Regional Affairs
Alaska pilots urged to share flight hours in online survey
Alaska aircraft owners are currently being encouraged to take part in the FAA’s 2008 GA Survey. Last year, as a result of increased participation, the FAA found that Alaskans flew 200,000 more general aviation flight hours than the agency had originally estimated. The Alaska Aviation Coordination Council and AOPA helped promote participation in the 2007 General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey. The efforts resulted in a huge cache of unaccounted for flight hours; enough to bump the total state flight hours from 600,000 to 800,000.
All owners and operators of Alaskan-based aircraft will receive an invitation to participate in this study, which can be completed online. Taking the survey is one of the most beneficial ways to give back to general aviation.
The survey data provides valuable insight into the impact of safety initiatives. State flight hour totals are particularly important, due to the fact that they provide a litmus test for the health of any given aviation community. When local and state governments look to cut spending, general aviation and flight schools are often high on the list of expendable programs. Hence, surveys that discover huge untapped caches of GA statistics are extremely valuable to the aviation community as a whole.
The survey does not take more than a few minutes to complete. To fill out the survey online, log in using your aircraft’s N-number. For additional information, contact Theresa Tennant of PA Consulting Group at 800/826-1797 or e-mail Theresa.Tennant@paconsulting.com. This is an independent research firm, and individual information is not made available to the FAA.
June 4, 2009
