1,585 1,434 1,224 1,322 812 1,350 1,533 1,236

Ohio 6,486 7,325 6,719 7,391 6,458 6,630 7,108 6,189

South Dakota 1,376 971 1,331 960 1,156 1,281 1,293 1,143

Wisconsin 6,449 4,667 4,639 4,944 4,226 5,244 5,290 5,872

New England – Total 8,074 7,910 7,799 8,000 8,679 8,444 7,968 8,596

Connecticut 1,793 1,573 1,597 1,790 1,780 2,120 2,090 2,296

Maine 1,086 1,207 913 1,210 1,238 1,370 948 1,463

Massachusetts 2,717 2,600 2,843 2,580 2,985 2,636 2,655 2,738

New Hampshire 1,485 1,753 1,455 1,472 1,566 1,282 1,320 1,425

Rhode Island 393 232 294 384 383 523 320 243

Vermont 600 546 698 565 726 514 636 431

N.W. Mountain – Total 24,252 24,092 24,471 23,402 24,710 26,071 26,260 28,393

Colorado 5,246 5,104 5,625 5,343 5,222 5,755 5,623 5,441

Idaho 2,328 2,504 2,548 2,156 2,193 2,664 2,786 2,747

Montana 2,374 2,180 2,324 2,274 2,200 2,408 2,911 3,110

Oregon 4,687 4,955 5,219 4,669 5,384 5,029 4,800 6,029

Utah 1,673 1,653 1,805 1,316 1,923 1,936 1,856 2,057

Washington 7,166 6,666 6,043 6,143 6,623 7,154 7,042 7,722

Wyoming 778 1,030 906 1,501 1,166 1,125 1,241 1,287

Southern – Total 39,271 38,623 39,076 39,503 41,146 42,092 40,821 42,595

Alabama 3,480 3,012 3,423 3,249 3,712 3,495 4,477 3,719

Florida 14,096 14,773 13,188 14,236 15,385 15,776 14,226 16,341

Georgia 4,809 5,324 6,098 4,981 5,490 5,381 5,762 4,758

Kentucky 2,033 2,191 2,109 2,165 1,870 1,778 1,497 2,073

Mississippi 2,038 1,893 1,811 2,198 2,563 2,068 2,159 1,939

North Carolina 5,620 5,272 5,727 5,830 5,602 6,298 6,106 5,917

Puerto Rico 278 373 368 367 319 372 182 348

South Carolina 2,689 2,152 2,422 2,505 2,271 2,690 2,236 3,214

Tennessee 4,228 3,610 3,912 3,909 3,906 4,148 4,156 4,286

Southwest – Total 31,611 28,557 28,174 29,615 30,776 30,820 31,299 33,909

Arkansas 2,660 2,730 2,807 3,286 2,621 2,467 2,382 2,575

Louisiana 3,012 2,355 2,488 2,886 2,721 3,030 2,393 2,857

New Mexico 2,990 2,486 2,272 2,784 3,088 3,076 3,375 4,221

Oklahoma 4,080 3,421 3,693 3,770 4,347 3,910 4,734 4,021

Texas 18,869 17,564 16,915 16,889 17,999 18,338 18,415 20,235

Western-Pacific – Total 32,666 32,274 32,764 31,038 33,683 34,788 34,314 35,492

Arizona 6,062 6,707 5,506 5,072 6,607 5,867 6,438 7,636

California 23,454 22,708 24,448 23,501 23,700 25,337 23,854 23,813

Hawaii 435 282 356 414 331 481 619 531

Nevada 2,715 2,563 2,427 2,034 3,033 2,990 3,374 3,512

Other U.S. Territories * 42 * * * * * 154

Grand Total 217,533 211,446 211,244 209,708 219,426 224,352 221,943 231,607

Columns may not add up due to rounding procedures Source: FAA

General Aviation Fleet and Flight Activity
34 General aviation manufacturers association

2.9 Summary of U.S. General Aviation Operations and Contacts (in Thousands) (1994-2007) 

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999R 2000R 2001R 2002R 2003R 2004R 2005R 2006R 2007E

GA IFR Aircraft Handled at Air 

Route Traffic Control Centers 7,685 7,824 7,857 8,239 8,745 8,808 8,744 8,024 8,181 8,000 8,350 8,368 8,197 8,294

GA Instrument Operations at FAA 

& Contract Facilities1 18,049 18,092 17,889 19,093 20,087 20,898 21,222 19,706 19,656 18,630 18,620 17,986 * *

GA Instrument Operations at 

Airports with FAA Traffic Control 

Facilities * * * * * * 20,799 19,275 19,213 18,094 18,007 17,394 17,011 16,752

Total Aircraft Contacts at Flight 

Service Stations 3,509 3,206 2,971 2,804 2,600 2,524 2,438 2,196 2,170 2,050 1,976 * * *

R = Revised, E = Estimated 

Facilities includes Control Towers, TRACONs, CERAPs and RAPCONs

ATADS Provides the Traffic Count for GA Operations Data.

1. The FAA suspended tracking of IFR operations at Contract Facilities in 2005.

Source: FAA Air Traffic Activity

2.10 Summary of U.S. General Aviation Operations (in Thousands) at FAA and Contract Control Towers (1994-2007)

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999R 2000R 2001R 2002R 2003R 2004R 2005R 2006R 2007E

GA Total Operations at Airports 

with FAA Control Towers 34,092 32,265 29,250 28,232 28,522 29,110 27,002 24,784 24,092 22,598 21,762 20,705 11,897 19,367

– Itinerant Operations at 

FAA Contract Towers 20,208 1,886 17,575 17,097 17,157 17,422 16,286 14,949 14,553 13,577 13,190 12,430 7,830 11,616

– Local Operations at 

FAA Control Towers 14,484 13,379 11,675 11,135 11,365 11,688 10,717 9,835 9,539 9,021 8,572 8,275 13,392 7,751

GA Total Operations at Airports 

with Control Towers 1,561 3,661 6,049 8,601 10,118 10,890 12,876 12,843 13,562 12,926 13,205 13,456 13,392 13,768

– Itinerant Operations at 

Contract Towers 855 1,974 3,249 4,572 5,240 5,597 6,558 6,484 6,898 6,654 6,817 6,885 6,549 6,961

– Local Operations at 

Contract Towers 706 1,687 2,801 4,029 4,877 5,292 6,318 6,359 6,634 6,272 6,388 6,571 33,120 6,807

GA Total Airport Operations at 

FAA & Contract Control Towers 36,254 35,927 35,298 36,833 38,046 40,000 39,879 37,627 37,653 35,524 34,968 34,161 33,131 33,135

R = Revised, E = Estimated

Facilities includes Control Towers, TRACONs, CERAPs and RAPCONs

ATADS Provides the Traffic Count for GA Operations Data.

Source: FAA Air Traffic Activity

2.11 Estimated Active Experimental Aircraft Fleet (1994-2007)

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Amateur Built 8,833 9,328 11,566 10,261 13,189 16,858 16,739 16,736 18,168 17,028 19,165 19,817 19,316 19,538

Exhibition 637 2,245 2,094 1,798 1,630 1,999 1,973 2,052 2,190 2,031 2,070 2,120 2,103 2,101

Other 2,674 3,603 2,965 2,620 1,684 1,671 1,694 1,633 1,578 1,491 1,565 1,691 1,629 1,589

Total Experimental 12,144 15,176 16,625 14,679 16,503 20,528 20,406 20,421 21,936 20,550 22,800 23,628 23,048 23,228

% of G.A. Fleet 7.0% 8.1% 8.7% 7.6% 8.1% 9.4% 9.4% 9.7% 10.4% 9.8% 10.4% 10.5% 10.4% 10.0%

Source: FAA

2.12 Estimated Hours Flown (in Thousands) of Experimental Aircraft Fleet (1994-2007)

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Amateur Built 391 482 524 698 729 883 887 794 976 963 990 987 899 896

Exhibition 44 260 192 246 73 122 113 102 127 103 116 113 103 102

Other 289 452 442 382 269 242 279 261 242 226 216 239 216 277

Total Experimental 724 1,194 1,158 1,326 1,071 1,247 1,279 1,157 1,345 1,292 1,322 1,339 1,218 1,274

% of G.A. Fleet Hours 3.0% 4.5% 4.3% 4.8% 3.8% 4.0% 4.3% 4.3% 5.0% 4.7% 4.7% 5.0% 4.4% 4.6%

Note: Prior to 1994, experimental aircraft included those built without a production certificate. Beginning in 1994, experimental includes aircraft with an experimental airworthiness certificate.

These include research and development, amateur built, exhibition, racing, crew training, and market survey aircraft and aircraft used to show compliance with the Federal Aviation Regulations.

Source: FAA

02 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 35

Figure 2.4 Worldwide Turbine Business Airplane Operators

Figure 2.5 Fractional Aircraft and Share Owners

Fractional Share Owners

Fractional Aircraft Fleet

1,400

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

5,500

4,500

3,500

2,500

1,500

500

0

Fractional Aircraft

Fractional Share Owners

www.JETNET.com

Source: JETNET LLC

Source: JETNET LLC

Source: JETNET LLC

2,810 574

3,601 689

4,244 780

4,516 826

4,765 870

4,828 945

4,863 984

5,1685,179

1,030

1,094

Figure 2.3 Worldwide Turbine Airplane Fleet 2000 2001 2002

200320042005200620072008

Business Jets International

Business Jets U.S.

Turboprops International

Turboprops U.S.

30,000

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

Number of Airplanes

20,459

21,584

22,576

23,121

23,870

24,696

25,797

27,130

28,367

U.S. Operators

International Operators

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

0

Number of Operators

3,370

3,419

3,767

3,894

4,013

4,662

5,140

6,039

9,709

9,317

10,191

10,661

11,305

9,969

10,473

11,001

200020012002200320042005200620072008

5,493 10,745

General Aviation Fleet and Flight Activity

200020012002200320042005200620072008
03

36 General aviation manufacturers association
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 37

The active pilot population in the United States numbers 

over 600,000 pilots, including over 222,000 private pilots, 

124,000 commercial pilots and 146,000 air transport pilots. 

This section provides a summary of the FAA’s civil airmen 

statistics, including a distribution of pilots by state as well as 

an overview of pilot demographics such as age and gender. 

GAMA retains historical information on the number of pilot 

certificates held as far back as the late 1960’s complete with 

the different types of airmen certificates. Contact GAMA if 

interested in this data.

U.S. Pilot Population
38 General aviation manufacturers association

03 

3.1 Active U.S. Pilots and Non-Pilot Certificates Held (1987-2008)

Category 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998

Pilot–Total 613,746 590,349 597,109 609,737 618,633 625,011 631,762 612,274 625,581 635,472 618,298

 Student 80,989 84,339 84,866 87,213 87,910 87,296 85,991 86,731 93,064 97,359 97,736

 Recreational Airplane (only) 252 239 239 276 291 310 317 316 340 343 305

 Sport (only) 2,623 2,031 939 134 * * * * * * *

 Airplane 1

 - Private 222,596 211,096 219,233 228,619 235,994 241,045 245,230 243,823 251,561 258,749 247,226

 - Commercial 124,746 115,127 117,610 120,614 122,592 123,990 125,920 120,502 121,858 124,261 122,053

 - Airline Transport 146,838 143,953 141,935 141,992 142,160 143,504 144,708 144,702 141,596 137,642 134,612

 Rotorcraft (only) 2 14,647 12,290 10,690 9,518 8,586 7,916 7,770 7,727 7,775 7,728 6,964

 Glider (only) 2 21,055 21,274 21,597 21,369 21,100 20,950 21,826 8,473 9,387 9,390 9,402

Flight Instructor

 Certificates 4 93,202 92,175 91,343 90,555 89,596 87,816 86,089 82,875 80,931 79,694 79,171

InstrumentRatings 4, 5 325,247 309,865 309,333 311,828 313,545 315,413 317,389 315,276 311,944 308,951 300,183

Nonpilot–Total 7 678,181 666,559 656,227 644,016 515,293 509,835 515,570 513,100 547,453 538,264 549,588

 Mechanic 7 326,276 322,852 323,097 320,293 317,111 313,032 315,928 310,850 344,434 340,402 336,670

 Repairmen 7 41,056 40,277 40,329 40,030 39,231 37,248 37,114 40,085 38,208 35,989 52,909

 Parachute Rigger 7 8,248 8,186 8,252 8,150 8,011 7,883 8,063 7,927 10,477 10,447 10,459

 Ground Instructor 7 74,983 74,544 74,849 74,378 73,735 72,692 73,658 72,261 72,326 71,238 70,334

 Dispatcher 7 19,590 19,043 18,610 18,079 17,493 16,955 16,695 16,070 16,340 15,655 14,804

 Flight Navigator 222 250 264 298 336 382 431 509 570 642 712

 Flight Engineer 53,135 54,394 55,952 57,756 59,376 61,643 63,681 65,398 65,098 63,891 63,700

 FlightAttendant 10 154,671 147,013 134,874 125,032 * * * * * * *

Category 1997 1996 1995 8 1994 9 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987

Pilot–Total 616,342 622,261 639,184 654,088 665,069 682,959 692,095 702,659 700,010 694,016 699,653

 Student 96,101 94,947 101,279 96,254 103,583 114,597 120,203 128,663 142,544 136,913 146,016

 Recreational 284 265 232 241 206 187 161 87 * * *

 Airplane 1

 - Private 247,604 254,002 261,399 284,236 283,700 288,078 293,306 299,111 293,179 299,786 300,949

 - Commercial 125,300 129,187 133,980 138,728 143,014 146,385 148,385 149,666 144,540 143,030 143,645

 - Airline Transport 130,858 127,486 123,877 117,434 117,070 115,855 112,167 107,732 102,087 96,968 91,287

 Rotorcraft (only) 2 6,801 6,961 7,183 8,719 9,168 9,652 9,860 9,567 8,863 8,608 8,702

 Glider (only) 2 9,394 9,413 11,234 8,476 8,328 8,205 8,033 7,833 7,708 7,600 7,901

 Lighter-than-air 2, 3 N/A3 N/A3 N/A3 N/A3 N/A3 N/A3 N/A3 N/A3 1,089 1,111 1,153

Flight Instructor

 Certificates 4 78,102 78,551 77,613 76,171 75,021 72,148 69,209 63,775 61,472 61,798 60,316

Instrument Ratings 4, 5 297,409 297,895 298,798 302,300 305,517 306,169 303,193 297,073 282,804 273,804 266,122

Nonpilot–Total 7 540,892 534,427 651,341 571,358 559,726 540,548 517,462 492,237 468,405 448,710 427,962

 Mechanic 7 332,254 329,239 405,294 411,071 401,060 384,669 366,392 344,282 326,243 312,419 297,178

 Repairmen 7 51,643 50,768 61,233 N/A N/A N/A

 Parachute Rigger 7 10,336 10,269 11,824 8,631 8,417 8,163 7,616 10,094 9,879 9,770 9,659

 Ground Instructor 7 69,366 68,573 96,165 77,789 76,050 73,276 70,086 66,882 64,503 62,582 60,861

 Dispatcher 7 13,967 13,272 15,642 13,410 12,883 12,264 11,607 11,002 10,455 10,020 9,491

 Flight Navigator 782 847 916 990 1,039 1,154 1,225 1,290 1,357 1,400 1,445

 Flight Engineer 62,544 61,459 60,267 59,467 60,277 61,022 60,236 58,687 55,968 52,519 49,328

Note: The term airmen includes men and women certified as pilots, mechanics or other aviation technicians. 

