Memorial Day is one of America’s most cherished patriotic observances. We extend our utmost gratitude to those men and women who gave their last full measure defending our nation and freedom. We remember and honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
We hope you’ve had a good Memorial Day and blessed week.
In February 2020, PricewaterhouseCoopers released their report on GA contribution to the US Economy. The economic impact of the general aviation industry was measured in terms of employment, labor income, output, and value-added. 2018 was the most recent year for which full, consistent national and state level data was available.
GA directly employed 273,500 full and part-time workers. Including indirect, induced and enabled impacts GA supported 1.2 million jobs and $247 billion in output.
GA generated $77 billion in labor income and contributed $128 billion to US gross domestic product (GDP). At a national level, each direct job in GA supported 3.3 jobs elsewhere in the economy.
References: “Contribution of General Aviation to the US Economy in 2018,” PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, February 2020.
In 2018, total General Aviation flight hours were 25.5 million. PricewaterhouseCoopers divided GA flight hours into four categories: Personal, Business without a Paid Crew; Business with a Paid Professional Crew and Other.
Personal: Included operation of GA aircraft for personal and recreational reasons. The pilots of personal-use aircraft are typically the owner and PWC assumed that owners tie-down their aircraft rather than rent hangar space (which under estimates the economic impact of personal-use GA aircraft because many owners rent hangar space). About 7.7 million or 30% of GA flight hours were for personal flight.
Business without Paid Crew: Typically flown by the owner of the aircraft who is not paid for flight operations. It’s assumed that owners rent space in a shared hangar and pay business insurance rates on the aircraft.
Business with Paid Professional Crew: Owners of such aircraft are assumed by PWC to rent a hangar, pay a lower business insurance rate, and hire professional pilot and flight crew. Air taxi and air medical services are assumed to have this cost profile. About 31% or 7.8 million GA hours were for business purposes. Business-use with a paid crew accounts for the majority (79%) of turboprop and jet-powered airplane hours.
Other: Included flight instruction, aerial applications in agriculture and other industries, aerial observation, and sight-seeing. It’s assumed “other-use” aircraft operate with a paid pilot but no paid crew. This large grouping included about 10 million hours or 39% of all GA flight hours. And, represented the majority (61%) of flight hours for rotorcraft.
Table 1: GA Hours by Aircraft Type and Reason in 2018
| Personal | Bus. w/o Paid Crew | Bus. w/ Paid Crew | Other | Hours | |
| Piston Airplanes | 5,790 | 1,103 | 551 | 6,342 | 13,786 |
| Turboprop | 219 | 192 | 1,176 | 1,149 | 2,736 |
| Jet-Powered | 459 | 230 | 3,582 | 321 | 4,592 |
| Helicopters | 88 | 29 | 847 | 1,929 | 2,922 |
| Experimental | 1,071 | 67 | 13 | 187 | 1,339 |
| Other | 77 | 29 | 1 | 54 | 131 |
| Total | 7,704 | 1,649 | 6,171 | 9,982 | 25,506 |
PricewaterhouseCoopers was engaged by the general aviation industry trade associations to help quantify the contribution of GA to the United States economy. PWC defined General Aviation as the manufacture and operation of any type of aircraft issued an airworthiness certificate by the FAA, excluding military operations and scheduled commercial airlines.
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In 2018, total General Aviation flight hours were 25.5 million (25,500,000). Piston-engine flight hours were over 15 million hours or 59% of the total GA flight hours.
PricewaterhouseCoopers was engaged by the general aviation industry trade associations to help quantify the contribution of GA to the United States economy. PWC defined General Aviation as the manufacture and operation of any type of aircraft issued an airworthiness certificate by the FAA, excluding military operations and scheduled commercial airlines.
