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<br />general aviation have begun to yield <br />substantive results. <br /> <br />Manufacturer and industry programs <br />and initiatives continue to revitalize the <br />general aviation industry. Notable <br />initiatives include the "No Plane, No <br />Gain" campaign sponsored by GAMA <br />and the National Business Aviation <br />Association (NBAA), "Project Pilot" <br />sponsored by the Aircraft Owners and <br />Pilots Association (AOP A), the "Learn <br />to Fly" campaign sponsored by the <br />National Air Transportation Association <br />(NATA), and "GA Team 2000", which is <br />sponsored by more than 100 industry <br />organizations and has the goal of <br />100,000 annual student pilot starts by <br />the year 2000. The "No Plane, No <br />Gain" campaign is a program promoting <br />the cost effectiveness of using general <br />aviation aircraft for business and <br />corporate uses. "Project Pilot" and <br />"Learn to Fly" are programs promoting <br />training of new pilots. <br /> <br />The general aviation industry is also <br />launching new programs to make <br />aircraft ownership easier and more <br />affordable. The New Piper Aircraft <br />company has created Piper Financial <br />Services (PFS) to offer competitive <br />interest rates and/or leasing of Piper <br />aircraft. The Experimental Aircraft <br />Association offers financing for kit built <br />airplanes through a private lending <br />institution. <br /> <br />General aviation activity at towered <br />airports increased for the third <br />consecutive year in 1999, up 5.2 percent <br />over 1998. For the three year period, <br />operations at towered airports were up <br />13.4 percent. The largest gain was in <br />local (training) operations, up 6.5 <br /> <br />percent in 1999. Itinerant operations <br />were up 4.3 percent. Since 1996, local <br />operations are up 17.4 percent and <br />itinerant operations up 10.7 percent. <br />The gain in local operations coincides <br />with the gains in student pilot starts. <br />General aviation growth is not limited <br />to strictly to general aviation airports, <br />three of the top 10 airports showing the <br />fastest growth in general aviation <br />operations are large hub commercial <br />service airports (Dallas/Fort Worth, <br />Minneapolis/St. Paul and Covington! <br />Cincinnati), signifYing the change in the <br />general aviation fleet to include larger, <br />more sophisticated turboprop and <br />turbojet aircraft which require air <br />traffic services and airport facilities <br />similar to commercial air carriers. <br /> <br />Instrument operations at towered <br />airports and general aviation aircraft <br />handled at en route traffic control <br />centers increased 4.8 percent and 1.9 <br />percent, respectively, in 1999. <br />Instrument operations have increased <br />five of the past six years, with activity <br />gains totaling 17.4 percent over the <br />period. The number of general aviation <br />aircraft handled at enroute traffic <br />control centers increased for the eighth <br />consecutive year in 1999. These <br />increases accompany the expanding <br />fleet of sophisticated turboprop and <br />turbojet aircraft in the general aviation <br />fleet and the expansion in use of these <br />aircraft for business/corporate uses. <br /> <br />The most notable trend in general <br />aviation is the continued strong use of <br />general aviation aircraft for business <br />and corporate uses. For 1998 (the most <br />current year of data), business and <br />corporate use of general aviation <br />aircraft represented 23.9 percent of <br /> <br />2-7 <br />