1. Includes pilots with an airplane only certificate. Also includes those with an airplane and a helicopter and/or glider certificate. Prior to 1995, these pilots were categorized as private, commercial, 

or airline transport, based on their airplane certificate. In 1995 and after, they are categorized based on their highest certificate. For example, if a pilot holds a private airplane certificate and a 

commercial helicopter certificate prior to 1995, the pilot would be categorized as private; 1995 and after as commercial.

2. Glider and lighter-than-air pilots are not required to have a medical examination; however, the totals above represent pilots who received a medical examination within the last 25 months.

3. Lighter-than-air type ratings are no longer being issued.

4. Not included in total.

5. Special ratings shown on pilot certificates, do not indicate additional certificates.

6. Data for 1996 and 1997 are not comparable to earlier years.

7. Numbers represent all certificates on record. No medical examination required. Data for 1996 and 1997 are limited to certificates held by those under 70 years of age.

8. Beginning in 1995, includes non-pilots who were excluded in prior years because of incomplete addresses and/or a request to be excluded from any mailing list.

9. 1994 counts based on medical certificates issued 27 or less months ago. All other years based on medical certificates issued 25 or less months ago.

10. First available from Registry in 2005.

N/A Not available. Prior to 1995, repairmen were included in the mechanic category. Recreational certificate first issued in 1990.

Source: FAA
3.2 Estimated Active Pilots and Flight Instructors by FAA Region and State (December 31, 2008)

FAA Region and State Total Pilots Students 

Airplane 1

Recreational Sport Flight Instr.2 Private Commercial

Airline

Transport

Total 3 613,746 80,989 240,683 139,489 149,705 257 2,623 93,202 

United States – Total 578,541 75,382 231,322 126,893 142,070 257 2,617 91,155 

Alaskan Region – Total 8,377 732 3,346 2,055 2,206 1 37 1,225 

Central Region – Total 45,163 5,002 18,664 9,590 11,626 16 265 7,383 

Iowa 5,715 721 2,983 1,253 709 1 48 854 

Kansas 7,602 909 3,586 1,689 1,380 2 36 1,355 

Kentucky 6,500 649 2,059 1,256 2,502 4 30 1,173 

Missouri 9,919 1,131 4,244 2,216 2,253 4 71 1,624 

Nebraska 3,598 454 1,735 818 564 1 26 472 

Tennessee 11,829 1,138 4,057 2,358 4,218 4 54 1,905 

Eastern Region – Total 108,260 14,794 44,781 22,504 25,652 89 440 16,591 

Connecticut 5,679 672 2,445 1,055 1,494 4 9 882 

Delaware 1,353 181 497 303 367 0 5 234 

District of Columbia 504 88 246 99 69 0 2 45 

AE (Europe and Canada) 342 30 133 119 60 0 0 34 

Maine 2,707 302 1,258 602 514 4 27 370 

Maryland 8,161 1,419 3,203 1,702 1,807 4 26 1,212 

Massachusetts 8,423 1,147 3,970 1,725 1,550 5 26 1,223 

New Hampshire 3,965 399 1,433 756 1,357 3 17 696 

New Jersey 9,858 1,334 4,150 2,000 2,349 3 22 1,595 

New York 16,906 2,837 7,382 3,645 2,951 30 61 2,652 

North Carolina 14,590 1,729 5,841 2,933 4,023 5 59 2,086 

Pennsylvania 16,976 2,232 7,041 3,365 4,224 16 98 2,710 

Rhode Island 1,019 109 468 228 208 1 5 144 

Vermont 1,350 138 632 293 275 4 8 184 

Virginia 14,568 1,887 5,240 3,281 4,101 9 50 2,247 

West Virginia 1,859 290 842 398 303 1 25 277 

Great Lakes Region – Total 91,009 10,930 39,657 19,342 20,283 82 715 15,307 

Illinois 18,959 2,381 7,694 4,022 4,717 10 135 3,370 

Indiana 10,653 1,321 4,788 2,253 2,164 8 119 1,728 

Michigan 15,529 1,990 7,046 3,333 3,015 16 129 2,427 

Minnesota 13,529 1,294 5,672 2,950 3,555 2 56 2,465 

North Dakota 2,512 404 1,127 757 219 0 5 389 

Ohio 17,250 1,992 7,438 3,515 4,156 34 115 2,976 

South Dakota 2,249 254 1,020 605 336 1 33 363 

Wisconsin 10,328 1,294 4,872 1,907 2,121 11 123 1,589 

Northwest Mountain Region – Total 67,129 8,399 26,990 15,393 16,068 13 266 10,949 

Colorado 17,892 1,736 6,448 4,065 5,588 3 52 3,292 

Idaho 4,921 618 2,287 1,153 823 1 39 710 

Montana 4,001 540 1,819 1,034 589 3 16 602 

Oregon 9,740 1,412 4,617 2,330 1,335 3 43 1,449 

Utah 8,269 1,319 3,083 2,050 1,787 0 30 1,414 

Washington 20,440 2,504 7,849 4,359 5,651 3 74 3,231 

Wyoming 1,866 270 887 402 295 0 12 251 

Southern Region – Total 85,239 11,784 29,004 18,847 25,240 21 343 13,553 

Alabama 7,461 918 3,010 2,204 1,304 3 22 1,035 

Florida 49,991 7,467 16,307 11,102 14,904 13 198 8,359 

Georgia 19,261 2,117 6,392 3,612 7,048 3 89 2,989 

Puerto Rico 1,666 439 516 381 323 2 5 220 

South Carolina 6,639 808 2,703 1,506 1,593 0 29 924 

Virgin Islands 193 34 69 27 63 0 0 22 

Southwest Region – Total 77,025 10,453 28,160 17,601 20,485 26 300 11,536 

Arkansas 5,135 646 2,155 1,389 903 1 41 703 

Louisiana 5,457 740 2,029 1,557 1,098 4 29 787 

Mississippi 4,307 642 1,584 1,118 942 4 17 583 

New Mexico 4,964 685 2,168 1,328 745 3 35 601 

Oklahoma 8,313 1,361 3,415 2,109 1,398 5 25 1,219 

Texas 48,849 6,379 16,809 10,100 15,399 9 153 7,643 

Western-Pacific Region – Total 96,339 13,288 40,720 21,561 20,510 9 251 14,611 

American Samoa 10 0 0 4 6 0 0 0 

AP (Pacific) 512 120 139 196 56 0 1 35 

Arizona 20,559 3,165 7,214 4,800 5,319 1 60 3,640 

California 65,116 8,921 30,084 14,085 11,849 8 169 9,199 

Fed St Micronesia 3 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 

Guam 154 7 20 26 101 0 0 33 

Hawaii 3,087 360 794 905 1,020 0 8 564 

Marshall Islands 4 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 

Nevada 6,886 713 2,468 1,539 2,153 0 13 1,136 

North Mariana Islands 8 1 1 2 4 0 0 3 

Palau 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

U.S. Affilates 4 15 2 1 6 6 0 0 4 

Armed Forces Personnel 5 854 150 272 315 116 0 1 69 

Outside United States 35,205 5,607 9,361 12,596 7,635 0 6 2,047 

1. Includes pilots with an airplane only certificate. Also includes those with an airplane and a helicopter and/or glider certificate 

2. Not included in total. 

3. Includes pilots outside the United States 

4. Includes Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, North Mariana Islands and Palau 

5. Military personnel holding civilian certificate stationed in foreign country 

Source: FAA

U.S. PILOT POPULATION

2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 39
40 General aviation manufacturers association

3.3 Estimated FAA Active Pilot Certificates Held by Category and Age Group of Holder (December 31, 2008)

Age Group

Type of Pilot Certificate

Total Pilots Student Recreational Sport Pilots Private Commercial Airline Transport CFI

Total 613,746 80,989 257 2,623 240,683 139,489 149,705 93,202 

14-15 190 190 0 0 0 0 0 0 

16-19 15,990 11,562 3 18 3,846 561 0 73 

20-24 48,434 17,850 25 29 18,660 11,674 196 5,116 

25-29 54,302 11,434 11 40 17,728 20,626 4,463 10,588 

30-34 48,171 7,197 11 74 15,983 14,157 10,749 9,652 

35-39 57,761 6,555 18 105 20,274 13,130 17,679 10,449 

40-44 66,329 6,426 22 225 24,349 11,893 23,414 9,993 

45-49 70,095 6,378 25 372 26,195 11,297 25,828 9,544 

50-54 74,003 5,346 29 500 32,105 12,440 23,583 9,499 

55-59 64,585 3,657 44 502 29,705 12,486 18,191 8,677 

60-64 53,488 2,263 19 387 23,202 13,183 14,434 8,502 

65-69 32,502 1,224 20 223 15,010 9,282 6,743 5,413 

70-74 15,142 567 6 106 7,221 4,543 2,699 3,079 

75-79 8,315 227 14 35 4,238 2,644 1,157 1,665 

80 and over 4,439 113 10 7 2,167 1,573 569 952 

Source: FAA

3.4 Average Age of Active U.S. Pilots by Category (1993-2008)

Year Average All Pilots

Type of Pilot Certificate

Student Recreational Sport Pilot Private Commercial Airline Transport

1993 41.3 33.7 45.5 * 42.7 41.9 44.1

1994 41.9 34.3 46.5 * 43.2 42.4 44.4

1995 42.9 34.5 48.3 * 44.6 43.7 44.9

1996 43.2 34.6 49.3 * 45.1 44.1 45.1

1997 43.6 34.6 49.5 * 45.6 44.6 45.6

1998 43.8 34.7 49.8 * 45.9 45.0 45.4

1999 43.6 34.6 49.5 * 45.6 44.6 45.3

2000 43.7 34.1 49.8 * 45.6 44.9 45.8

2001 44.0 33.3 50.8 * 46.0 45.0 46.0

2002 44.4 33.7 51.0 * 46.2 45.5 46.6

2003 44.7 34.0 51.5 * 46.5 45.6 47.0

2004 45.1 34.2 51.3 * 47.0 45.9 47.5

2005 45.5 34.6 50.9 53.2 47.4 46.0 47.8

2006 45.6 34.4 51.5 52.9 47.7 46.1 48.1

2007 45.7 34.0 52.4 52.9 48.0 46.1 48.3

2008 45.1 33.6 50.1 53.2 46.9 44.8 48.5

Source: FAA

3.5 Active U.S. Women Pilots and Non-Pilot Certificates Held (1998-2008)

Category 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998

Pilot–Total 37,981 35,784 36,101 36,584 37,243 37,694 38,257 34,706 35,607 36,233 34,679

Student 9,127 9,559 9,640 9,717 9,857 9,897 10,082 10,230 10,809 11,191 11,289

Recreational 20 17 17 20 21 24 23 20 26 25 24

Sport 79 64 26 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Airplane 1

 - Private 15,015 13,694 14,111 14,517 15,036 15,487 15,906 13,894 14,554 15,171 14,152

 - Commercial 8,083 7,101 7,236 7,315 7,421 7,436 7,454 5,932 5,807 5,720 5,366

 - Airline Transport 5,657 5,349 5,071 5,008 4,908 4,850 4,792 4,630 4,411 4,126 3,848

Flight Instructor Certificates 2 6,293 6,232 6,158 6,067 5,970 5,811 5,667 5,386 5,193 5,028 4,926

Nonpilot–Total 144,968 138,452 19,633 19,220 18,666 18,030 17,612 17,114 16,552 15,662 15,380

Mechanic 3 6,740 6,524 6,345 6,152 5,932 5,734 5,995 5,295 5,047 4,722 4,483

Repairmen 3 2,284 2,193 2,180 2,108 2,039 1,800 1,722 1,789 1,704 1,582 1,940

Parachute Rigger 3 615 594 584 556 540 521 500 475 509 494 483

Ground Instructor 3 5,785 5,726 5,669 5,612 5,500 5,385 5,321 5,169 5,154 5,016 4,904

Dispatcher 3 3,230 3,087 2,934 2,805 2,647 2,520 2,410 2,262 2,062 1,895 1,729

Flight Navigator 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

Flight Engineer 1,894 1,901 1,920 1,986 2,007 2,070 2,100 2,124 2,076 1,953 1,841

Flight Attendant 4 124,419 118,426 108,559 100,630 * * * * * * *

1. Includes pilots with an airplane only certificate. Also includes those with an airplane and a helicopter and/or glider certificate. Prior to 1995, these pilots were categorized as private, commercial, or airline transport, 

based on their airplane certificate. In 1995 and after, they are categorized based on their highest certificate. For example, if a pilot holds a private certificate and a commercial helicopter certificate, prior 1995, the 

pilot would be categorized as private; 1995 and after as commercial.