Table 1. Hours by Aircraft Type
| Description | Hours | Percent |
| Single-Engine Piston | 12,092,000 | 47% |
| Twin-Engine Piston | 1,694,000 | 7% |
| Turboprop | 2,736,000 | 11% |
| Jet-Powered | 4,592,000 | 18% |
| Helicopters | 2,922,000 | 11% |
| Experimental | 1,339,000 | 5% |
| Other | 131,000 | 1% |
| Total | 25,506,000 | 100% |
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Over the next several weeks, we’ll blog a few factoids from the PricewaterhouseCoopers General Aviation report that was released in early 2020. Let’s start with, how many GA aircraft are there in the US? Answer: In 2018, the total GA fleet size was 211,743 aircraft. More than 173,000 had piston engine propulsion which represented 82% of the GA fleet.
TABLE 1. US General Aviation Fleet Size by Type Aircraft, 2018
| Single-Engine Piston | 130,180 | 61% |
| Twin-Engine Piston | 12,860 | 6% |
| Turboprop | 9,924 | 5% |
| Jet-Powered | 14,595 | 7% |
| Helicopters | 9,988 | 5% |
| Experimental | 30,084 | 14% |
| Other | 4,112 | 2% |
| Total | 211,743 | 100% |
PricewaterhouseCoopers was engaged by the general aviation industry trade associations to help quantify the contribution of GA to the United States economy. PWC defined General Aviation as the manufacture and operation of any type of aircraft issued an airworthiness certificate by the FAA, excluding military operations and scheduled commercial airlines.
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It’s Good Friday. I hope you can take some time off, rest this weekend, and indeed say “Christ the Lord is Risen,” As Charles Wesley wrote, circa 1739 –
Soar we now where Christ has led;
Following our exalted Head;
Made like him, like him we rise;
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies. Alleluia!
Your Glory hidden in creation is now revealed in Christ.
1 Cor. 15:1-8; & 12-28; 1 Tim 1:17
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association published their annual report in February. Here’s a summary of GA single-engine piston shipments by manufacturer. Cirrus Aircraft is once again the leader in their category.
GAMA Manufacturer Shipments Single-Engine Pistons 2019
| Description | 2019 | Market Share |
| Cirrus SR22T, SR22, SR20 | 375 | 41% |
| Piper Archer | 182 | 20% |
| Piper Malibu M350 | 21 | 2% |
| Cessna Skyhawk & Skylane | 159 | 17% |
| Cessna Turbo Stationair | 37 | 4% |
| Diamond DA40 | 126 | 14% |
| Bonanza G36 | 7 | 1% |
| Mooney Ovation & Acclaim | 9 | 1% |
| Sub Total | 916 | 100% |
| Taildraggers | 54 | |
| LSA & Other | 141 | |
| Total GA Single-Engine Piston Shipments | 1,111 |
Note: Piper Arrow & Warrior Shipments in 2019 = Zero
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This past week I took a break from general aviation to join up on a different flight slope – The ski slopes in Vail Colorado. It’s “high altitude” but my feet were still on the ground. We hope you can take some time off this season to rest and enjoy fellowship with family and friends.
Blue Sky
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) published aircraft manufacturer shipments for 2019. After the report, Jim Moore, AOPA Editor-Web said, “Cirrus continues to lead the single-engine piston market by a wide margin, with sales of the SR22T alone climbing to 200 units in 2019, up from 180 delivered in in 2018. [But] Cirrus saw its older piston models slip in sales . . . (1)” I’m not sure Jim has seen the 6th Generation Cirrus SR20. It’s cutting edge, not an older piston model.
Right now, the big General Aviation story is training aircraft shipments. But Cirrus doesn’t focus on that market. For decades, Cirrus has pursued a new market – piston personal transportation that delivers high performance, safety and luxury. When specific customers are narrowly targeted business writers recognize it as market re-segmentation.
Cirrus SR Series shipments last year were 384 v. 380 in 2018, which scores another record for Cirrus Aircraft since the 2008 Great Recession (see Table 1). A quick glance into the stats does show fewer SR20’s delivered last year 53 v. 65 in the prior period. But here’s the rest of the story.
