General Aviation’s Contribution To The U.S. Economy
General Aviation Manuacturers Association
May 2006
Prepared or Assessment by
W. Bruce Allen, PhD David L. Blond, PhD Aaron J. Gellman, PhD
General Aviation’s Contribution to The U.S. Economy
|May 2006|©2006 General Aviation Manuacturers Association
Contents
Executive Summary
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1
Introduction
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6
Defnitions
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7
GA’s Direct Contribution
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13
GA’s Indirect Contribution
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17
GA’s Induced Contribution
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19
Approach and Methodology
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21
Appendix A: Data Sources and Assumptions
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28
Appendix B: Data and Results Tables
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General Aviation’s Contribution to The U.S. Economy
|May 2006|©2006 General Aviation Manuacturers Association
List o Charts and Tables
Table 1.
General Aviation’s Contribution to the U.S. Economy In 2005
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2
Chart 1.
Map o General Aviation’s Total Economic Contribution by State In 2005
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3
Table 2.
Leading States In Terms O GA Total Economic Contribution in 2005
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3
Chart 2.
Map o GA’s Total Economic Contribution Per Capita In 2005
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4
Table 3.
Leading States In Terms O GA Total Economic Contribution Per Capita in 2005
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4
Chart 3.
Breakdown o GA’s Total Economic Contribution in 2005
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5
Chart 4.
U.S. Sales by GA Aircrat Category in 2005
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8
Chart 5.
Flight Hours by GA Aircrat Category in 2005
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8
Table 4.
FAA GA Aircrat Use Categories
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9
Chart 6.
Distribution o Flight Hours by GA Aircrat Category in 2005
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Chart 7.
Contributions Quantied and Not Quantied
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Chart 8.
Assumed User Spending Patterns
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14
Chart 9.
Distribution o GA’s Direct Contribution to the U.S. Economy in 2005
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14
Table 5.
Top Ten Industries Beneting rom Indirect Contributions o GA in 2005
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18
Table 6.
Leading Industries Receiving GA’s Induced Contribution to The U.S. Economy in 2005
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Table 7.
Direct Contribution (A-Matrix) Showing Hybrid Aircrat Direct Contribution Vector
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24
Table 8.
Hybrid GA Contribution Based on Inverse Matrix (in dollars)
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Table 9.
Personal Consumption Expenditure Vector
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Table 10
. Gross State Product Distribution by Industry Group
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General Aviation’s Contribution to The U.S. Economy
|May 2006|©2006 General Aviation Manuacturers Association
Executive Summary
General Aviation (GA) makes a signicant contribution to the national economy and to the economy o every state inthe U.S. Because o the diverse nature o the U.S. feet o general aviation aircrat, and the multitude o operations andunique services they perorm, GA’s economic contribution has sometimes been overlooked or it is combined with othertransportation sectors, masking its own contribution. Also, when dening GA activity too narrowly, economic studiescan easily underestimate GA’s economic contribution. The GA feet is diverse, as are the reasons or operating the aircrat. GA encompasses the manuacture and operationo any type o aircrat that has been issued a certicate o airworthiness by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration(FAA), other than aircrat used or scheduled commercial air service1 (airlines) or operated by the U.S. military.General Aviation includes xed-wing airplanes, helicopters (rotorcrat), balloons, dirigibles, and gliders. GA activitiesinclude the manuacture and operation o aircrat equipped with turbine engines (turbojet, turboan, or turboprop) orpiston engines, and o non-powered aircrat. GA includes fights related to business or corporate transportation o people or cargo, personal transportation (e.g., visiting amily), air ambulance, fight training, and many purposes suchas re spotting and suppression and pipeline patrol. GA operations are not determined by the ownership o the aircrat;GA aircrat may be wholly-owned, jointly-owned, rented, chartered, or leased. GA operations are not dened by theairman certicate o the pilot operating the aircrat. The pilot o a GA aircrat may hold a student, private, commercial,or air transport pilot certicate, depending on the purpose o the fight and the number o pilots required to operate itby the manuacturer. This study breaks new ground by bounding general aviation activity using the FAA’s standard denitions, which arewidely recognized by every segment o GA. The study uses FAA’s estimates o annual fight activity and applies industry-derived per-hour costs or operating various types o aircrat. GA’s economic contribution is calculated by putting thesecosts into regional economic models, widely accepted as valid by economists and available rom the U.S. Departmento Commerce.General Aviation is an important element o economic growth in part because it ullls transportation needs whichcan not otherwise be met. Only about 350 U.S. communities have scheduled air service; or the remainder, GA is theonly option or the movement o persons or cargo by air. Moreover, GA provides specialized air services, such as airambulance and trac patrol, to communities that do have scheduled air service.
1
Commercial air carriers sell air transportation to passengers and shippers. Commercial air carriers include operators o small, propeller-driven aircrat (under Part 135 o the Federal Aviation Regulations) as well as operators o jet airliners (under FAR Part 121).