2. Not included in total.

3. Numbers represent all certificates on record. No medical examination required.

4. First available from Registry in 2005.

Source: FAA

03 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 41
42 General aviation manufacturers association

3.6 Estimated Total Active and Instrument-Rated Pilots (1982-2008)

Calendar Year Total Active Pilots Instrument Rated Percent of Total Pilots w/ Instrument Rating

1982 576,894 255,073 44.2%

1983 570,807 254,271 44.5%

1984 572,295 256,584 44.8%

1985 562,888 258,559 45.9%

1986 558,845 262,388 47.0%

1987 553,637 266,122 48.1%

1988 557,103 273,804 49.1%

1989 557,466 282,804 50.7%

1990 573,909 297,073 51.8%

1991 571,731 306,193 53.6%

1992 568,175 306,169 53.9%

1993 561,280 305,517 54.4%

1994 557,593 302,300 54.2%

1995 537,673 298,798 55.6%

1996 527,049 297,895 56.5%

1997 520,241 297,409 57.2%

1998 520,257 300,183 57.7%

1999 537,770 308,951 57.5%

2000 532,177 311,944 58.6%

2001 525,227 315,276 60.0%

2002 545,454 317,389 58.2%

2003 537,405 315,413 58.7%

2004 530,432 313,545 59.1%

2005 522,112 311,828 59.7%

2006 511,062 309,333 60.5%

2007 503,740 309,865 61.5%

2008 529,882 325,247 61.4%

Excludes student, sport and recreational pilots. Source: FAA

3.7 Pilot Certificates Issued by Category (1978-2008)

Year

Student Private Commercial Airline Tranport Helicopter (only) Glider (only)

Original Additional 1 Original Additional 1 Original Additional 1 Original Additional 1 Original Additional 1 Original Additional 1

1978 137,032 * 58,064 16,048 11,789 17,501 6,912 5,921 1,122 287 759 188

1979 135,956 * 54,466 16,466 12,627 17,793 8,981 6,603 1,300 283 642 157

1980 102,301 * 50,458 16,035 12,452 16,015 7,116 6,289 1,721 272 583 151

1981 111,531 * 45,713 14,897 10,657 12,146 4,763 5,991 1,985 302 629 164

1982 90,816 * 52,144 16,276 11,048 11,910 5,037 7,956 2,256 330 793 184

1983 92,239 * 41,210 12,721 8,789 9,513 5,643 8,187 1,932 315 606 162

1984 90,167 * 36,545 11,784 7,702 8,895 5,099 9,335 1,808 319 524 139

1985 86,060 * 35,402 11,636 8,404 7,197 6,081 9,192 2,105 207 537 138

1986 88,699 * 34,816 12,672 8,889 9,241 6,498 10,372 2,209 234 514 109

1987 85,611 * 42,287 16,302 11,314 11,635 7,678 11,956 2,217 293 542 74

1988 86,193 * 39,900 15,800 12,042 10,597 7,461 11,209 1,947 287 475 28

1989 87,698 * 35,360 22,240 13,759 11,778 7,829 12,698 2,240 252 336 22

1990 88,586 * 41,749 19,299 15,500 12,584 8,013 13,540 2,700 266 378 41

1991 82,205 * 49,580 23,630 16,869 13,506 8,437 13,979 3,344 291 487 29

1992 78,377 * 39,968 19,419 14,354 11,630 7,699 13,391 2,684 291 376 32

1993 69,178 * 39,060 18,801 12,645 10,466 6,129 12,995 2,310 30 341 28

1994 66,501R * 32,787 14,568 9,237 8,630 5,360 10,963 1,801 267 320 25

1995 60,497R * 28,333 15,331 9,133 9,042 5,965 13,641 1,724 290 373 83

1996 56,653R * 24,714 18,199 10,245 10,494 7,444 17,229 1,638 349 633 195

1997 60,941R * 21,552 13,522 8,988 9,587 7,045 16,266 1,385 296 501 161

1998 63,037R 756 26,297 15,966 10,042 10,269 7,547 19,085 1,530 211 472 105

1999 58,278R 1,030 24,630 15,222 9,737 9,963 6,721 19,380 1,514 222 423 98

2000 58,042R 1,070 27,223 17,223 11,813 11,652 7,715 20,558 1,776 234 455 62

2001 61,897 1,161 25,372 16,807 11,499 11,115 7,070 21,357 1,698 218 403 77

2002R 65,421R 1,317 28,659 18,607 12,299 11,628 4,718 18,502 2,073 275 336 38

2003R 58,842R 1,230 23,866 14,899 9,670 8,872 3,892 13,196 2,013 269 312 47

2004R 59,202 1,302 23,031 14,234 9,836 9,635 4,255 15,328 2,736 366 309 43

2005R 53,576 1,418 20,889 12,952 8,834 8,874 4,750 15,534 2,917 521 290 27

2006R 61,448 1,551 20,217 13,079 8,687 9,603 4,748 15,942 3,569 816 298 42

2007R 66,793 1,450 20,299 13,970 9,318 9,574 5,918 15,973 4,073 1,041 263 14

2008E * * 17,585 13,061 8,438 9,098 5,102 15,228 3,032 917 202 4

E = Estimated, R = Revised

1. An additional rating added to an existing pilot certificate (e.g., instrument rating added to a private certificate.)

Source: FAA

03 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 43

Definitions

Active Pilot — A pilot who holds a pilot certificate and a valid medical 

certificate (one that was issued within the last 25 months.)

Air Carrier — An aircraft with a seating capacity of more than 30 

seats or a maximum payload capacity of more than 7,500 pounds 

carrying passengers or cargo for hire or compensation.

Airmen — A pilot, mechanic, or other licensed aviation technician. 

The term refers to men and women.

Airmen Certificate — A document issued by the Administrator of 

the Federal Aviation Administration certifying that the holder complies 

with the regulations governing the capacity in which the certificate 

authorizes the holder to act as an airman in connection with aircraft.

Pilot Categories 

Student Pilot — A student pilot must be 16 years old, medically 

certificated by an FAA medical examiner and may only fly solo or with 

an instructor. Each solo flight must be approved as to destination and 

duration. A student pilot may not operate an aircraft that is carrying 

passengers or that is carrying property for compensation or hire.

Recreational Pilot — A recreational pilot may fly no more than 

one passenger in a light, single engine aircraft with no more than 

four seats, during good weather and daylight hours, and unless 

otherwise authorized, no more than 50 miles from the home airport. 

A recreational pilot may not operate an aircraft that is carrying 

passengers or that is carrying property for compensation or hire.

Sport Pilot — A sport pilot may operate a light-sport aircraft (a small, 

low-powered aircraft), under a limited set of flight conditions. The 

certificate does does not require an FAA medical examination, but 

the pilots can carry a driver’s license as proof of medical competence. 

Holders of a sport pilot certificate may fly an aircraft with a standard 

airworthiness certificate if the aircraft meets the definition of a lightsport aircraft.

Private Pilot — A private pilot may, with appropriate training, ratings 

and endorsements, carry passengers in any aircraft, day or night, 

good weather or bad. The private pilot may not act as pilot-incommand of an aircraft that is carrying passengers for compensation 

or hire nor act a as pilot-in-command of an aircraft that is being 

operated for compensation or hire (e.g.: one that has been hired to 

do pipeline patrol but carries no passengers).

Commercial Pilot — A commercial pilot may act as pilot-in-command 

of an aircraft that is carrying passengers for compensation or hire, but 

not an aircraft in air carrier service, or act a as pilot-in-command of an 

aircraft that is being operated for compensation or hire (e.g.: one that 

has been hired to do pipeline patrol but carries no passengers).

Airline Transport Pilot — An airline transport pilot may act as pilot-incommand of an aircraft in air carrier service.

U.S. PILOT POPULATION

Statistics pertaining to airmen, both pilots and non-pilots, were obtained from the official certification records 

maintained by the Airmen Certification and Medical Certification Branches of the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center at 

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Active pilots are those pilots who hold a pilot certificate and a valid medical certificate (one that was issued within the 

last 25 months.) Glider pilots may have, but are not required to have, a medical examination. The inventory data for this 

category includes only those with a valid medical certificate.

For those nonpilot certificates for which a medical certificate is not required (mechanics, parachute riggers, ground 

instructors, and dispatchers), the numbers shown include all who have been issued that airmen certificate. Beginning in 

1996, only those under 70 years of age are shown.

U.S. Civil Airmen
04

44 General aviation manufacturers association
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 45

The Airports and Aeronautical Facilities section details the 

number of airports and aeronautical facilities by FAA region and 

state. This section also provides an overview of the most active 

general aviation airports based on the number of operations in 

2008. Additionally, we have included a summary of airports by 

runway length for Europe. GAMA will continue to add data for 

Europe and other regions as they become available.

Airports and

Aeronautical Facilities
46 General aviation manufacturers association

4.1 U.S. Civil and Joint Use Airports, Heliports, Stolports and Seaplane Bases by Type of Ownership (December 31, 2008)

FAA Region and State

Public Use Civil Private Use Landing Facilities

State 

Total Total Part 139 1 Total Airports Heliports

Seaplane 

Bases

Gliderports StolportsBalloonports

Ultralight 

FlightparksMilitary 

Only Use

Grand Total 19930 5202 560 14451 8476 5423 296 31 79 13 133 277

United States-Total 19909 5192 552 14442 8474 5416 296 31 79 13 133 275

Alaskan-Total 731 409 26 303 243 36 23 0 1 0 0 19

Alaska 731 409 26 303 243 36 23 0 1 0 0 19

Central-Total 1,468 481 37 977 680 283 1 1 5 1 6 10

Iowa 296 121 8 172 83 84 0 0 2 0 3 3

Kansas 393 142 10 249 210 36 0 1 1 1 0 2

Missouri 525 132 10 390 256 128 1 0 2 0 3 3

Nebraska 254 86 9 166 131 35 0 0 0 0 0 2

Eastern-Total 2,597 480 65 2071 1025 960 41 5 9 7 24 46

Delaware 42 11 1 30 21 8 1 0 0 0 0 1

District of Columbia 20 3 2 13 0 13 0 0 0 0 0 4

Maryland 233 36 3 190 114 71 4 0 1 0 0 7

New Jersey 310 46 4 257 55 192 5 0 0 5 0 7

New York 604 150 24 453 263 174 10 2 0 1 3 1

Pennsylvania 831 133 16 691 319 340 8 2 4 0 18 7

Virginia 433 66 7 349 216 123 3 1 3 1 2 18

West Virginia 124 35 8 88 37 39 10 0 1 0 1 1

Great Lakes-Total 4,181 1079 96 3088 2069 879 97 4 10 1 28 14

Illinois 810 115 17 694 427 254 5 2 1 0 5 1

Indiana 649 111 12 533 374 127 16 0 3 0 13 5

Michigan 491 231 21 259 154 96 5 0 2 0 2 1

Minnesota 480 154 9 325 209 56 58 0 1 0 1 1

North Dakota 286 90 8 194 179 15 0 0 0 0 0 2

Ohio 728 171 13 556 341 207 1 2 3 1 1 1

South Dakota 179 75 7 103 70 33 0 0 0 0 0 1

Wisconsin 558 132 9 424 315 91 12 0 0 0 6 2

New England-Total 809 181 25 624 206 352 57 0 3 2 4 4

Connecticut 147 23 5 124 35 83 5 0 0 0 1 0

Maine 167 68 6 98 59 15 22 0 0 0 2 1

Massachusetts 237 40 8 195 38 138 17 0 0 1 1 2

New Hampshire 141 25 3 116 29 80 7 0 0 0 0 0

Rhode Island 32 8 1 23 3 17 2 0 0 1 0 1

Vermont 85 17 2 68 42 19 4 0 3 0 0 0

N.W. Mountain-Total 2,248 640 78 1587 961 594 9 2 12 1 8 21

Colorado 451 76 16 370 178 183 0 1 6 1 1 5

Idaho 272 119 7 152 102 46 1 0 2 0 1 1

Montana 260 123 14 135 103 29 1 0 1 0 1 2

Oregon 461 97 10 364 248 111 1 1 1 0 2 0

Utah 143 47 9 93 46 47 0 0 0 0 0 3

Washington 544 137 12 397 234 152 6 0 2 0 3 10

Wyoming 117 41 10 76 50 26 0 0 0 0 0 0

Southern-Total 3,093 753 100 2266 1314 848 51 5 28 1 19 74

Alabama 289 98 10 180 89 87 4 0 0 0 0 11

Florida 862 127 25 709 367 284 38 2 13 0 5 26

Georgia 467 110 10 347 227 112 2 1 4 0 1 10

Kentucky 226 60 7 164 97 62 0 0 1 0 4 2

Mississippi 253 81 11 166 113 51 0 0 1 0 1 6

North Carolina 425 113 15 301 207 84 0 1 4 1 4 11

Puerto Rico 51 12 4 38 6 30 2 0 0 0 0 1

South Carolina 202 68 8 129 92 31 2 1 0 0 3 5

Tennessee 310 82 8 226 116 103 1 0 5 0 1 2

Virgin Islands 8 2 2 6 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 0

Southwest-Total 3,328 767 62 2521 1544 912 13 8 8 0 36 40

Arkansas 307 99 9 205 119 80 0 2 0 0 4 3

Louisiana 477 75 9 398 151 215 13 0 0 0 19 4

New Mexico 176 60 9 111 86 25 0 0 0 0 0 5

Oklahoma 387 141 4 240 158 78 0 0 0 0 4 6

Texas 1981 392 31 1567 1030 514 0 6 8 0 9 22

Western Pacific-Total 1,475 412 71 1014 434 559 4 6 3 0 8 49

Arizona 319 80 14 231 111 112 0 2 1 0 5 8

California 955 258 37 669 262 396 4 3 2 0 2 28

Hawaii 52 14 7 32 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 6

Nevada 128 50 5 73 43 28 0 1 0 0 1 5

American Samoa 4 3 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Guam 3 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

Midway Atoll 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

N. Mariana Islands 11 5 3 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0

Wake Island 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

1. Part 139 airports are certificated for air carrier service. Source: FAA

04 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 47

Airports and Aeronautical Facilities

4.2 FAA Air Route Facilities and Services (1972-2005)

Calendar Year VOR VORTAC

Non-Directional 

Beacons

Air Route Traffic 

Cont. Ctr.

