Summertime airshows with thrilling aerobatic stunts; smooth, quiet overhead views of a golf tournament; the riveting helicopter footage of a live police chase; these are all examples of how our world is full of ways that General Aviation (GA) is used to entertain and inform.

Air Shows and Races

Air shows are one of America’s most popular live spectator events, with tens of millions of visitors annually. There are nearly 300 air shows each year that range in size from a few hundred attendees to more than 750,000 people.

How does flying at 400 mph only 50 feet above the ground sound? How about watching that race from the front row of a grandstand? Well, that’s just the type of excitement audiences at the Reno Air Races in Nevada see each September, or at the Red Bull Air Races that take place in major cities worldwide.

From highly modified World War II fighter jets with 2,000-horsepower engines to small homebuilt racers with 100-hp engines, air races thrill audiences while doubling as a breeding ground for new airframe and engine technologies.

Museums

Millions of people every year enjoy the special sites and stories that can be found only by visiting America’s world-class aviation museums.

From the grandeur of the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C., to the small airplane hangar museums tucked away all across the country, a cornucopia of aviation history is readily available.

Americans are a people who have always been fascinated with the history of flight. And why not? To fly free like a bird, to soar with the wind over treetops and steeples is one of mankind’s oldest dreams...a dream that, until just a century ago, was not realized.

Hikers and Sportsman

Many people enjoy the outdoors, and these folks will occasionally use small airplanes to help them reach remote areas where the fishing, hiking, or hunting is the best. Whether it’s a floatplane gliding down to a hidden lake or a taildragger landing at a remote mountain dirt strip, GA opens a whole new world for thousands of people. Wildlife management programs that use GA help ensure that the game these sportsmen photograph or track are well protected and that their needs for habitat are fully appreciated.