Top 10 General Aviation Stories Of The Year

Here are the blockbuster aviation stories of a remarkable 2018 for GA.

Control tower
Plane flies by control tower.
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • General aviation in 2018 saw a mix of challenges and successes, including the successful defense against ATC privatization, a record-setting year for aviation safety, and the Cirrus Vision Jet winning the Collier Trophy, contrasted with concerns over the ADS-B mandate deadline and FBO fees.
  • The aviation landscape is rapidly changing with disruptive technologies like widespread drone integration, which presents significant regulatory and safety hurdles, and the speculative development of autonomous "Uber-of-the-skies" urban air mobility.
  • The airline industry experienced a major hiring boom due to pilot retirements and increased air travel, creating a high demand for ATPs and leading to improved wages and benefits for pilots.
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10. Ubers Of The Skies

Airbus
Airbus

The mobility world—yes, that is a thing—is all abuzz with mobility solutions talk, and for many city dwellers, that means learning how to dodge out-of-control e-scooters. But the big plan for many companies, including Boeing, Airbus, Google, Uber, and others, is to make automated air transportation—meaning, no pilots needed—the standard way of getting around. Many of the so-called solutions involve the development of autonomous flying machines, many of which are electrically powered multi-copters that feature computer-controlled operation, including navigation and collision avoidance. Listening to these developers talk about their inventions, you’d come to believe that it’ll all be here in a year or two. We remain highly skeptical, but it inarguably will be interesting to watch this movement play out. We’ll keep you apprised.

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