Air Traffic Cont. 

Towers 1

Flight Service 

Stations 2

Int’l Flight 

Service Stations

Instrument 

Landing Systems

Airport 

Surveillance Radar

1972 991 706 27 355 324 7 403 125

1973 995 739 27 403 315 7 467 142

1974 1,000 793 26 417 320 7 490 156

1975 1,011 848 25 487 321 7 580 177

1976 1,020 920 25 488 321 7 640 175

1977 1,021 959 25 495 319 7 678 182

1978 1,020 988 25 494 319 6 698 185

1979 1,028 1,015 25 499 318 6 753 192

1980 1,037 1,055 25 502 317 6 796 192

1981 1,033 1,123 25 501 316 6 840 199

1982 1,029 1,143 25 492 316 6 884 197

1983 1,032 1,183 25 494 316 5 934 197

1984 1,035 1,211 25 497 310 5 955 197

1985 1,039 1,222 25 500 302 4 968 198

1986 1,043 1,239 25 686 293 3 977 312

1987 1,039 1,212 25 500 302 4 968 312

1988 1,043 1,239 25 686 293 3 977 311

1989 1,046 1,263 25 686 255 3 1,100 312

1990 1,045 1,271 25 686 235 3 1,120 311

1991 1,045 1,295 24 694 192 3 1,114 318

1992 1,044 1,314 24 691 179 3 1,177 312

1993 1,046 1,263 24 686 255 3 1,100 312

1994 1,045 1,271 24 686 235 3 1,120 311

1995R 1,045 1,295 24 694 192 3 1,114 318

1996R 1,044 1,314 24 691 179 3 1,177 312

1997R 1,041 1,344 24 684 135 3 1,231 310

1998R 1,039 1,348 24 683 128 3 1,238 307

1999 1,041 1,320 24 680 75 3 1,327 295

2000R 993 1,199 25 663 75 3 1,370 297

2001 1,116 1,675 24 678 76 3 1,388 292

2002 * * 21 * 76 3 * *

2003 * * 21 * 76 3 * *

2004 1,119 1,685 21 688 76 3 1,473 227

2005 1,111 1,613 21 693 76 3 1,490 226

1. Includes non-federal and military.

2. Includes Automated Flight Service Stations.

Source: FAA

4.3 U.S. Airports by Type and Equipment (1999-2008)

Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Total Airports 19,098 19,281 19,356 19,572 19,581 19,820 19,854 19,983 20,341 19,930

Public Use Airports 5,324 5,317 5,294 5,286 5,286 5,288 5,270 5,233 5,221 5,202

Number with Paved Runways 3,949 3,953 3,947 3,940 3,938 3,941 3,942 3,940 - -

Number with Unpaved Runways 1,375 1,364 1,347 1,346 1,348 1,347 1,328 1,293 - -

Number with Lighted Runways 4,051 4,035 4,034 4,024 4,026 4,037 4,045 4,038 - -

Number with Unlighted Runways 1,273 1,282 1,260 1,262 1,260 1,251 1,225 1,195 - -

Private Use Airports 13,774 13,964 14,062 14,286 14,295 14,532 14,584 14,757 14,839 14,451

Number with Paved Runways 4,384 4,463 4,555 4,632 4,678 4,771 4,836 4,911 - -

Number with Unpaved Runways 9,390 9,501 9,507 9,654 9,617 9,761 9,748 9,846 - -

Number with Lighted Runways 918 1,010 1,118 1,183 1,223 1,301 1,346 1,406 - -

Number with Unlighted Runways 12,856 12,954 12,944 13,103 13,072 13,231 13,238 13,351 - -

Public Use Abandoned 17 13 26 16 19 10 14 27 18 16

Private Use Abandoned 109 156 220 121 214 117 115 133 297 461

Certificated Airports 655 651 635 633 628 599 575 604 565 560

 Civil 565 563 560 558 555 542 - - - -

 Military 90 88 75 75 73 57 - - - -

Includes civil and joint-use civil military airports, heliports, STOLports, and seaplane bases in the U.S. and its territories. 

As of December 31 of Year Listed

Certificated airports serve Air Carrier Operations with aircraft seating more than 9 passenger seats (Part 139).

Source: FAA AOA Handbook and Airports Office
48 General aviation manufacturers association

4.4 Airports by European Country, 2002-2006 Estimates

CountryAlbaniaAndorraAustriaBelgiumBosnia-HerzBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzech Rep.DenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyLatviaLiechtenstein

Airports with 

Paved Runways 3 0 24 25 8 132 23 13 44 28 14 75 281 331 66 18 5 15 96 27 0

Over 10,000 ft 0 0 1 6 0 1 2 0 2 2 1 2 13 13 5 2 1 1 6 0 0

8,000 ft to 10,000 ft 3 0 5 8 4 19 6 7 9 7 8 27 28 51 16 8 0 1 32 7 0

5,000 ft to 8,000 ft 0 0 1 3 1 15 2 2 14 4 1 10 95 62 19 4 3 4 16 2 0

3,000 ft to 5,000 ft 0 0 3 1 0 1 4 3 2 12 3 23 82 71 17 3 1 3 30 2 0

Under 3,000 ft 0 0 14 7 3 96 9 1 17 3 1 13 63 134 9 1 0 6 12 16 0

Airports with 

Unpaved Runways 8 0 31 18 19 85 45 3 76 69 15 73 195 219 16 26 93 21 38 24 0

Over 10,000 ft 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

8,000 ft to 10,000 ft 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0

5,000 ft to 8,000 ft 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 3 2 0 4 3 0 2 2 0

3,000 ft to 5,000 ft 1 0 3 2 7 11 7 0 27 6 4 4 72 31 3 11 29 4 18 1 0

Under 3,000 ft 4 27 16 11 72 37 2 48 63 6 69 120 185 13 9 61 17 18 20 0

Heliports 1 0 1 1 5 4 2 10 2 0 0 0 3 34 8 5 0 0 4 0 0

Country

LithuaniaLuxembourgNetherlandsNorwayMacedoniaMatlaMonacaoMontenegroPolandPortugalRomaniaSerbiaSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwedenSwizerlandTurkeyUnit’d KingdomEurope TotalUnited States Total

Airports with 

Paved Runways 28 1 1 65 10 1 0 3 84 42 25 16 17 6 95 154 42 89 334 2,241 5,128

Over 10,000 ft 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 5 4 2 2 1 15 3 3 15 8 126 188

8,000 ft to 10,000 ft 1 0 0 13 2 0 0 1 30 9 9 4 2 1 10 12 5 33 33 411 221

5,000 ft to 8,000 ft 7 0 0 12 0 0 0 2 40 3 12 4 3 1 19 82 10 19 150 622 1,375

3,000 ft to 5,000 ft 2 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 8 15 0 2 3 2 23 22 8 18 86 464 2,383

Under 3,000 ft 14 0 0 26 8 0 0 0 3 10 0 4 7 1 28 35 16 4 57 618 961

Airports with 

Unpaved Runways 74 1 1 36 7 0 0 2 39 23 36 23 17 8 51 100 23 28 137 1,680 9,729

Over 10,000 ft 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 1

8,000 ft to 10,000 ft 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 7

5,000 ft to 8,000 ft 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 2 1 2 2 0 0 2 1 44 160

3,000 ft to 5,000 ft 5 0 0 7 3 0 0 1 13 1 10 9 9 2 5 10 0 8 23 347 1,718

Under 3,000 ft 67 1 1 29 4 0 0 1 21 22 24 12 7 4 44 90 23 17 112 1,277 7,843

Heliports 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 3 0 1 4 1 0 8 2 2 18 11 134 155

Source: CIA World Factbook

04 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 49

4.5 U.S. Airports Ranked by Number of General Aviation Operations (2008)

Rank 2008 Rank 2007 Facility Name

General Aviation Operations

GA as % of Total

Total Operations 

incl. Commercial 

Itinerant Local Total and Military

1 2 VNY Van Nuys, CA 239,824 108,602 348,426 97.0% 359,299

2 1 DVT Phoenix Deer Valley, AZ 121,627 214,203 335,830 98.1% 342,163

3 7 RVS Richard Lloyd Jones, OK 128,885 184,121 313,006 98.3% 318,270

4 5 DAB Daytona Beach, FL 216,057 88,936 304,993 96.5% 315,963

5 4 FFZ Falcon Field, AZ 125,809 164,315 290,124 98.1% 295,810

6 12 TMB Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport, FL 129,122 154,229 283,351 98.8% 286,799

7 3 LGB Long Beach, CA 124,999 155,141 280,140 86.9% 322,394

8 9 APA Centennial Airport, CO 121,161 134,711 255,872 85.3% 300,131

9 18 PRC Ernes A. Love Field, AZ 77,967 174,208 252,175 98.2% 256,788

10 15 HIO Portland-Hillsboro Airpor, OR 72,843 168,229 241,072 97.0% 248,400

11 6 SEE Gillespie Field, CA 95,931 130,280 226,211 99.7% 226,793

12 11 CHD Chandler Municipal Airport 69,469 147,580 217,049 98.6% 220,023

13 19 MYF Montgomery Field Airport, CA 115,050 95,965 211,015 98.5% 214,136

14 17 BFI Boeing Field, King County Airport, WA 121,695 88,358 210,053 74.6% 281,658

15 10 IWA Williams Gateway Airport, AZ 66,771 131,462 198,233 93.1% 212,850

16 16 SNA John Wayne-Orange County, CA 106,404 84,669 191,073 64.8% 294,915

17 8 SFB Sanford-Orlando, FL 89,054 101,202 190,256 93.1% 204,367

18 14 DWH David Wayne Hooks Mem. Airport 78,629 99,096 177,725 97.2% 182,803

19 28 SDL Scottsdale Airport, AZ 100,200 66,972 167,172 93.8% 178,259

20 35 EVB New Smyrna Beach Municipal, FL 77,135 87,460 164,595 99.6% 165,242

21 22 CRQ McClellan-Palomar Airport, CA 105,597 57,288 162,885 92.5% 175,998

22 20 PDK Dekalb-Peachtree Airport, GA 113,142 45,158 158,300 90.3% 175,208

23 25 HWO North Perry Airport, FL 55,018 102,625 157,643 99.9% 157,826

24 47 VRB Vero Beach Municipal Airport, FL 86,021 71,496 157,517 97.3% 161,878

25 26 PAO Palo Alto Airport, CA 63,613 92,650 156,263 98.6% 158,477

26 13 RYN Ryan Field Airport, AZ 56,088 99,094 155,182 97.9% 158,448

27 29 GYR Phoenix Goodyear Airport, AZ 72,136 82,665 154,801 94.8% 163,311

28 24 FXE Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, FL 126,171 25,586 151,757 91.7% 165,516

29 44 SSF Stinson Municipal Airport, TX 47,552 102,043 149,595 95.7% 156,275

30 42 GFK Grand Forks Int'l, ND 11,553 137,744 149,297 66.2% 225,474

31 53 OMN Ormond Beach Municipal Airport, FL 67,709 80,063 147,772 100.0% 147,787

32 30 FRG Republic Airport, NY 82,383 64,639 147,022 92.1% 159,588

33 27 LVK Livermore Municipal Airport, CA 62,992 82,724 145,716 99.1% 147,099

34 38 MRI Merril Field Airport, AK 56,315 88,858 145,173 90.2% 160,884

35 58 BED Laurence G Hanscom Field Airport, MA 82,670 62,426 145,096 83.8% 173,095

36 23 PTK Oakland County Int'l Airport, MI 72,027 70,893 142,920 92.6% 154,408

37 54 CMA Camarillo Airport, CA 72,487 70,280 142,767 97.2% 146,929

38 32 TIX Space Coast Regional Airport, FL 60,037 82,669 142,706 99.6% 143,259

39 34 ISM Kissimmee Gateway Airport, FL 78,664 63,431 142,095 97.6% 145,651

40 31 TOA Zamperini Field, CA 70,687 69,370 140,057 99.5% 140,738

41 21 VGT North Las Vegas Airport, NV 56,929 82,626 139,555 92.3% 151,178

42 45 ISP Long Island Mac Arthus Airport, NY 61,135 78,268 139,403 83.5% 167,020

43 37 BJC Rockymountain Metropolitcan Airport, CO 63,022 74,224 137,246 96.3% 142,590

44 63 FPR St. Lucie County Int'l Airport, FL 75,127 61,879 137,006 99.1% 138,183

45 56 HWD Hayward Executive Airport, CA 57,258 78,848 136,106 98.4% 138,384

46 80 PUB Pueblo Memorial Airport, CO 51,874 82,548 134,422 92.2% 145,827

47 52 RHV Reid-Hillview Airport, CA 48,440 82,696 131,136 99.8% 131,452

48 64 PAE Snohomish County Airport (Paine Field), WA 62,575 65,389 127,964 95.9% 133,436

49 39 MLB Melbourne International Airport, FL 76,101 51,355 127,456 94.9% 134,301

50 50 GEU Glendale Municipal, AZ 43,978 82,023 126,001 98.7% 127,725

General Aviation operations are defined by the FAA based on traffic operations counted in the Air Traffic Data System (ATADS).

Total operations include general aviation operations, commercial operations, and military operations.

Source: FAA

Airports and Aeronautical Facilities
05

50 General aviation manufacturers association
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 51

The FAA publishes an annual forecast of the number of aircraft 

and hours flown in the national airspace system (NAS). In 

this section, GAMA reproduces the most recent FAA forecast 

of active aircraft, hours flown, fuel consumption and pilot 

certificates. This information is updated by the FAA in early 

March of each year. 

