General Aviation in Illinois

This is the introduction to a set of a series of articles on general aviation in the state of Illinois.  The initial series will focus on the general aviation aspect of airports in the greater Chicago area and surrounding communities and a second series will cover individual businesses specializing in general aviation services and products. 

General aviation plays a large role in Illinois.  The Illinois Department of Transportation's Division of Aeronautics (IDOT)  leads one of the the countries largest aviation environments.  Illinois has over 870 unique landing destinations throughout the state that include everything from one of the busiest airports in the world, O'Hare Airport, to a private airstrip on a farmer's land.  

General aviation is one of the most misunderstood terms in the US.  When asked to describe general aviation, the average person will most likely think of the private airplane or business jet owned by the most affluent of the population.  General aviation is actually classified as ALL aviation outside of scheduled airline service.  The medical helicopter, small private airplane, large business jet, the aerobatic airplane, the small airplane a student pilot is learning to fly in are all examples of general aviation.  It also doesn't require one to be a millionaire to be able to afford to fly.  It is not out of the reach of everyone but the most wealthy.  There are lots of examples of partnerships, flying clubs and other setups that allow the average person to experience the joy of flight.  There are used airplanes, in full airworthy and safe condition that can be purchased for less than a new car and aviation is well within the reach of the average middle-class. 

According to stats provided by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) there are 220,000 civil aircraft in the US, with over 90% of them being general aviation airplanes and of the over 600,000 pilots in the US, over 500,000 of them fly general aviation airplanes.  

General Aviation itself is a $20 billion per year industry that generates an additional $150 billion a year in economic activity for the communities where they are located. There are 19,600 airports in the US, with only 560 approved for airline service.  75% of all airline traffic operates out of a total of 46 airports.  This leaves the remaining 19,000 airports the only access their communities have to any sort of air service.  

There are 4 categories of airports in Illinois, Primary, Reliever, General Aviation and Private.  Primary airports are airports with commercial services that handle over 10,000 passengers per year.  There are 9 primary airports in Illinois, including O'Hare and Midway and all primary airports serve both airlines and general aviation.  Reliever airports are used to relieve general aviation traffic from the Primary airports.  There are 9 reliever airports in Illinois, 7 of which are in the greater Chicago area, including Dupage Airport and Chicago Executive.  

There are a total of 59 general aviation airport in Illinois.  General aviation airports are classified as publicly owned airports.  There are also dozens of additional privately owned general aviation airports that are not counted or listed per the IDOT airport listing.  

There are 141 hospital helicopter landing facilities for use in the medical transport of patients between hospitals as well as to receive patients from serious injury incidents that require quick access to specialist patient care. 

The series of articles will begin with a focus on the local airports, specifically the general aviation side of their operations.  

(additional articles may be found at National General Aviation Examiner and Chicago General Aviation Examiner)