Cirrus reps have said, the company “suppresses” SR20 sales because that model has a lower margin than the SR22 Series. If accurate, the manufacturing tactic is reflected in the stats. Shipments for their highest margin product, the SR22T Turbo were up 11% over the prior year. Normally aspirated SR22 production runs have averaged 132 units annually for the past half-decade. Like other manufacturers, it appears Cirrus adjusts model production runs for optimal profitability. For years, steady customer demand has maintained more than a 6-month delivery wait on 6th Generation SR Series airplanes.
For those new to the Cirrus brand here’s a recap: “In 2000, Cirrus received Type Certificate for a composite piston aircraft, with a larger wing and larger fuel capacity and more powerful engine – the SR22. Just three years later, the SR22 became the world’s best-selling general aviation airplane . . . and has continued to hold that distinction every year since [17 years. But] holding the title of the best-selling general aviation aircraft every year has not stopped Cirrus from pursuing continuous innovation on the SR Series aircraft (2).”
For those watching, Cirrus is relentlessly pursuing a new market for single-engine turbofan personal transportation, which they coined “The Personal Jet.” Cirrus is holding deposits from more than 500 pilots who want to take delivery; however, a ramp-up in production of the Cirrus SF50 Personal Jet has not yet begun. This new market appears opaque to aviation journalists. Many perceive incorrectly that Cirrus has entered the Very Light Jet market (VLJ).
Cirrus has over 7,800 aircraft operating in more than 60 countries. Congratulations to the entire Cirrus Aircraft team.
| Year | SF50 Jet | SR22 Turbo | SR22 | SR20 | SRV | Total |
| 2019 | 81 | 200 | 131 | 53 | – | 465 |
| 2018 | 63 | 180 | 135 | 65 | – | 443 |
| 2017 | 22 | 174 | 135 | 46 | – | 377 |
| 2016 | 3 | 149 | 133 | 35 | – | 320 |
| 2015 | – | 142 | 128 | 31 | – | 301 |
| 2014 | – | 160 | 117 | 31 | – | 308 |
| 2013 | – | 132 | 112 | 32 | – | 276 |
| 2012 | – | 88 | 81 | 84 | – | 253 |
| 2011 | – | 102 | 105 | 48 | – | 255 |
| 2010 | – | 107 | 115 | 42 | – | 264 |
| 2009 | – | 150 | 88 | 28 | – | 266 |
| 2008 | – | 250 | 177 | 115 | 7 | 549 |
| 2007 | – | 300 | 288 | 112 | 10 | 710 |
| 2006 | – | 30* | 535 | 150 | 6 | 721 |
| 2005 | – | – | 475 | 116 | 9 | 600 |
| 2004 | – | – | 459 | 91 | 3 | 553 |
| 2003 | – | – | 355 | 112 | 2 | 469 |
| 2002 | – | – | 292 | 105 | – | 397 |
| 2001 | – | – | 124 | 59 | – | 183 |
| 2000 | – | – | – | 95 | – | 95 |
| 1999 | – | – | – | 9 | – | 9 |
| Total | 169 | 2,164 | 3,985 | 1,459 | 37 | 7,814 |
Note: Cirrus factory installed STC Tornado Alley Turbonormalized (TAT) shipments are not listed in GAMA statistics. From 2006 – 2010, the FAA Registration for Cirrus planes with TAT systems is “SR22.” See reference info. (3) below.
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“Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, –
And done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of —
Wheeled and soared and swung
high in the sunlit silence.
Hovering there, I’ve chased the shouting wind along,
And flung
my eager craft through footless halls of air . . .
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
Where never lark, or even eagle flew;
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and [sought] the face of God.”
In memory of the author: John Gillespie Magee, Jr. (b. June 9, 1922 – d. December 11, 1941); an American aviator with RCAF and son of Christian Missionaries.
I trust your flying in 2019 was memorable and I hope all your dreams of flight become reality in 2020. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
References: Isa 58:14; PS 19:1; Ex 33:18-23; 2 Chr 7:14