Forecast Information
52 General aviation manufacturers association

5.1 FAA Forecast – U.S. General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 Aircraft

As of Dec. 31

Fixed Wing

Rotorcraft

Experimental

Light Sport 

Aircraft Other

Total General 

Aviation Fleet

Piston Turbine

Single Engine Multi-Engine Turbo Prop Turbo Jet Piston Turbine

Historical

2000 149,422 21,091 5,762 7,001 2,680 4,470 20,407 NA 6,700 217,533 

2001 145,034 18,192 6,596 7,787 2,292 4,491 20,421 NA 6,633 211,446 

2002 143,503 17,483 6,841 8,355 2,351 4,297 21,936 NA 6,478 211,244 

2003 143,265 17,491 7,689 7,997 2,123 4,403 20,550 NA 6,088 209,606 

2004 146,613 18,469 8,379 9,298 2,315 5,506 22,800 NA 5,939 219,319 

2005 148,101 19,412 7,942 9,823 3,039 5,689 23,627 170 6,459 224,262 

2006 145,036 18,708 8,063 10,379 3,264 5,895 23,047 1,273 6,277 221,942 

2007E 144,580 18,555 8,190 10,997 3,610 6,075 23,920 2,700 6,380 225,007 

Forecast

2008 144,220 18,385 8,300 12,000 3,970 6,245 24,785 3,800 6,450 228,155 

2009 144,030 18,225 8,425 13,055 4,345 6,415 25,540 4,700 6,490 231,225 

2010 144,015 18,055 8,565 14,220 4,725 6,575 26,285 5,600 6,510 234,550 

2011 144,115 17,895 8,710 15,410 5,075 6,730 27,025 6,600 6,515 238,075 

2012 144,325 17,725 8,855 16,590 5,395 6,875 27,755 7,600 6,505 241,625 

2013 144,645 17,565 9,005 17,740 5,695 7,020 28,430 8,500 6,490 245,090 

2014 145,075 17,410 9,155 18,805 5,995 7,155 29,100 9,500 6,475 248,670 

2015 145,620 17,245 9,310 19,845 6,255 7,290 29,760 10,500 6,460 252,285 

2016 146,280 17,085 9,470 20,870 6,495 7,415 30,365 11,500 6,445 255,925 

2017 147,045 16,935 9,635 21,895 6,710 7,540 30,965 12,000 6,435 259,160 

2018 147,925 16,775 9,795 22,910 6,905 7,665 31,560 12,500 6,425 262,460 

2019 148,925 16,620 9,955 23,910 7,100 7,790 32,095 12,900 6,415 265,710 

2020 150,035 16,455 10,110 24,900 7,295 7,915 32,625 13,200 6,405 268,940 

2021 151,270 16,295 10,260 25,840 7,495 8,040 33,150 13,500 6,395 272,245 

2022 152,620 16,130 10,405 26,775 7,695 8,170 33,670 13,800 6,385 275,650 

2023 154,090 15,970 10,545 27,695 7,895 8,300 34,185 14,100 6,375 279,155 

2024 155,685 15,815 10,685 28,610 8,095 8,430 34,695 14,400 6,365 282,780 

2025 157,400 15,650 10,820 29,515 8,295 8,560 35,200 14,700 6,360 286,500 

Avg. Annual Growth 0.5% -0.9% 1.6% 5.6% 4.7% 1.9% 2.2% 9.9% 0.0% 1.4%

E = Estimated Source: FAA 2008-2025 Aerospace Forecast

05 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 53

FORECAST INFORMATION

5.2 FAA Forecast – U.S. General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 Aircraft Hours Flown (in Thousands)

As of Dec. 31

Fixed Wing

Rotorcraft

Experimental

Light Sport 

Aircraft Other

Total General 

Aviation Fleet

Piston Turbine

Single Engine Multi-Engine Turboprop Turbojet Piston Turbine

Historical

2000 18,089 3,400 1,986 2,755 531 1,777 1,307 NA 374 30,219 

2001 16,549 2,644 1,773 2,654 474 1,478 1,157 NA 287 27,016 

2002 16,325 2,566 1,850 2,745 453 1,422 1,345 NA 333 27,039 

2003 16,680 2,317 1,922 2,704 448 1,687 1,293 NA 264 27,315 

2004 15,363 2,763 2,161 3,719 514 2,020 1,322 NA 249 28,111 

2005 13,739 2,677 2,160 3,767 678 2,438 1,340 9 271 27,078 

2006 13,976 2,550 2,162 4,077 918 2,528 1,218 66 211 27,705 

2007E 13,501 2,527 2,187 4,405 1,018 2,612 1,258 143 215 27,866 

Forecast

2008 13,376 2,482 2,210 4,844 1,122 2,691 1,297 205 219 28,446 

2009 13,299 2,446 2,243 5,495 1,231 2,772 1,329 258 221 29,295 

2010 13,301 2,418 2,283 6,215 1,342 2,848 1,361 314 223 30,305 

2011 13,261 2,362 2,326 7,008 1,445 2,922 1,407 377 224 31,332 

2012 13,283 2,292 2,366 7,814 1,540 2,993 1,452 443 225 32,407 

2013 13,314 2,216 2,399 8,611 1,630 3,063 1,495 505 225 33,459 

2014 13,373 2,137 2,429 9,387 1,720 3,130 1,538 576 226 34,516 

2015 13,516 2,076 2,458 10,124 1,799 3,197 1,580 649 227 35,627 

2016 13,653 2,013 2,470 10,822 1,873 3,260 1,621 725 227 36,663 

2017 13,866 2,001 2,491 11,507 1,940 3,323 1,661 772 228 37,789 

2018 14,107 2,006 2,517 12,187 2,001 3,387 1,701 820 229 38,954 

2019 14,357 2,012 2,545 12,860 2,063 3,451 1,739 863 230 40,119 

2020 14,618 2,010 2,567 13,527 2,125 3,515 1,776 901 230 41,269 

2021 14,866 1,998 2,581 14,179 2,188 3,579 1,814 940 231 42,377 

2022 15,150 1,994 2,612 14,827 2,252 3,646 1,851 980 232 43,546 

2023 15,467 2,007 2,645 15,470 2,317 3,713 1,889 1,022 233 44,763 

2024 15,818 2,015 2,675 16,110 2,381 3,781 1,927 1,064 234 46,005 

2025 16,233 2,035 2,698 16,743 2,446 3,849 1,965 1,108 235 47,311 

Avg. Annual Growth 1.0% -1.2% 1.2% 7.7% 5.0% 2.2% 2.5% 12.1% 0.5% 3.0%

E = Estimated Source: FAA 2008-2025 Aerospace Forecast
54 General aviation manufacturers association

5.3 FAA Forecast – U.S. General Aviation and On-Demand FAR 135 Aircraft Fuel Consumption (in Millions of Gallons)

As of Dec. 31

Fixed Wing

Rotorcraft

Experimental

Light Sport 

Aircraft

Piston Turbine Total Fuel Consumed

Single 

Engine

MultiEngine Turboprop Turbojet Piston Turbine AvGas Jet Fuel Total

Historical

2000 200.8 108.4 176.3 736.7 8.4 59.0 15.2 NA 332.8 972.0 1304.8

2001 180.4 76.4 149.1 726.7 7.2 42.6 15.3 NA 279.2 918.3 1197.6

2002 177.9 74.2 152.3 745.5 6.8 40.5 17.8 NA 276.7 938.3 1215.0

2003 181.8 66.7 154.5 729.0 6.8 48.8 17.1 NA 272.4 932.3 1204.7

2004 167.5 80.1 167.0 1,004.9 7.9 59.0 17.5 NA 272.9 1230.9 1503.8

2005 218.4 111.9 196.1 1,181.3 14.6 71.7 17.7 0.0 362.6 1449.1 1811.7

2006 208.2 104.8 190.1 1,303.9 16.7 74.8 21.6 0.3 351.6 1568.8 1920.4

2007E 202.2 104.4 192.3 1,380.6 18.5 77.3 22.3 0.8 348.1 1650.1 1998.2

Forecast

2008 201.3 103.0 194.3 1,495.3 20.4 79.7 23.0 1.1 348.8 1769.3 2118.1

2009 201.1 102.1 197.2 1,679.4 22.3 81.5 23.4 1.4 350.3 1958.1 2308.4

2010 202.2 101.4 198.7 1,880.6 24.3 83.2 24.0 1.6 353.5 2162.4 2515.9

2011 202.6 99.5 202.4 2,099.2 26.2 85.0 24.8 2.0 355.0 2386.6 2741.6

2012 200.9 95.6 205.9 2,317.1 27.8 86.8 25.4 2.3 352.0 2609.8 2961.8

2013 199.3 91.5 206.7 2,528.1 29.4 88.5 26.2 2.6 349.0 2823.3 3172.3

2014 198.2 87.4 209.3 2,728.3 31.0 90.5 26.9 2.9 346.5 3028.0 3374.5

2015 198.3 84.0 211.7 2,913.1 32.3 92.4 27.6 3.3 345.5 3217.3 3562.8

2016 199.3 81.1 210.7 3,082.6 33.6 94.2 28.3 3.7 345.9 3387.5 3733.5

2017 201.4 80.2 212.4 3,245.1 34.8 95.7 29.0 3.9 349.3 3553.2 3902.5

2018 203.9 80.0 214.6 3,402.3 35.7 97.5 29.5 4.2 300.1 3714.5 4014.6

2019 206.5 79.8 214.9 3,554.5 36.8 99.0 30.2 4.3 357.6 3868.4 4226.0

2020 209.2 79.4 216.7 3,701.3 37.9 100.9 30.8 4.5 361.8 4018.8 4380.6

2021 211.7 78.5 217.9 3,841.0 39.0 102.7 31.5 4.7 365.4 4161.6 4527.0

2022 214.6 77.9 218.4 3,976.5 40.0 104.1 32.0 4.8 369.3 4299.0 4668.3

2023 218.0 78.0 221.1 4,107.4 41.1 106.0 32.6 5.0 300.1 4434.5 4734.6

2024 221.9 78.0 223.6 4,234.5 42.3 108.0 33.3 5.2 380.6 4566.1 4946.7

2025 226.6 78.3 225.5 4,356.8 43.4 109.9 33.9 5.4 387.7 4692.2 5079.8

Avg. Annual 

Growth 0.6% -1.6% 0.9% 6.6% 4.8% 2.0% 2.4% 11.6% 0.6% 6.0% 5.3%

E = Estimated Source: FAA 2008-2025 Aerospace Forecast

05 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 55

5.4 FAA Forecast – U.S. Pilot Population

As of Dec. 31 Students Recreational Sport Pilot Private Commercial

Airline 

Transport Pilot Rotorcraft Only Glider Only 1 Total Pilots

Historical

2000 99,110 340 NA 251,561 121,858 141,598 7,775 9,387 631,629

2001 94,420 316 NA 243,823 120,502 144,702 7,727 8,473 619,963

2002 85,991 317 NA 245,230 125,920 144,708 7,770 21,826 2/ 609,936

2003 87,296 310 NA 241,045 123,990 143,504 7,916 20,950 625,011

2004 87,910 291 NA 235,994 122,592 142,160 8,586 21,100 618,633

2005 87,213 278 134 228,619 120,614 141,992 9,518 21,369 609,737

2006 84,866 239 939 219,233 117,610 141,935 10,690 21,597 597,109

2007E 84,339 239 2,031 211,096 115,127 143,953 12,290 21,274 590,349

Forecast

2008 83,900 240 4,200 205,050 116,200 144,550 14,250 21,580 589,970

2009 83,600 240 6,500 201,400 116,200 145,250 15,130 21,780 590,100

2010 83,450 240 8,500 199,100 114,900 145,950 15,510 21,910 589,560

2011 84,300 240 10,200 197,700 115,100 146,600 15,700 21,990 591,830

2012 85,150 240 11,000 196,900 115,400 147,150 15,800 22,020 593,660

2013 86,050 240 11,550 196,500 115,800 147,750 15,850 22,040 595,780

2014 87,150 240 12,150 196,400 116,250 148,350 15,870 22,050 598,460

2015 88,250 240 12,800 196,750 116,800 148,900 15,890 22,060 601,690

2016 89,400 240 13,450 197,450 117,400 149,450 15,930 22,080 605,400

2017 90,550 240 14,150 198,550 118,100 150,050 16,040 22,110 609,790

2018 91,700 240 14,900 200,000 118,850 150,650 16,200 22,140 614,680

2019 92,850 240 15,650 201,850 119,700 151,200 16,390 22,170 620,050

2020 94,050 240 16,450 204,100 120,600 151,850 16,600 22,200 626,090

2021 95,250 240 17,200 206,650 121,550 152,500 16,820 22,220 632,430

2022 96,450 240 18,000 209,600 122,600 153,150 17,060 22,250 639,350

2023 97,700 240 18,850 212,900 123,700 153,800 17,310 22,280 646,780

2024 98,950 240 19,700 216,550 124,900 154,500 17,570 22,310 654,720

2025 100,200 240 20,600 220,550 126,150 155,200 17,830 22,360 663,130

Avg. Annual 

Growth 1.0% 0.0% 13.7% 0.2% 0.5% 0.4% 2.1% 0.3% 0.6%

E = Estimated 

1. In March 2001, the FAA changed the definition of glider pilot only. This added approximately 13,000 to this pilot category.

Note: Except for sport pilots, an active pilot is a person with a pilot certificate with a valid medical certificate.

Source: FAA 2008-2025 Aerospace Forecast

FORECAST INFORMATION
06

56 General aviation manufacturers association
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 57

This section contains an overview of general aviation’s 

historical safety record as far back as 1938. This data includes 

the number of accidents as well as historical information on 

hours flown for general aviation operations conducted under 

Part 91 and Part 135 on-demand operations.

