General Aviation - Fact Or Fiction

[Music] what happened ah i got back as fast as i could i just had to go around some weather well you know a little late but i think we can make it before the uh committee meets i hope so come on my car is right sorry about that at the moment the father's thought from his mind is the fact that he and thousands of other general aviation pilots might represent a significant segment of the national transportation system most pilots are primarily interested in how flying benefits then in their own personal and business lives and many like john brennan have good reason for contacting their instructors and upgrading their qualifications you know i wondered why you waited so long to go for your instrument rating well you you know how it is you uh you keep putting it off and putting it off until weather delays cause you to miss a couple of important business conferences then you decide to do something about it well i think as many pilots as possible should get their instrument ready i mean it makes it a lot easier for them to get where they want to go in the air traffic system okay let's see how well we can do with instruments today general aviation is a catch-all term that just doesn't do justice to the great variety and scope of this segment of flying that's why general aviation today is often the subject of both fact and fiction did you know that of all the aircraft in this country only two percent is operated by the airlines only twenty percent are military and the other seventy eight percent are general aviation now that's a lot of airplanes more than three-fourths of all the aircraft in this country in fact all the estimates show that future increases in the number of pilots planes and hours flown will be by far the greatest in general aviation do you know that right now you fly more than four times as many hours as the air carriers each year you have more than 20 times as many licensed pilots that's nearly three-quarters of a million and here's something else that most people never think of you fly out of all of the 12 000 airports in this country the airlines serve only about uh 800 that means that the only access by air to the other 11 thousand plus airports are the planes you fly general aviation aircraft you know there are a lot of people in these communities that think that you just fly around boring holes in the sky they don't recognize the fact that most general aviation flying is income producing and that you are actually contributing to the economic well-being of their communities [Music] yes i need to get to appleton right away what's available sir we have a flight leaving in about 15 minutes did i see your ticket air wisconsin air commuter service is now ready for passenger boarding at gate 37 every day all over the united states business executives fly to and from important appointments some go by a commuter service [Music] the federal government recognizes that general aviation is the biggest and fastest growing segment of aviation that it's capable of making a major contribution to the economies of many cities and towns that it's an indispensable part of the total air transportation system [Music] general aviation airports tie many communities to the rest of the nation they attract business organizations that want to locate away from congested city areas yet remain in touch they make it possible for people to live and work in rural areas that once could offer only limited job opportunities they have actually revitalized many communities that otherwise might have suffered from economic stagnation as a result many now see the possibility of a reverse flow of people away from overcrowded urban centers for these reasons the federal aviation administration of the department of transportation is devoting considerable time and money to improvements that make it easier and safer for general aviation pilots to fly through the nation's airspace over the years a comprehensive national airspace system has evolved 580 alpha third it includes electronic navigational aids airport lighting and landing systems air traffic control facilities and all the other modern system elements that safeguard those who fly they are all available to the general aviation community the system includes special facilities such as flight service stations along the general aviation pilot's primary source of weather and routing information and it includes the faa's general aviation district offices where local matters including pilot examinations are handled a major part of the faa's continuing effort in behalf of general aviation is training of new pilots and upgrading the proficiency of those with more experience as more and more aircraft are added to the national airspace system an ever-increasing level of proficiency is a must for everyone who flies the faa's effort starts right at the flight schools to assure that the quality of training meets satisfactory standards [Music] the goal is to give each student the most thorough knowledge possible of the mechanics of flight and associated flying environment a key to achieving this goal is the flight instructor he's always been important but he's becoming even more so the faa is continually seeking to upgrade the quality of instruction at every level of flight proficiency for pilot john brennan this means thorough training in flight by instruments without visual reference to the outside horizon only when the instructor is convinced his student has mastered one step will he permit him to move on to the next to be sure flight instructors maintain their own proficiency the faa requires them to renew their instructor certificates every two years they may do this by graduating from a three-day flight instructor refresher course by exhibiting satisfactory flight instruction performance records or by demonstrating their current competency to an faa inspector the faa's accident prevention program is another example of the effort being made to increase proficiency and improve safety more than 80 accident prevention specialists work out of the faa's general aviation district offices putting on clinics and seminars around the country this is a picture of a cumulus cloud and a cumulus cloud normally to the person on the ground looks like a very pleasant situation to a pilot presents a very dangerous symbol now that you understood what we're going to demonstrate i want you to put this on as we agreed to i'd like to ask you to all be very quiet because the noise you make might give away his relative motion right which way are we turning you um counterclockwise okay now put your chin on your chest now pretty soon you're going to feel like the chair had stopped when you feel that way please say so no i feel like all right now suddenly raise your head oh wow oh i feel like i'm going around in circles all right you see you really are you just thought you had stopped but in actuality you had not another effort the faa is making involves flight service stations to file an instrument flight plan up to duluth i want to see if mr brennan here flies the airways well enough to schedule his instrument exam very good how's the weather end route the destination step in and we'll check it okay important changes are proposed to modernize facilities and relocate some of them to enable them to be even more helpful and along with other faa programs greatly improve flight safety to the north and the northwest angle it's moving eastward and the cold front is somewhat dry and should pose no problem of course safety must apply equally to everyone who flies and therein lies a growing challenge to the general aviation community [Music] general aviation must share the nation's airspace chicago 7 american 92 out three field american 92 chicago squad guy dent radar contacted flexible 3-3-0 controls and restrictions are now required in many congested areas to make sure aircraft are safely separated in flight flying in these areas require eos to maintain communications with air traffic controllers on the ground seven victor minneapolis close control square code zero four seven four nine in transponders to assure proper radar identification and navigation gear to help stay on the electronic airways there's no question that the skills required to fly in congested areas imposes a hardship on some pilots but most like john brennan know that upgrading their proficiency helps them get the fullest use of the system [Music] it's important that the general aviation community address itself to the requirements of the total transportation system then make its own unique requirements known to those who decide how airspace and financial resources will be allocated in the future even more important to general aviation today is the relationship between airports and their surrounding communities many local citizens think of airports only in terms of noise and congestion forgotten are all the important economic contributions they make to their communities providing the many jobs required to serve the people who fly [Music] attracting businesses that want to locate away from congested population centers breathing new economic life into entire local areas a way must be found to demonstrate these points to local citizens and show them what busy airports can mean to their communities leaders must speak up and speak out for the good of aviation and the urgent need for more aggressive community airport planning and development the faa can help assure the continued safety of all those who fly by setting forth flight rules and regulations by making certain pilots are adequately trained as the first part of your check right how about setting up a flight plan up to fargo and then 9007 victor be providing the services of a full air traffic system that's proposed off minneapolis at one five zero zero he's requesting six thousand minutes and helping to meet and beat the problems that thwart here comes [Music] no matter whether you are the most experienced pilot or the least you are needed to help dispel the public myths that undermine general aviation's continued growth and to help separate the fact from the picture that's pretty good very good [Music] you