Aviation

Aviation or Air transport refers to the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. Aircraft, include fixed wing (airplane) and rotary wing (helicopter) types, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as balloons and airships (also known as dirigibles.)

There are two major categories of aviation:

Civil aviation
Military aviation
Civil aviation includes both scheduled air transport and general aviation.

Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and work together to establish common standards and rules for civil aviation through that agency -- the most notable exception is the United States, which does not belong to ICAO but has still worked to harmonize its regulations and procedures to avoid confusion for pilots flying to and from other countries.

Because civil aviation and military aviation operate under different rules around the world, there are sometimes difficulties when the two share the same airspace, occasionally with fatal results.

Civil aviation includes two major categories:

Scheduled air transport, including all passenger or cargo flights that operate on a published schedule; and
General aviation, including all other flights, private or commercial
For the public, the most visible part of civil aviation is scheduled air transport, but in fact, the vast majority of flights operate under general aviation.

Military aviation includes any use of aircraft by a country's military, including such areas as transport, training, disaster relief, border patrol, search and rescue, surveillance, surveying, peacekeeping, and (very rarely) aerial warfare. For military aviation based on ships such as aircraft carriers, the term Naval aviation is sometimes used.

Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and work together to establish common standards and rules for civil aviation through that agency -- the most notable exception is the United States, which does not belong to ICAO but has still worked to harmonize its regulations and procedures to avoid confusion for pilots flying to and from other countries.

Because civil aviation and military aviation operate under different rules around the world, there are sometimes difficulties when the two share the same airspace, occasionally with fatal results.

Civil aviation includes two major categories:

Scheduled air transport, including all passenger or cargo flights that operate on a published schedule; and
General aviation, including all other flights, private or commercial
For the public, the most visible part of civil aviation is scheduled air transport, but in fact, the vast majority of flights operate under general aviation.

Military aviation includes any use of aircraft by a country's military, including such areas as transport, training, disaster relief, border patrol, search and rescue, surveillance, surveying, peacekeeping, and (very rarely) aerial warfare. For military aviation based on ships such as aircraft carriers, the term Naval aviation is sometimes used.

USS Abraham Lincoln rides out a storm in the Arabian Sea while on station in support of Operation Southern Watch and Operation Enduring Freedom.

General aviation (GA) encompasses all aviation other than scheduled airline flights and military aviation.

It includes everything from privately-owned light single-engine aircraft to business jets, news gathering, police, pipeline patrol, emergency medical flights, crop-dusting, rotorcraft, sport ballooning and many other aerial activities.


A general aviation scene at Kemble airfield, England. The aircraft in the foreground is a homebuilt Vans RV-4

A general aviation scene at Kemble airfield, England. The aircraft in the foreground is a homebuilt Vans RV-4Much of the traffic in general aviation is flown under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) in contrast to airline traffic which is nearly always flown under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) (under which air traffic control is responsible for preventing mid-air collisions). The ground facilities needed for most general aviation flights are generally less sophisticated than those required by the armed forces or airlines operating scheduled flights, but there are many differences between the smaller grass aerodromes and those capable of accepting the larger corporate aircraft on international flights. Some of these differences simply reflect the different speeds and capabilities of aircraft types in common use, whilst others reflect regulations imposed to safeguard the safety of pilots, passengers and nearby communities.

Most public-use airports, including airports which are served by commercial carriers, have some general aviation traffic, although GA users are sometimes subject to user fees at the larger airports.

Hindrances to GA advancement
GA has tremendous potential to revolutionize the way people transport themselves. With thousands of airports across the United States, people could theoretically get far closer to their ultimate destination with GA than with traditional hub and spoke airline travel. The most significant obstacles GA must overcome are:

The price of GA is prohibitively high, with the cost of aircraft often running into the multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars and the price of Avgas traditionally running far higher than automotive gasoline. The FAA requires that production, or "certified," aircraft meet stringent safety and performance requirements. These high standards mandate extensive testing and engineering, the costs of which are spread over a relatively small (compared to automobiles, for example) number of aircraft produced and sold. Homebuilt aircraft do not have to demonstrate the same level of engineering and safety, and are deemed airworthy under the much less stringent "experimental" category. These "Homebuilts" are usually significantly less expensive than fully certified production aircraft. With these factors contributing to the price, earning a pilot's license usually costs US$5,000 - US$8,000. Additionally, the maintenance costs of keeping aircraft in airworthy condition add up very quickly. In the United States especially, general aviation manufacturers pay high premiums for product liability insurance, reflecting the many lawsuits - exemplified by the United States' liberal tort system - resulting from aircraft accidents, most of which do not result from actual failures of the product. This drives up the cost of aircraft, insurance, and maintenance.
The ability to reach a destination on schedule greatly depends on the weather. GA aircraft and pilots operating under Visual Flight Rules are unable to fly safely (or legally) in weather that commercial aircraft operate in routinely.
The perceived safety of small private aircraft is relatively low across the general public (and safety requirements for most general aviation aircraft and pilots are indeed less stringent than scheduled airlines). In reality, the safety of any given flight is largely dependent on the pilot's judgment and knowledge of his or her own limitations. Mechanical failures play a role in only a small percentage of GA fatalities, and are usually compounded by pilot error.
The difficulty in getting from destination airports to their final destinations poses another problem to pilots and passengers. Car rental companies have tried to fill this void by placing small rentals around at small airports, but have met with mixed success.

Uses of GA
Because of the hindrances listed above, the use of GA has remained limited to pleasure flying for private pilots, and business aviation (or BizAv) often on highly expensive business jets for high ranking executives.

Private Piloting
Most general aviation pilots are private pilots. These pilots are allowed to fly by themselves or with passengers, provided the weather meets certain criteria and they do not accept compensation for their services. Some pilots also pursue an instrument rating which allows them to fly by Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) so that they may navigate by reference to their aircraft instruments in visibilities lower than the minimum required under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), and at altitudes above 18,000 feet.

Becoming a private pilot usually requires about 50–70 hours of flight training, a rather rigorous curriculum that encompasses meteorology, navigation, simple aircraft maintenance, study of the applicable regulations, and best practices in the cockpit, along with aircraft maneuvering, followed by knowledge and flight examinations. Private pilots can rent aircraft from flight schools or from flying clubs or buy one of their own, sometimes in a partnership with other pilots.

Business Aviation
Business aviation (or Bizav) occupies a large place in the GA community. Most Bizav users fly highly sophisticated, expensive, luxurious and complex aircraft with well trained crews. Because of a variety of factors including better aircraft, more experienced crews (typically professional pilots instead of private individuals), and a larger support group, business Aviation has a much better safety record than the rest of GA.


http://www.webarticles.com/Recreation/Aviation/Aviation