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Aviation, Private

Private aviation is a component of general aviation (GA), which also encompasses such noncommercial segments as search and rescue, law enforcement, medical transport, and emergency evacuation. Agricultural aviation is also considered within GA.

Infrastructure and Fleet

There are an estimated 39,000 private aircraft worldwide; as many as 1 million people in the United States work within or in association with the private aviation industry. The domain of private aviation is part of the larger realm of general aviation, which as a whole contributes on the order of $75 billion annually to the U.S. economy, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This figure includes operations of nearly $39 billion and combined manufacturing and traveler expenditures of approximately $37 billion each year.

Research by the FAA has shown that average annual earnings of private aviation workers—both those directly employed in private aviation and those working for support enterprises from manufacturing to distribution to ground services—are nearly equivalent to the earnings of workers in similar positions within the commercial aviation industries, both direct and ancillary.

In its 2011–2015 National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS), the FAA indicated that 2,829 public airports in the United States are designated as “reliever airports” or as general aviation airports, that is, they offer noncommercial service only; specifically, 2,560 general aviation airports and 269 reliever airports. To be listed in the NPIAS, general aviation airports must be open to the public, be located within 20 miles of the nearest NPIAS-listed airport, and base at least 10 aircraft. Reliever airports must base at least 100 aircraft or at least 25,000 itinerant operations annually. These nearly 2,900 GA and reliever airports make up more than half of all public airports in the United States.

The aircraft of choice in private aviation tends to be of the piston engine type. Roughly 60 percent of GA flight hours were conducted in piston-driven fixed-wing craft; the remaining 40 percent of flight hours were accomplished in roughly equal parts by turboprop, jet, and rotorcraft.

Private Pilot Qualifications

In most countries, private aviation pilots must obtain certification by a national licensing body. The pilot must determine the type of aircraft for which he or she wants to earn the certification; these range from gliders to airplanes to helicopters, and other flight devices. Beyond the initial private pilot certificate or license, a pilot may decide to qualify for additional levels of ranking, rating, or endorsements. These add-ons may cover qualification for such skill sets as instrument-only piloting, for example, or may be specific to certain aircraft configurations, such as single- versus multiengine craft, or to high altitude–capable pressurized aircraft.

Supporting requirements in addition to the pilot license itself typically include qualifying for such documents as medical certificates. These are classed by criteria based on age, vision, hearing, and other essential health metrics. Some types of certification are nonpilot types; these can apply to flight engineers, instructors, dispatchers, attendants, and related professions. Some of these have distinct rating or class certifications.

The FAA recorded more than 610,000 active airmen certificates (pilot licenses) in the United States at the end of 2012. Of these, approximately 188,000 were private aviation pilots, 116,000 were commercial aviation pilots, and nearly 146,000 were certified as airline transport pilots, the highest rating.

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