General Aviation 

Safety Data 
58 General aviation manufacturers association

6.1 U.S. General Aviation Accidents, Fatal Accidents, and Fatalities (1938-2008)

Year

Accidents Accidents Fatalities

Flight Hours

Rate

All Excluded Fatal Excluded Total Aboard All Fatal

1938 1,861 * 176 * * * 1,478,000 125.9 11.9

1939 2,222 * 203 * * * 1,922,000 115.6 10.6

1940 3,471 * 232 * * * 3,202,000 108.4 7.3

1941 4,252 * 217 * * * 4,462,000 95.3 4.9

1942 3,324 * 143 * * * 3,790,000 87.7 3.8

1943 3,871 * 167 * * * * * *

1944 3,343 * 169 * * * * * *

1945 4,652 * 322 * * * * * *

1946 7,618 * 690 * * * 9,792,000 77.8 7.0

1947 9,253 * 882 * * * 16,348,000 56.6 5.3

1948 7,850 * 850 * * * 15,154,000 51.8 5.6

1949 5,459 * 562 * * * 11,051,000 49.4 5.0

1950 4,505 * 499 * * * 9,667,000 46.6 5.1

1951 3,824 * 441 * * * 8,460,000 45.2 5.2

1952 3,657 * 401 * * * 8,200,000 44.6 4.8

1953 3,232 * 387 * * * 8,528,000 37.9 4.5

1954 3,381 * 393 * * * 8,968,000 37.7 4.3

1955 3,343 * 384 * * * 9,524,000 35.1 4.0

1956 3,474 * 356 * * * 10,218,000 34.0 3.4

1957 4,200 * 438 * * * 10,938,000 38.4 4.0

1958 4,584 * 384 * * * 12,593,000 36.4 3.1

1959 4,576 * 450 * * * 12,890,000 35.5 3.5

1960 4,793 * 429 * * * 13,132,000 36.50 3.27

1961 4,625 * 426 * * * 13,603,000 34.00 3.13

1962 4,840 * 430 * * * 14,491,000 33.40 2.97

1963 4,690 * 482 * * * 15,129,000 31.00 3.19

1964 5,069 * 526 * * * 15,742,000 32.20 3.34

1965 5,196 * 538 * * * 16,707,000 31.10 3.22

1966 5,712 * 573 * * * 21,000,000 27.20 2.73

1967 6,115 * 603 * * * 22,156,000 27.60 2.72

1968 4,968 * 692 * * * 24,117,000 20.60 2.86

1969 4,767 * 647 * * * 25,356,000 18.80 2.55

1970 4,712 * 641 * * * 26,033,000 18.10 2.46

1971 4,648 * 661 * * * 25,538,000 18.20 2.59

1972 4,256 * 695 * * * 26,937,000 15.80 2.67

1973 4,255 * 723 * * * 29,965,000 14.20 2.52

1974 4,234 * 689 * * * 27,855,000 15.20 2.47

1975 4,001 * 636 * * * 28,784,000 13.90 2.20

1976 4,023 * 662 * * * 30,477,000 13.20 2.16

1977 4,083 * 663 * * * 31,651,000 12.90 2.09

1978 4,218 * 721 * * * 34,860,000 12.10 2.06

1979 3,625 * 636 * * * 36,690,000 9.88 1.63

1980 3,597 * 622 * * * 36,481,000 9.86 1.69

1981 3,502 * 654 * * * 36,824,000 9.51 1.78

1982 3,233 * 591 * 1,187 1,170 29,640,000 10.91 1.99

1983R 3,075 15 555 5 1,068 1,061 28,673,000 10.67 1.92

1984 3,017 26 545 11 1,042 1,021 29,099,000 10.28 1.84

1985 2,739 11 498 6 956 945 28,322,000 9.63 1.73

1986R 2,581 11 474 5 967 879 27,073,000 9.49 1.73

1987R 2,495 18 446 7 837 822 26,972,000 9.18 1.62

1988 2,388 13 460 4 797 792 27,446,000 8.65 1.66

1989R 2,242 17 432 8 769 766 27,920,000 7.97 1.52

1990R 2,242 4 444 1 770 765 28,510,000 7.85 1.55

1991R 2,197 8 439 5 800 786 27,678,000 7.91 1.56

1992R 2,111 2 451 1 867 865 24,780,000 8.51 1.82

1993R 2,064 5 401 4 744 740 22,796,000 9.03 1.74

1994R 2,022 3 404 2 730 723 22,235,000 9.08 1.81

1995R 2,056 10 413 6 736 728 24,906,000 8.21 1.63

1996R 1,908 4 361 0 636 619 24,881,000 7.65 1.45

1997R 1,845 5 350 2 631 625 25,591,000 7.19 1.36

1998R 1,904 6 365 4 625 619 25,518,000 7.44 1.41

1999R 1,905 3 340 1 619 615 29,246,000 6.50 1.16

2000R 1,837 7 345 7 596 585 27,838,000 6.57 1.21

2001R 1,727 3 325 1 562 558 25,431,000 6.78 1.27

2002R 1,715 7 345 6 581 575 25,545,000 6.69 1.33

2003R 1,740 4 352 3 633 630 25,998,000 6.68 1.34

2004R 1,617 3 314 0 559 559 24,888,000 6.49 1.26

2005R 1,670 2 321 1 563 558 23,168,000 7.20 1.38

2006R 1,518 2 306 1 703 543 23,963,000 6.33 1.27

2007R 1,631 0 284 0 491 486 23,835,000 6.84 1.19

2008P 1,469 * 275 * 476 * * * *

P = Preliminary, R = Revised 

Excluded "Accidents" and "Fatalities" are suicide/sabotage and stolen/unauthorized events, which are not included in rates.

Source: NTSB, FAA, and GAMA

06 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 59

General Aviation SAFETY DATA

1982

1983R

19841985

1986R1987R

1988

1989R1990R1991R1992R1993R1994R1995R

1996

1997R1998R1999R2000R2001R2002R2003R2004R2005R2006R2007R

1982

1983R

19841985

1986R1987R

1988

1989R1990R1991R1992R1993R1994R1995R

1996

1997R1998R1999R2000R2001R2002R2003R2004R2005R2006R2007R

2008P

Figure 6.1 Total Accidents and Fatal Accidents in U.S. General Aviation (1982-2008)

Total

Fatal

Figure 6.2 Accident Rates in U.S. General Aviation (1982-2007)

Total Accidents Per 100,000 Hours Flown

Fatal Accidents Per 100,000 Hours Flown

P = Preliminary, R = Revised

P = Preliminary, R = Revised

3,500

3,000

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

600

500

400

300

200

Fatal GA Accidents

12.00

10.00

8.00

6.00

4.00

2.00

0.00

Accident Rate (per 100,000 hours) Total GA Accidents
60 General aviation manufacturers association

6.2 U.S. On-Demand FAR 135 Accidents, Fatal Accidents, and Fatalities (1987-2007)

Year

Accidents Accidents Fatalities

Flight Hours

Rate

All Excluded Fatal Excluded Total Aboard All Fatal

1987 96 * 30 * 65 63 2,657,000 3.61 1.13

1988 102 * 28 * 59 55 2,632,000 3.88 1.06

1989 110 * 25 * 83 81 3,020,000 3.64 0.83

1990 107 * 29 * 51 49 2,249,000 4.76 1.29

1991 88 * 28 * 78 74 2,241,000 3.93 1.25

1992 76 * 24 * 68 65 2,844,000 2.67 0.84

1993 69 * 19 * 42 42 2,324,000 2.97 0.82

1994 85 * 26 * 63 62 2,465,000 3.45 1.05

1995 75 * 24 * 52 52 2,486,000 3.02 0.97

1996 90 * 29 * 63 63 3,220,000 2.80 0.90

1997 82 * 15 * 39 39 3,098,000 2.65 0.48

1998 77 * 17 * 45 41 3,802,000 2.03 0.45

1999 74 * 12 * 38 38 3,204,000 2.31 0.37

2000 80 * 22 * 71 68 3,930,000 2.04 0.56

2001 72 * 18 * 60 59 2,997,000 2.40 0.60

2002 60 * 18 * 35 35 2,911,000 2.06 0.62

2003 73 * 18 * 42 40 2,927,000 2.49 0.61

2004 66 * 23 * 64 63 3,238,000 2.04 0.71

2005 66 * 11 * 18 16 3,815,000 1.70 0.29

2006 53 * 10 * 16 16 3,742,000 1.42 0.27

2007 62 * 14 * 43 43 3,668,000 1.69 0.38

P = Preliminary, R = Revised 

Excluded “Accidents” and “Fatalities” are suicide/sabotage and stolen/unauthorized events, which are not included in rates.

In 2002, FAA changed their estimate of air taxi activity. The revision was retroactively applied to the years 1992 to present. In 2003, the FAA again revised flight activity estimates for 1999 to 2002. See Table 9a 

for further details surrounding this revision.

U.S. air carriers operating under 14 CFR Part 135 were previously referred to as Scheduled and Nonscheduled Services. Current tables now refer to these same air carriers as Commuter Operations and 

On-Demand Operations, respectively, in order to be consisent with definitions in 14 CFR 119.3 and terminology used in 14 CFR 135.1. On-Demand Part 135 operations encompass charters, air taxis, air tours, or 

medical services (when a patient is on board).

Source: NTSB

Figure 6.3 Accident Rates in U.S. On-Demand 135 Operations (1987-2007)

06 

5.00

4.50

4.00

3.50

3.00

2.50

2.00

1.50

1.00

0.50

0.00

Accident Rate (per 100,000 hours)

198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007

Total Accidents Per 100,000 Hours Flown

Fatal Accidents Per 100,000 Hours Flown
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 61
07

62 General aviation manufacturers association
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 63

This last section of the GAMA databook includes general 

aviation data for Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, New 

Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. 

GAMA collects this data from each country’s civil aviation 

authority. When reviewing this data, it is important that you 

recognize that the definition of general aviation varies by 

country and that in some cases the data may include aircraft 

in scheduled service. 

Over the past year, GAMA has worked closely with the European 

Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) General Aviation Task Force to 

further expand the availability of European GA data, which we 

will include in our databook as it becomes available.

GAMA also provides an historical summary of International 

Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) data regarding general 

aviation data from 1985 through 1997. Since 1997, this 

information has ceased from being collected.

International GA 

Statistical Information
64 General aviation manufacturers association

7.1 Australia – Hours Flown (in Thousands) in General Aviation by Flying Activity (1992-2007) 

Year Private Business Training Agricultural Aerial Work Test & Ferry Charter Total GA Regional Airline Total Hours

1992 255.4 204.2 421.6 80.9 256.7 28.2 403.9 1,650.9 223.4 1,874.3

1993 265.3 212.3 436.8 89.2 278.8 28.2 393.4 1,704.0 227.7 1,931.7

1994 256.9 198.5 419.5 78.9 301.7 25.9 424.4 1,705.8 238.3 1,944.1

1995 251.0 189.1 430.6 94.5 302.4 28.2 465.7 1,761.5 243.1 2,004.6

1996 261.6 182.8 444.9 117.4 285.7 26.2 480.4 1,799.0 246.2 2,045.2

1997 266.7 176.0 449.5 128.4 307.4 27.6 483.7 1,839.3 272.4 2,111.7

1998 263.0 163.8 478.5 139.2 312.4 26.6 494.6 1,878.1 273.2 2,151.3

1999 275.9 153.3 448.8 126.3 306.6 26.6 504.6 1,842.1 277.3 2,119.4

2000 248.5 136.3 413.6 115.0 296.9 27.9 476.7 1,714.9 335.7 2,050.6

2001 261.7 144.9 406.2 106.7 294.2 23.2 466.0 1,702.9 298.0 2,000.9

2002 270.2 142.2 410.8 70.8 327.1 20.9 445.7 1,687.7 250.1 1,937.8

2003 239.7 143.4 420.3 69.7 322.5 21.2 429.2 1,646.0 234.7 1,880.7

2004 247.2 143.0 352.2 86.5 312.4 22.3 481.4 1,645.0 251.4 1,896.4

2005 239.2 149.1 415.8 95.0 318.8 22.3 482.6 1,722.8 254.7 1,977.5

2006 227.2 144.1 424.0 61.7 337.9 21.7 478.4 1,695.0 241.5 1,936.5

2007 222.7 153.4 455.4 62.1 368.0 25.7 544.5 1,831.8 241.9 2,073.7

Source: Australia Dept. of Transportation and Regional Services, Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics www.infrastructure.gov.au

7.2 Australia – Number of General Aviation and Regional Aircraft by Category (1995-2007)

Year

Aircraft Type

Amatuer Built Total Aircraft

Fixed Wing

Single Engine Multi Engine Rotorcraft Balloon & Airship

1995 * 6,787 1,779 739 243 9,548

1996 * 6,861 1,799 739 266 9,665

1997 * 6,994 1,803 768 284 9,849

1998 * 7,137 1,783 791 295 10,006

1999 * 7,247 1,743 868 310 10,168

2000 * 7,302 1,755 743 325 10,125

2001 673 6,680 1,736 979 334 10,402

2002 707 6,668 1,706 1,038 336 10,455

2003 789 6,727 1,696 1,121 338 10,671

2004 848 6,794 1,718 1,194 350 10,904

2005 896 6,908 1,733 1,292 351 11,180

2006 910 6,838 1,730 1,320 319 11,117

2007 968 6,955 1,804 1,481 333 11,541

Prior to 2000, Amateur Built are included in Fixed Wing Single Engine Source: AustraliaDept. of Transportation and Regional Services, Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics www.infrastructure.gov.au

7.3 Australia – Number of Aircraft and Hours Flown (in Thousands) in General Aviation and Regional Airline 

Operations by Age of Aircraft (2007)

Age

Amateur Built Single Engine (Fixed Wing) Multi-Engine (Fixed Wing) Rotorcraft Ballons and Airships

Number of 

Aircraft

Total Hours 

Flown

Number of 

Aircraft

Total Hours 

Flown

Number of 

Aircraft

Total Hours 

Flown

Number of 

Aircraft

Total Hours 

Flown

Number of 

Aircraft

Total Hours 

Flown

New 2007 55 1.1 87 7.9 25 5.3 * * 24 0.4

1-5 310 12.1 303 101.2 66 71.6 16 4.7 90 5.6

6-10 267 8 280 82.5 56 43.7 7 5.0 75 2.9

11-15 112 3.5 209 73.4 124 114.7 13 6.5 60 0.9

16-20 72 1.4 204 36.6 101 111.5 37 16.2 42 0.2

21-25 63 1.4 258 39.1 139 77.4 26 13.8 27 0.1

26-30 56 1 1789 300.9 572 177.4 29 10.2 15 0.1

31-35 26 0.5 1125 138.0 348 80.5 * * * *

36-40 13 0.2 691 50.5 188 34.4 * * * *

Over 40 * * 2009 79.2 179 14.0 * * * *

Total 974 29.2 6,955 909.4 1,798 730.6 128 56 333 10.2

Source: Australia Dept. of Transportation and Regional Services, Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics www.infrastructure.gov.au

