What's "General Aviation?"

Since you may just be learning the language of aviation, which, like many other disciplines, has its own "lingo," let's start at the beginning....with the definition of something you will hear all the time: General Aviation or "GA."

General Aviation encompasses all aviation other than scheduled airline flights and military operations. It includes privately-owned aircraft, business aircraft and charter operations. That means recreational flying falls in the GA category, as well as flight training, air taxi, passenger charter services, shipping, corporate flying and fire-fighting and police.