June 5, 2013
The governors of Delaware and Nevada have declared June as a month for appreciating general aviation (GA), including business aviation and community airports.
“Delaware and Nevada are different in almost every way: size, climate, area of the country, population density and politics,” said Stacy Howard, NBAA Western regional representative. “But the fact that each state’s top elected officials would set aside the same month to honor aviation shows the universal value of our industry.”
Officials in both states have previously issued similar proclamations – Delaware in 2011 and Nevada in 2012.
Delaware’s Gov. Jack Markell and Lt. Gov. Matthew Denn called general aviation “a vital strategic resource to the state and the people” while proclaiming this month as Delaware General Aviation Month.
Markell opened his proclamation by recognizing that GA “play(s) a critical role in the lives of our citizens, as well as in the operation of our businesses and farms.” The proclamation also acknowledged the state’s “significant interest” in the continued vitality of GA, aerospace, aircraft manufacturing, educational institutions, aviation organizations, community airports and airport operators.
“Delaware’s aviation industry contributes $989 million to the state’s economy yearly,” Markell wrote in his proclamation. “General aviation, supports 15,500 jobs and contributes a total annual economic impact of over $188 million.”
Delaware boasts 11 public-use airports, serving 1,439 pilots and 13,238 GA aircraft.
Review the Delaware proclamation.
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval’s proclamation of Aviation Appreciation Month referred to aviation’s importance to the daily functioning of Nevada society and noted the economic importance of aviation, which contributes more than $326 billion in total economic impact in his state and supports 281,000 jobs.
Sandoval made special note of the contributions of business airplanes, saying “business aviation is a critical tool for companies in Nevada to improve efficiency, save money and open up opportunities for rural areas not served by commercial aviation, thereby bringing new business, investments and jobs to all areas of the state.”
“The large distances between population centers in Nevada make GA and business aviation critical for delivering people, goods and services between cities and rural territories,” said NBAA’s Howard. She added that Nevada is a growth area for business flying and pointed to burgeoning membership in the Nevada Business Aviation Association, which was founded in January of this year and already has more than 120 members.
Review the Nevada proclamation.
Nearly all U.S. states have officially recognized the value of all general aviation, including business aviation, with all proclamations including at least some of the basic tenets of the No Plane No Gain advocacy campaign, which was launched in 2009 and is sponsored by NBAA and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.