07 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 65

International GA Statistical Information

7.4 Brazil – Number of Aircraft Registrations by Type (1988-2003)

Year

Aircraft Type

Total Aircraft

Airplanes Rotorcraft

Amphibian 

Aircraft

Piston Turboprop Turbojet Piston Turbine

Single Engine Multi-Engine Single Engine Multi-Engine Multi-Engine Single Engine Single Engine Twin Engine

1988 5,088 1,422 * 189 86 63 158 29 13 7,048

1989 5,218 1,498 * 229 156 63 174 44 13 7,395

1990 5,385 1,543 * 261 189 66 178 45 16 7,683

1991 5,541 1,592 7 316 224 82 194 47 16 8,019

1992 5,676 1,617 20 346 249 100 220 57 17 8,302

1993 5,835 1,631 33 371 259 104 239 66 18 8,556

1994 5,922 1,658 40 393 266 114 254 73 18 8,738

1995 6,030 1,702 44 428 264 126 277 83 20 8,974

1996 6,075 1,732 59 442 267 142 305 90 21 9,133

1997 6,097 1,746 61 457 266 172 361 106 21 9,287

1998 6,155 1,762 65 463 255 217 399 123 21 9,460

1999 6,229 1,773 69 455 239 233 422 126 21 9,567

2000 6,258 1,776 74 461 235 261 428 141 21 9,655

2001 6,306 1,781 84 462 240 289 445 152 21 9,780

2002 6,334 1,782 87 462 254 294 466 169 21 9,869

2003 6,354 1,784 89 462 256 295 465 181 22 9,908

Source: Departamento de Aviação Civil, Brazil

7.5 Canada – Number of Aircraft Registrations by Type and Weight Group (1980-2006)

Year

Number of Registered Aircraft by Type By Weight Group

Aeroplane Ultralight Helicopter Glider Balloon Gyro <= 12,500 lbs > 12,500 lbs Total Aircraft

1980 21,533 * 1,381 511 91 108 * * 23,624

1981 22,199 * 1,476 528 124 110 * * 24,437

1982 22,412 * 1,462 548 148 112 * * 24,682

1983 22,354 1,282 1,410 560 177 116 * * 25,899

1984 22,330 1,971 1,326 572 197 118 * * 26,514

1985 22,231 2,376 1,276 582 219 117 * * 26,801

1986 22,105 2,706 1,264 589 247 116 * * 27,027

1987 22,270 2,946 1,299 602 279 121 * * 27,517

1988 22,469 3,105 1,338 613 308 122 * * 27,955

1989 22,463 3,212 1,366 614 339 127 * * 28,121

1990 22,278 3,363 1,416 609 361 128 27,173 982 28,155

1991 21,973 3,477 1,433 601 384 135 23,553 981 28,003

1992 21,795 3,607 1,502 602 405 155 27,070 996 28,066

1993 21,452 3,744 1,533 597 424 162 26,977 935 27,912

1994 21,212 3,840 1,582 601 444 169 26,885 963 27,848

1995 21,169 3,956 1,605 601 440 166 26,914 1,023 27,937

1996 21,089 4,070 1,643 592 440 168 26,919 1,084 28,002

1997 20,985 4,208 1,655 587 450 169 26,862 1,192 28,054

1998 20,830 4,305 1,676 592 440 174 26,809 1,208 28,017

1999 20,768 4,346 1,711 596 444 182 26,783 1,264 28,047

2000 20,789 4,467 1,753 600 446 187 26,922 1,320 28,242

2001 20,851 4,584 1,798 613 456 191 27,171 1,322 28,493

2002 18,123 7,524 1,831 617 459 190 27,376 1,368 28,744

2003 18,085 7,817 1,894 674 453 189 27,752 1,360 29,112

2004 18,216 8,119 1,940 686 463 190 28,166 1,448 29,614

2005 18,407 8,463 2,019 683 479 193 28,745 1,499 30,244

2006 18,657 8,855 2,145 687 482 192 * * 31,018

Balloons include airships and powered parachutes (e.g. 3 in 1992, 2 in 1993); Gyroplanes include ornithopters; 

Ultralights include basic ultra-light, advanced ultra-light, experimental, amateur-built and owner maintained.

Source: Transport Canada www.tc.gc.ca
66 General aviation manufacturers association

7.6 Germany – Number of General Aviation Aircraft by Type (2001-2008)

Year

Aircraft Type

Total 

Aircraft

Airplanes

Helicopters

Motor 

Gliders Air Ships Balloons Gliders

Single Engine Multi-Engine

5,701 kg to 

14,000 kg

14,001 kg to 

20,000 kg

Above 

20,000 kg

Below 

2,000 kg

2,000 to 

5,700 kg

Below 

2,000 kg

2,000 to 

5,700 kg

2001 6,813 95 207 476 191 60 612 721 2,434 5 1,474 7,771 20,859 

2002 6,731 92 208 467 184 55 619 731 2,494 5 1,400 7,728 20,714 

2003 6,658 97 205 452 179 54 653 725 2,533 6 1,362 7,686 20,610 

2004 6,670 94 199 440 172 55 619 720 2,584 4 1,351 7,703 20,611 

2005 6,682 93 212 417 176 54 651 721 2,664 4 1,305 7,728 20,707 

2006 6,704 102 224 417 181 56 663 729 2,766 4 1,278 7,741 20,865 

2007 6,705 120 230 417 200 51 702 731 2,824 4 1,264 7,769 21,017 

2008 6,738 126 232 436 224 45 734 739 2,948 4 1,286 7,815 21,327 

Does not differentiate if aeroplane is used for GA or commercial operations. Source: German Civil Aviation Authority (Luftfahrt-Bundesamtes / Statistiken) www.lba.de

7.7 New Zealand – Number of General Aviation Aircraft by Type and Airmen Certificates (1933-2005)

Year

Airplanes by Mass

Total 

Aircraft

Airmen Certificates

Total 

Airmen 

Certificates

Airplanes by Weight

Sport Helicopter Private Commercial* ATPL

Maintenance 

Engineer

Below 

2,721 kg

2,721 to 

5,670 kg

5,670 to 

13,608 kg

13,608 kg 

and Above

1933 * * * * * * 65 165 33 - 28 226

1947 * * * * * * 154 863 200 - 125 1,188

1959 * * * * * * 647 1,291 657 - 313 2,261

1974 * * * * * * 1,430 3,752 1,555 - 660 5,967

1992 1,334 77 46 56 1,092 338 2,976 - - - - -

1993 1,410 77 49 61 1,121 356 3,076 3,801 2,942 1,194 - 7,937

1994 1,482 92 59 65 1,136 392 3,226 4,126 3,136 1,240 1,300 9,802

1995 1,522 101 61 69 1,150 426 3,329 4,226 3,256 1,296 1,356 10,134

1996 1,548 111 67 67 1,178 449 3,420 4,414 3,497 1,321 1,464 10,696

1997 1,559 113 68 67 1,163 435 3,405 4,292 3,510 1,391 1,498 10,691

1998 1,559 113 68 67 1,163 435 3,405 4,143 3,433 1,473 1,547 10,596

1999 1,539 104 67 73 1,124 420 3,327 - - - - -

2000 1,522 109 69 75 1,127 411 3,313 3,878 3,229 1,514 1,648 10,269

2001 1,506 107 67 77 1,129 420 3,306 3,790 3,130 1,519 1,735 10,174

2002 1,492 105 82 77 1,172 450 3,378 3,579 3,228 1,503 1,766 10,076

2003 1,505 117 74 83 1,245 506 3,530 3,762 3,317 1,608 1,847 10,534

2004 1,535 124 72 92 1,321 559 3,703 3,711 3,381 1,695 1,927 10,714

2005 1,561 139 65 93 1,390 624 3,872 3,683 3,524 1,791 2,019 11,017

Commercial also includes ATPL prior to 1974.

Does not differentiate if aeroplane is used for GA or commercial operations. 

Source: Annual Profile, Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand www.caa.govt.nz

07 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 67

7.8 South Africa – Number of General Aviation Aircraft by Type (1999-2008)

Year

Aircraft Type

Total 

Aircraft

Aeroplane Helicopter

Sport 

& Rec.

Piston Engine Powered Turboprop Turbojet

1 Engine 2 Engine Other Agri. 1 Engine 2 Engine Other Agri. 2 Engine 3 Engine Other Piston Turbine

1999 2,282 695 4 144 66 201 10 43 157 17 21 228 251 3,103 7,222 

2000 2,285 706 6 143 68 215 10 45 160 20 21 248 263 3,294 7,484 

2001 2,280 701 6 144 79 237 10 48 164 27 22 258 271 3,470 7,717 

2002 2,299 698 10 144 83 249 8 46 176 29 27 263 279 3,616 7,927 

2003 2,338 716 12 148 91 271 8 52 197 31 34 308 290 3,907 8,403 

2004 2,422 724 11 151 88 306 9 54 189 34 41 348 318 4,127 8,822 

2005 2,459 731 10 150 93 310 8 56 206 21 44 385 337 4,253 9,063 

2006 2,608 738 8 159 110 331 6 53 261 18 58 514 384 4,941 10,189 

2007 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

2008 2,666 755 7 153 108 324 10 55 299 18 74 575 434 5,215 10,693 

2007 data is not available from the South African Aircraft Registry. Source: South African Civil Aviation Authority www.caa.co.za

7.9 Switzerland – Number of General Aviation Aircraft by Type and Airmen Certificates (1990-2006)

Year

Aircraft Type

Total 

Aircraft

Airmen Certificates

Total 

Airmen 

Certificates

Airplanes by Weight

Total 

Airplanes Helicopter

Motor 

Glider Gliders Balloons Airship

Private 

Pilots

Commercial 

Pilots ATPL

Helicopter 

Pilots

Other 

Airmen 

Certifcates

Below 

2,250 

kg

2,250 

- 5,700 

kg

Above 

5,700 

kg

1990 * * * 1,952 199 131 1,035 335 1 3,653 8,179 * 886 * 4,610 *

1991 * * * 1,992 218 148 1,035 388 4 3,785 * * * * * *

1992 * * * 2,026 233 173 1,045 433 4 3,914 * * * * * *

1993 * * * 2,041 240 192 1,061 467 4 4,005 * * * * * *

1994 * * * 2,043 246 196 1,058 492 4 4,039 * * * * * *

1995 * * * 2,069 238 199 1,072 524 5 4,107 * * * * * *

1996 * * * 2,058 234 202 1,080 516 6 4,096 * * * * * *

1997 1,549 271 193 2,013 238 209 1,076 516 6 4,058 * * * * * *

1998 1,581 197 227 2,005 244 228 1,046 510 6 4,039 * * * * * *

1999 1,579 167 265 2,011 246 232 1,033 493 6 4,021 * * * * * *

2000 1,572 157 285 2,014 254 246 1,024 504 6 4,048 6,792 1,421 2,223 1,008 4,058 15,502

2001 1,564 154 306 2,024 266 252 1,028 492 5 4,067 6,336 1,396 2,160 951 3,822 14,665

2002 1,537 151 304 1,992 265 260 1,016 490 7 4,030 6,294 1,399 2,185 950 3,646 14,474

2003 1,539 156 257 1,952 280 259 1,000 474 7 3,972 6,673 1,190 2,094 980 3,384 14,321

2004 1,528 142 248 1,918 275 254 974 465 7 3,893 6,553 1,628 2,104 1,064 3,281 14,630

2005 1,502 149 241 1,892 285 254 949 452 9 3,841 5,928 1,000 2,086 1,082 3,265 13,361

2006 1,497 148 248 1,893 284 248 941 445 11 3,822 5,911 900 2,055 1,101 3,243 13,210

Other Airmen Certificates include Glider Pilots, Balloon Pilots, Validations, Flight Engineers, and Radio Navigators Souce: Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation, Bundesamt für Zivilluftfahrt (BAZL) www.bazl.admin.ch

International GA Statistical Information
68 General aviation manufacturers association

7.10 United Kingdom – Number of General Aviation Aircraft by Type (1990-2008)

Year

Number of Registered Aircraft by Type

Total

Aeroplane Fixed Wing

MicrolightHelicopter GliderHang 

Glider

Balloon 

& Min. 

Lift Airship

GyroAmph. plane

1 to 

750 kg

751 to 

5,700 kg

5,701 to 

15,000 kg

15,001 to 

50,000 kg

Over 

50,000 kg SLMG 1

Seaplane

1990 11 2,143 5,003 236 251 324 196 2 3,298 842 6 - 1,391 53 202 13,958 

1991 13 2,295 5,176 255 273 336 209 2 3,050 912 6 - 1,545 50 228 14,350 

1992 14 2,289 5,228 282 274 358 214 3 3,194 902 9 - 1,682 51 210 14,710 

1993 16 2,385 5,187 298 261 380 238 4 3,347 876 9 - 1,744 54 218 15,017 

1994 16 2,507 5,130 278 263 388 234 3 3,337 832 9 - 1,668 47 229 14,941 

1995 16 2,593 5,075 279 261 396 239 3 3,266 828 8 - 1,758 47 246 15,015 

1996 16 2,657 5,043 285 241 401 239 2 3,207 838 8 - 1,821 44 257 15,059 

1997 17 2,712 5,111 267 246 406 245 2 3,231 859 8 - 1,898 40 261 15,303 

1998 18 2,758 5,190 257 251 439 255 2 3,314 906 7 - 1,896 40 261 15,594 

1999 18 2,827 5,292 247 280 499 263 2 3,450 980 7 - 1,843 40 265 16,013 

2000 17 2,813 5,347 254 289 541 268 2 3,548 1,013 7 1 1,907 42 244 16,293 

2001 15 2,824 5,429 262 288 592 273 2 3,478 1,057 1 7 1,979 33 233 16,473 

2002 15 2,832 5,442 276 296 624 273 2 3,531 1,090 1 10 1,812 28 242 16,474 

2003 14 2,859 5,461 267 307 645 270 2 3,618 1,134 1 11 1,799 31 244 16,663 

2004 15 2,914 5,556 254 264 644 274 3 3,828 1,159 1 12 1,812 30 247 17,013 

2005 17 2,994 5,647 254 271 662 276 3 4,070 1,238 2 12 1,862 29 251 17,588 

2006 18 3,022 5,711 254 256 679 280 3 4,118 1,314 45 13 1,905 27 249 17,894 

2007 19 3,077 5,822 253 272 712 280 2 4,254 1,386 149 13 1,922 24 260 18,445 

2008 21 3,153 5,887 258 257 760 286 2 4,392 1,490 1,107 13 1,962 24 278 19,890 

2009 21 3,186 6,000 270 270 760 295 3 4,447 1,495 2,258 13 1,983 24 306 21,331 

Does not differentiate if aeroplane is used for GA or commercial operations.

