What is Aviation ?

All aircraft activity not associated with major airlines or the military. Among all classifications of aviation in the United States, general aviation consists of the largest number of aircraft and pilots and accounts for the largest number of flying hours.

Of the more than 220,000 active general aviation aircraft registered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), almost 80% are single-engine vehicles powered by intermittent-combustion engines. Although many of these aircraft carry fewer than three passengers at speeds below 150 mi/h (240 km/h), most can carry four to six passengers at speeds up to 200 mi/h (320 km/h). Approximately 11% of the general aviation fleet are twin-engine aircraft, powered by intermittent-combustion engines and capable of cruising at speeds of 180–250 mi/h (290–400 km/h) with six to ten passengers.

Air Transport

Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-300

There are five major manufacturers of civil transport aircraft (in alphabetical order):

* Airbus, based in Europe
* Boeing, based in the United States
* Bombardier, based in Canada
* Embraer, based in Brazil
* Tupolev, based in Russia (scheduled to be merged into the United Aircraft Building Corporation)

Boeing, Airbus, and Tupolev concentrate on wide-body and narrow-body jet airliners, while Bombardier and Embraer concentrate on regional airliners. Large networks of specialized parts suppliers from around the world support these manufacturers, who sometimes provide only the initial design and final assembly in their own plants. The Chinese ACAC consortium will also soon enter the civil transport market with its ACAC ARJ21 regional jet.

Until the 1970s, most major airlines were flag carriers, sponsored by their governments and heavily protected from competition. Since then, open skies agreements have resulted in increased competition and choice for consumers, coupled with falling prices for airlines. The combination of high fuel prices, low fares, high salaries, and crises such as the September 11, 2001 attacks and the SARS epidemic have driven many older airlines to government-bailouts, bankruptcy or mergers. At the same time, low-cost carriers such as Ryanair, Southwest and Westjet have flourished.