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The GASAR study by
Terry Lober was initiated in
2001 by the General Aviation Awareness Council (GAAC). It was
sponsored jointly by the
Department for Transport (DfT)
and the GAAC.
The study is part of a PhD
programme at University College London, UCL. The thesis when published will be
entitled “An
assessment of the socio-economic role of
Britain’s
general aviation industry and its significance to England’s land use planners
when considering the contested existence of small aerodromes”.
The reports listed below have been made available to the General Aviation
Strategic Review (GASR) teams. Comments on any of the reports are welcome and
should be addressed to the author, using the email address
ucfttlo@ucl.ac.uk.
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National Pilot Survey
A multiple-choice
questionnaire was published in General Aviation, and 12% of 4,000 AOPA
pilots on the magazine's circulation list responded. This was followed by
the use of a web-based questionnaire to reach other pilot groups,
including microlight and glider pilots. Altogether 719 pilots
responded, providing the most comprehensive description of pilot
demographics, behaviours and attitudes ever undertaken of UK general
aviation pilots. The survey includes details of 2,500 flights based on
pilots'
log book entries.
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Aerodrome Categorisation
A database of English
flying sites, extracted from GA flight guides, was subjected to a
computer-executed Cluster Analysis to arrive at six categories of
aerodrome (excluding helicopter and military sites). Further
information was added by GAAC members. Geographical Information Software
(GIS) was used to plot the spatial distribution of these sites.
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Aerodrome Operators Survey
A questionnaire, similar
in format to the pilot survey, was posted to 301 aerodrome operators in
England. 164 operators replied, a 54% response rate. The data
collected includes types of ownership, management & concern (business,
non-profit making etc) plus estimates of annual movements and the number
and type of aircraft based at each AD. Financial data gathered
included annual turnover, business rates, local expenditure, numbers of
other concerns on-site and estimates of staff employed by both the AD and
these other concerns. Aerodrome operators were asked about local authority
planning. Results are analysed under the six aerodrome categories
identified in the Aerodrome Categorisation report.
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Local
Authority Survey
A multiple choice
questionnaire, based on the earlier ESCR survey, was sent to 247 English
districts / unitary authorities, each with a least one GA flying site. 85
replied, a 34% response rate that importantly includes the authorities
responsible for all aerodromes in the top three categories and 80% of
those in the top four. A key finding of this survey was the level of
"unpublished" flying sites within the English regions. The paper includes
a number of insights into the way planning authorities operate and how
they view government guidelines. This study shows a range of support for
GA amongst local authorities.
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Manufacturers and Traders Survey
158 members
of BBGA
were surveyed and 58
replied, a 38% response rate. The sample population shows a broad range of
GA business activities; aircraft sales are the major sector of the GA
industry, with business aviation a close second. The survey provides an
insight into the sales, employment and activities of GA traders and
manufacturers. It finds that a significant proportion, 86%, of the
companies surveyed are highly dependent on a healthy industry, in that
they rely on GA for survival. Another characteristic of the companies
surveyed was the high value added by their employees.
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Analysis Hours Flown
This report explores
current and historic data extracted from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority
(CAA) aircraft registration database. It has been made available to
a wider audience as it has exposed hitherto unreported long term trends,
which in turn raise serious questions about the economic health of GA in
the UK. The report shows, for the first time, several new perspectives
concerning GA aircraft and activity, including a first view of the
economic health of the GA industry and the split between GA business and
GA private ownership. The starting point is an analysis of the number of
aircraft registrations over the period 1975 to 2004, which shows a
consistent long-term growth of around 4% pa. However the report also shows
that the hours flown per private aircraft have fallen from 102 hours in
1984 to 58 hours in 2001, a drop of 43%. The equivalent statistics for
business aircraft are hardly any better dropping from 267 in 1984 to 217
hours in 2001, a 19% fall in seventeen years.
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GASAR
Exploratory Study
An
academic paper written for the MPhil/PhD programme at The Bartlett School
of Planning, involving a small scale survey, this report provides a
starting point for the issues facing GA, particularly those for
recreational pilots. It provides a conceptual framework for the study of
pilots at an active aerodrome and explores issues that are important to
the GASAR project. The sample size was small and the statistics contained
in this report have been superseded by the national survey.
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Socio-Economic Study
An estimate of the socio-economic
benefit of GA to the UK economy. It shows that 80% of GA aircraft are
owned by 3,000 clubs and businesses that contribute to the economy and it
highlights the economic importance of business jets and foreign-registered
aircraft.
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Review and Conclusion
The key findings of the research. It describes the inadequacy of
the current evolved, rather than designed, aerodrome network and the lack
of GA facilities around the UK's major cities. It shows that
existing planning guidelines are too weak to withstand local pressures and
concludes that the artificial market created by planning should be
balanced by regulations that enable aerodrome owners, particularly
councils, to withstand development pressures for the benefit of the wider
community.
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