Data from January 1 of specified year.

1. SLMG – Self-launched Motor Glider

Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority, Civil Registry Statistics, G-INFO Database www.caa.co.uk

7.11 ICAO Summary of General Aviation Aircraft (1985-1997)

Region 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

Europe 30,800 31,200 31,500 32,000 33,100 33,200 31,300 31,100 36,200 36,100 N/A N/A N/A

Africa 4,600 4,650 4,600 4,500 4,970 4,950 6,200 5,500 6,200 6,050 N/A N/A N/A

Middle East 520 540 550 600 690 670 610 580 590 580 N/A N/A N/A

Asia & Pacific 8,400 8,500 9,200 9,800 10,300 10,200 10,240 10,250 11,100 11,500 N/A N/A N/A

North America 236,000 224,300 224,150 229,320 223,030 232,080 224,750 219,000 188,300 185,890 N/A N/A N/A

Latin America & Caribbean 13,700 13,900 13,800 13,500 15,200 15,200 18,900 18,600 18,800 18,600 N/A N/A N/A

Total-ICAO States 294,020 283,090 283,800 289,720 287,290 296,300 292,000 285,030 261,190 258,720 268,000 269,000 273,500

Excludes The Russian Federation Source: ICAO

7.12 ICAO Summary of General Aviation Hours Flown (in Thousands) (1985-1997)

Region 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997

Europe 6,080 6,400 6,500 6,600 6,720 6,870 6,730 6,700 7,260 7,240 6,880 6,270 6,000

Africa 790 820 800 800 820 820 700 700 800 770 800 780 700

Middle East 260 240 260 260 270 310 300 180 300 290 300 300 290

Asia & Pacific 2,420 2,740 3,060 3,250 3,380 3,470 3,500 3,770 4,180 4,250 4,260 4,680 4,880

North America 33,920 32,100 31,070 31,110 31,610 31,950 32,100 26,200 24,220 23,120 25,520 25,550 26,820

Latin America & Caribbean 3,850 3,380 3,550 3,570 3,400 3,300 3,150 3,150 3,340 3,280 3,110 3,150 3,300

Total-ICAO States 47,320 45,680 45,240 45,590 46,200 46,720 46,480 40,700 40,100 38,950 40,870 40,730 41,990

Excludes the Russian Federation Source: ICAO

07 
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 69

International GA Statistical Information
70 General aviation manufacturers association

Mark Van Tine

Jeppesen

Chairman of the Board, 

International Affairs 

Committee

Rob Wilson

Honeywell – Business 

& General Aviation

Vice Chairman of the 

Board, Technical Policy 

Committee

Alan Klapmeier

Cirrus Design Corporation

Immediate Past Chairman 

of the Board

Adrienne Stevens

L-3 Communications 

AVIONICS SYSTEMS

Communications 

Committee

Larry Williams

Ballistic Recovery 

Systems

Safety Affairs & Training 

Committee

John Rosanvallon

Dassault Falcon Jet

Security Issues Committee

Jack Pelton

Cessna Aircraft 

Company

Flight Operations Policy 

Committee

Steve Ridolfi

Bombardier AEROSPACE

Environment Committee

Alain Bellemare 

Hamilton Sundstrand

Product Liability & Legal 

Issues Committee

2009 GAMA Executive Committee
2008 GENERAL AVIATION STATISTICAL DATABOOK & INDUSTRY OUTLOOK 71

Heather Precopio

Staff Assistant

Edward T. Smith

Senior Vice President, 

International & 

Environmental Affairs

Katie Pribyl

Director, Communications

Jahan Ahmad

Accountant

Sarah Goldstein

Executive Assistant

Jens Hennig

Vice President, Operations

Jamie Hunter

Director, 

Government Affairs

Casey Kinosz

Manager, Operations

Bree J. Foran

Manager, Meetings & 

Membership Services

Gregory J. Bowles

Director, Engineering & 

Manufacturing

Paul Feldman

Vice President, 

Government Affairs

Pete Bunce

President & CEO

Walter L. Desrosier

Vice President, 

Engineering & Maintenance

2009 GAMA Staff
72 Ge

neral aviation manufacturers association2

3 41

4 20 32

1 12

44 25

16 30

26

39

6

7

8

48

5 12

43

22

11 38

60

9 13

14

18

49

23 34 40

33 24

52

53

54

55

42

27

28

29 37

35

59

45 19

51

31

62

10 50

63

58

64

65

45

south american M ember companies N orth american M ember companies E uropean M ember companies

1 Aero-Mach Labs 2 Aircraft Technical Publishers 3 AmSafe Aviation 4 Aspen Avionics 5 Aviall, Inc. 6 Avidyne Corporation 7 Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc. 8 B/E Aerospace, Inc. 9 Boeing Business Jets

10 Bombardier Aerospace

11 CAE SimuFlite

12 Cessna Aircraft Company

13 Cirrus Design Corporation

14 Crane Aerospace & Electronics

15 Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation

16 DeCrane Aerospace

17 Diamond Aircraft Industries

18 Dukes Inc.

19 Eaton Corporation

20 Eclipse Aviation

21 Embraer

22 Emivest Aerospace

23 FlightSafety International, Inc.

24 Garmin International, Inc.

25 General Aviation Modifications, Inc.

26 GE Aviation

27 Goodrich Corporation

28 Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation

29 Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation

30 Hartzell Propeller, Inc.

31 Hawker Beechcraft Corporation

32 Honeywell –Business & General Aviation

33 ICE Corporation

34 Innovative Solutions & Support, Inc.

35 Jeppesen

36 Jet Aviation

37 Kaman Aerostructures & Kamatics

38 Kelly Aerospace, Inc.

39 L-3 Communications Avionics Systems

40 Lycoming Engines

41 Meggitt Aerospace Equipment

42 Meggitt Vibro-Meter

43 Mooney Aerospace Group, Ltd.

44 The NORDAM Group

45 Parker Hannifin Corporation

46 Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A.

47 Pilatus Aircraft, Ltd.

48 Piper Aircraft, Inc.

49 PPG Aerospace

50 Pratt & Whitney Canada

51 Precision Products LLC

52 Rockwell Collins, Inc.

53 Rolls-Royce North America

54 Sabreliner Corporation

55 Safe Flight Instrument Corporation

56 SMA

57Socata

58 StandardAero

59 S-TEC

60 Teledyne Continental Motors

61 Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH

62 Triumph Group, Inc.

63 Universal Avionics Systems Corporation

64 Williams International

65 Woodward Governor Company

21

57 15

56

21

47 36

46

61

17
Aero-Mach Labs

Wichita, KS

316/682-7707

www.aeromach.com

Aircraft Technical Publishers

Brisbane, CA

415/330-9500

www.atp.com

AmSafe Aviation

Phoenix, AZ

602/850-2850

www.amsafe.com

Aspen Avionics

Albuquerque, NM

505/856-5034

www.aspenavionics.com

Aviall, Inc.

DFW Airport, TX

800/284-2551

www.aviall.com

Avidyne Corporation

Lincoln, MA

781/402-7400

www.avidyne.com

Ballistic Recovery

Systems, Inc.

South St. Paul, MN

651/457-7491

www.brsparachutes.com

B/E Aerospace, Inc.

Miami, FL 

305/459-7000

www.beaerospace.com

Boeing Business Jets

Seattle, WA 

206/655-9800

www.boeing.com/commercial/bbj/

Bombardier Aerospace

Dorval, Québec Canada

514/855-5000

www.aerospace.bombardier.com

CAE SimuFlite

DFW Airport, TX

972/456-8000

www.simuflite.com

Cessna Aircraft Company

Wichita, KS

316/517-6000

www.cessna.com

Cirrus Design Corporation

Duluth, MN

218/727-2737

www.cirrusdesign.com

Crane Aerospace & Electronics

Lynnwood, WA 

425/743-8321

www.craneaerospace.com

Dassault Falcon Jet 

Corporation

South Hackensack, NJ

Corporate Headquarters:

Saint-Cloud, France 

201/440-6700

www.dassaultfalcon.com

DeCrane Aerospace

Columbus, OH

614/848-7700

www.decraneaerospace.com

Diamond Aircraft Industries

London, Ontario Canada

Corporate Headquarters:

Wiener Neustadt, Austria

519/457-4000

www.diamondair.com

Dukes Inc.

Northridge, CA 

818/998-9811

www.dukesinc.com

Eaton Corporation

Irvine, CA

949/253-2100

www.eaton.com

Eclipse Aviation

Albuquerque, NM

505/245-7555

www.eclipseaviation.com

Embraer 

São José dos Campos, Brazil

954/359-3700

www.embraer.com

Emivest Aerospace

San Antonio, Texas

210/258-3900

www.emivestaerospace.com

FlightSafety International, Inc.

Flushing, NY 

718/565-4100

www.flightsafety.com

Garmin International, Inc.

Olathe, KS 

913/397-8200

www.garmin.com

General Aviation

Modifications, Inc.

Ada, OK

580/436-4833

www.gami.com

GE Aviation

Cincinnati, OH

877/432-3272

www.geae.com

Goodrich Corporation

Charlotte, NC 

704/423-7000

www.goodrich.com

Gulfstream Aerospace 

Corporation

Savannah, GA 

912/965-3000

www.gulfstream.com

Hamilton Sundstrand 

Corporation

Windsor Locks, CT

860/654-6000

www.hamiltonsundstrand.com

Hartzell Propeller, Inc.

Piqua, OH 

937/778-4200

www.hartzellprop.com

Hawker Beechcraft 

Corporation

Wichita, KS

316/676-7111

www.hawkerbeechcraft.com

Honeywell – Business 

& General Aviation

Phoenix, AZ

602/231-1000

www.honeywell.com

ICE Corporation

Manhattan, KS

785/776-6423

www.ice-ks.com

Innovative Solutions

& Support, Inc.

Exton, PA 

610/646-9800

www.innovative-ss.com

Jeppesen

Englewood, CO 

303/799-9090

www.jeppesen.com

Jet Aviation

Zurich, Switzerland

+41 58 158 8888

www.jetaviation.com

Kaman Aerostructures

& Kamatics

Bloomfield, CT

860/243-7100

www.kaman.com

Kelly Aerospace, Inc.

Montgomery, AL 

334/286-8551

www.kellyaerospace.com

L-3 Communications

Avionics Systems

Grand Rapids, MI 

616/949-6600

www.L-3com.com/AS

Lycoming Engines

Williamsport, PA 

570/323-6181

www.lycoming.textron.com

Meggitt Aerospace Equipment

Simi Valley, CA

805/584-4100

www.meggitt.com

Meggitt Vibro-Meter

Londonderry, NH

603/669-0940

www.vibro-meter.com

Mooney Aerospace 

Group, Ltd.

Kerrville, TX

830/896-6000

www.mooney.com

The NORDAM Group

Tulsa, OK 

918/587-4105

www.nordam.com

Parker Hannifin Corporation

Irvine, CA 

949/833-3000

www.parker.com

Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A.

West Palm Beach, FL

Corporate Headquarters:

Genoa, Italy

561/253-0104

www.piaggioaero.com

Pilatus Aircraft, Ltd.

Stans, Switzerland

303/465-9099

www.pilatus-aircraft.com

Piper Aircraft, Inc.

Vero Beach, FL 

772/567-4361

www.newpiper.com

PPG Aerospace

Glendale, CA 

818/240-2060

www.ppg.com

Pratt & Whitney Canada

Longueuil, Québec Canada

450/677-9411

www.pwc.ca

Precision Products LLC 

Kirkland, WA 

425/739-9997

Rockwell Collins, Inc.

Cedar Rapids, IA 

319/295-1000

www.rockwellcollins.com

Rolls-Royce North America

Indianapolis, IN

703/834-1700

www.rolls-royce.com/northamerica

Sabreliner Corporation

St. Louis, MO 

314/863-6880

www.sabreliner.com

Safe Flight Instrument 

Corporation

White Plains, NY 

914/946-9500

www.safeflight.com

SMA

Bourges, France

+33 (24867) 560-1

www.smaengines.com

Socata

Paris, France

954/893-1400

www.socata.eads.net

StandardAero

Tempe, AZ

480/377-3100

www.standardaero.com

S-TEC

Mineral Wells, TX

940/325-9406

www.s-tec.com

Teledyne Continental Motors

Mobile, AL 

251/438-3411

www.tcmlink.com

Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH

Lichtenstein, Germany

+49 (37204) 696-0

www.thielert.com

Triumph Group, Inc.

Wayne, PA

610/251.1000

www.triumphgroup.com

Universal Avionics Systems 

Corporation

Tucson, AZ 

520/295-2300

www.uasc.com

Williams International

Walled Lake, MI 

248/624-5200

www.williams-int.com

Woodward Governor Company

Rockford, IL 

815/877-7441

www.woodward.com

GAMA Member Companies
General Aviation 

Manufacturers 

Association

1400 K Street NW 

Suite 801

Washington, DC 20005

202 393 1500

www.GAMA.aero