And therein is the true value of general aviation-its utility and flexibility. For general aviation to be of value to the American public, four major criteria must be met. First, there must be pilots. Second, there must be aircraft. Third, there must be airports available, and fourth, there must be a public need for the other three.
General aviation serves a wide variety of public needs and is in the public interest.
General aviation aircraft are used to fly doctors, attorneys, and businessmen from all walks of life to locations around the globe. General aviation aircraft are used for traffic reporting, television news gathering, and police observation. General aviation aircraft transport emergency medical patients on a continuous basis. They dust crops, put out fires, haul cargo, deliver mail, patrol pipelines, and move your personal and business checks to Federal Reserve locations each night. General aviation transports local, state, and federal officials, and yes, it even takes people on vacations.