General aviation (GA) in the United Kingdom encompasses a variety of commercial and non-commercial aviation activities.
The sector operates business jets, rotorcraft, piston and jet-engine fixed-wing aircraft, gliders of all descriptions, and lighter-than-air craft. Corporate aviation and air taxi services account for nearly half of the economic contribution made by the sector. Other commercial GA activities are aerial work, such as surveying, air ambulances, and flight training, which plays an important role in the supply of pilots to the commercial air transport (CAT) industry. Private flying is conducted for personal transport and recreation. It includes a strong vintage aircraft movement, and encompasses a range of air sports, such as racing, aerobatics, and parachuting, at which British teams and individuals have succeeded in international competition.
Of the 21,000 civil aircraft registered in the UK, 96 per cent are engaged in GA operations, and annually the GA fleet accounts for between 1.25 and 1.35million hours flown. The single most common class of aircraft is the fixed-wing light aircraft associated with traditional GA, but the main area of growth over the last 20 years has been in the use of more affordable aircraft, such as microlights, amateur built aeroplanes, and smaller helicopters. There are 28,000 Private Pilot Licence holders, and 10,000 certified glider pilots. Some of the 19,000 pilots who hold professional licences are also engaged in GA activities. Although GA operates from more than 1,800 aerodromes and landing sites, ranging in size from large regional airports to farm strips, over 80 per cent of GA activity is conducted at 134 of the larger aerodromes. The GA industry, which is around 7 per cent the size of the CAT industry, employs around 40,000 people, and contributes up to £4billion to the UK economy.
GA is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The main focus is on standards of airworthiness and pilot licensing, and the objective is to promote high standards of safety. At the lighter end of the GA spectrum some regulatory authority is devolved to representative bodies. Airspace regulation necessary to protect an increasing number of CAT operations has reduced the area in which GA flights can be freely conducted. The growth in CAT is also making access to larger airports more difficult for the GA sector, and smaller aerodromes are vulnerable to closure and re-development for more profitable uses. The UK planning system has no remit to consider the national significance of GA public transport operations, and generally does not favour the development of smaller aerodromes catering to the GA market. The planning process has become a mechanism for addressing local aerodrome-related environmental issues which, particularly regarding noise, are the main subjects of public criticism levelled at GA.
Definitions
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defines general aviation (GA) as a civil aircraft operation other than a commercial air transport operation or an aerial work operation, however it includes aerial work within general aviation for statistical purposes. It defines commercial air transport (CAT) as "an aircraft operation involving the transport of passengers, cargo or mail for remuneration or hire", and aerial work as "an aircraft operation in which an aircraft is used for specialized services such as agriculture, construction, photography, surveying, observation and patrol, search and rescue, aerial advertisement, etc."
Organisations in the United Kingdom (UK) describe GA in less restrictive terms that include elements of commercial aviation. The British Business and General Aviation Association interprets it to be "all aeroplane and helicopter flying except that performed by the major airlines and the Armed Services". The General Aviation Awareness Council applies the description "all Civil Aviation operations other than scheduled air services and non-scheduled air transport operations for remuneration or hire". For the purposes of a strategic review of GA in the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) defined the scope of GA as "a civil aircraft operation other than a commercial air transport flight operating to a schedule", and considered it necessary to depart from the ICAO definition and include aerial work and minor CAT operations. This article uses the CAA description to define the scope of general aviation in the UK, on the basis that this organisation is the regulatory body for aviation in the UK and the publisher of a key source.
History
The first aerodrome in the UK was established by the Aero Club at Muswell Manor on the Isle of Sheppey, and in May 1909 it was the venue of the first flight conducted in the country by a British pilot, John Moore-Brabazon. The 16 October 1908 flight at Farnborough by American Samuel F. Cody is officially recognised as the first powered aeroplane flight in Britain. In 1910, the Aero Club was granted the Royal prefix, took responsibility for controlling all private flying in the UK, and started issuing the first British pilot licences. The introduction of the de Havilland DH.60 Moth in 1925 revolutionised light aviation, and the Royal Aero Club, recognising the "vital necessity of promoting civil flying", formed the Light Aeroplane Club scheme. Between 1925 and 1939, around 60 flying clubs were started, and more than 5,000 pilots were trained.
