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GA IFR flights up slightly

Cincinnati-based Aviation Research Group/U.S. (ARGUS) has released a report comparing June 2010 to May 2010 IFR flight activity. In the aggregate, flying activity was up 1.2 percent for June. ARGUS further dices up its activity levels by type of operation and aircraft category. For Part 91 operations, the picture was a tad rosier, with June flights up by 2.8 percent over May.

Within the Part 91 group, turboprops took the lead, with a respectable increase of 5.7 percent. Next came small-cabin jets, with a 4-percent increase. Decreases of 0.1 percent and one percent were reported for the mid-sized and large-cabin jet categories, respectively. Meanwhile, Part 135 and fractional operations scored May to June declines of 0.2 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.

Although somewhat heartening, a better picture unfolded when ARGUS looked at May 2010’s activity levels compared to June 2009’s. In that time frame, Part 91 operations grew by 4.7 percent, Part 135 flights by 4.3 percent, and fractional flying by 6.7 percent. Across the board, ARGUS said June 2010 showed a 4.9-percent growth in IFR flying compared to June 2009.

Thomas A. Horne
Thomas A. Horne
AOPA Pilot Editor at Large
AOPA Pilot Editor at Large Tom Horne has worked at AOPA since the early 1980s. He began flying in 1975 and has an airline transport pilot and flight instructor certificates. He’s flown everything from ultralights to Gulfstreams and ferried numerous piston airplanes across the Atlantic.

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