During World War II, civil aerodromes were taken over for military use, existing military airfields were expanded, and new ones were built. This resulted in a significant inventory of facilities becoming available after the war. Pre-war civil aerodromes, for example Sywell, were returned to civilian use. Surplus military airfields were closed, and in some cases, for example Beccles, subsequently re-opened as civil aerodromes. The Ministry of Civil Aviation was created to regulate all civil aviation in the UK, and this task remained the responsibility of government departments until the establishment of the independent CAA in 1972.
With an expanded infrastructure in place, GA became established after the war when manufacturers such as Cessna and Piper introduced light aircraft designed for the private market. The Cessna 172, developed from the late 1940s Cessna 170, was introduced in 1956, and became the world's best selling single-engine aeroplane. Single piston-engine aircraft are still the most common class of aircraft in the UK GA fleet. The development of the Rogallo wing in the 1950s fostered the development of hang-gliding during the 1960s and 1970s. The 1960s also saw experiments with motorised hang gliders, but it was not until the 1970s that this blend of technologies started to mature, resulting in the birth of the microlight movement. Another milestone in the development of GA was the 1964 introduction of the Learjet 23. Although it was not the first business jet, it popularised corporate aviation, and established the personal jet as a "whole new class of aircraft".
Activities
The GA sector operates a range of aircraft, including balloons and airships, gliders, hang gliders, paragliders, microlights, gyrocopters, helicopters, amateur built and mass-produced light aircraft, ex-military aircraft, and business jets. Flights can be broadly categorised as public transport, aerial work, and private flying, the first two of which are commercial activities.
Commercial operations
General aviation includes a variety of remunerated activities. Corporate aviation uses company-owned aircraft to transport employees and clients, and aircraft can be chartered for personal travel. Aircraft used in these operations include business jets, helicopters, and twin piston-engine aeroplanes carrying between six and ten people. An example of this type of operation is the transport by helicopter of spectators to the British Formula One grand prix at Silverstone. This involves so many flights that, according to Cranfield Aviation Services, on race day the heliport is temporarily the world's busiest airport. Aerial work is a small but important component of the commercial GA sector, characterised in its simplest form as remunerated non-transport activities, such as surveying, crop spraying, and emergency services work (air ambulance and police aviation).
Flying schools
Flying schools are commercial businesses engaged in the training of pilots, both for recreational purposes and for those intending to fly professionally. They make widespread use of fixed-wing light aircraft associated with traditional GA, not only for flying lessons but also as club aircraft rented out to qualified pilots for recreational flights. School-owned aircraft account for a significant amount of GA activity, both in terms of hours flown and aircraft movements. The pilot training element is regarded by the GA community as a key benefit that is critical to the supply of pilots for the airline industry. It is claimed by the General Aviation Awareness Council that 60–70 per cent of professional pilots have self-financed their flight training at GA schools, and one UK airline operator has stated that the industry must rely on 70–80 per cent of new pilots coming from the GA sector. The publication is undated, but is reported in the July 2001 edition of European Business Air News The CAA estimates that between 1996 and 2006 the number of new professional pilots following the unsponsored training route rose from 48 per cent to 59 per cent. The counter argument to this claim is that pilots can be trained outside of the UK, and that the airline industry is not therefore dependent on a healthy GA sector in the UK for its supply of pilots. The CAA concludes that a severe reduction in GA would give "some merit to the argument that pilot recruitment would be threatened", but that the data on flying hours "does not support such a gloomy outlook." Of course, reliance on other countries for pilot training means that the UK foregoes the economic benefit of the training activity.
Private flying
Private flying can be for both recreational purposes and personal transport, using aircraft that are owned individually, collectively as part of a syndicate, or rented from a flying club. A survey of pilots conducted between 2001 and 2002 indicated that the most common purposes of recreational flights were local flights near the base aerodrome, visits to other aerodromes, and day trips away. Half of all flights landed at the same aerodrome they departed from, and only 9 per cent involved an overnight stay away from home.
Private flying is most associated with the traditional form of factory-produced two and four-seater, single piston-engine training and touring aircraft. Examples of these are the Cessna 152, Cessna 172, and Piper PA28 Cherokee, all with their origins in the 1950s, and the more modern designs of Cirrus. The average cost per hour to fly such aircraft has been estimated to be £133, compared to an estimated £77 per hour for gliders, and a reported £35 per hour for microlights. Recent trends have seen an increase in the use of microlights, and also in recreational helicopter flying following the introduction of smaller and cheaper machines such as the Robinson R22 and R44. Another growth area in private flying in recent years has been in the use of amateur built aircraft, such as the Van's Aircraft RV-4 and the Europa.