Editing General aviation (section)

==Definition==
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| image1            = Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP, Private JP6817606.jpg
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| caption1          = [[Cessna 172]], the [[most produced aircraft|most-produced aircraft]] in history
| image2            = Cirrus SR22 ZS-CPB (2) (21833428109).jpg
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| caption2          = [[Cirrus SR22]], the most-produced GA aircraft of the 21st century
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[[File:OO-FLN.JPG|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Cessna CitationJet/M2]], part of the [[Citation family]] of [[business jets]]]]
[[File:PH-1274 Rolladen-Schneider LS-4b.JPG|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Sailplane]], a [[Rolladen-Schneider LS4]]]]
[[File:Robinson R22 Beta, Heli Travaux JP6883626.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Robinson R22]], a light piston-engine [[helicopter]]]]
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| image1            = Paraglider at Cochrane Hill, AB, Canada.jpg
| caption1          = [[Paraglider]] in flight
| image2            = 2006 Ojiya balloon festival 011.jpg
| caption2          = [[Hot air balloon]] in flight
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The [[International Civil Aviation Organization]] (ICAO) defines civil aviation aircraft operations in three categories: General Aviation (GA), Aerial Work (AW) and Commercial Air Transport (CAT).<ref name="ICAO1" /><ref name="IAOPA" /> Aerial work operations are separated from general aviation by ICAO by this definition. Aerial work is when an aircraft is used for specialized services such as agriculture, construction, photography, surveying, observation and patrol, search and rescue, and aerial advertisement. However, for statistical purposes ICAO includes aerial work within general aviation, and has proposed officially extending the definition of general aviation to include aerial work, to reflect common usage.<ref name="ICAO2" /><ref name="ICAO1" /> The proposed ICAO classification includes [[flight training|instructional flying]] as part of general aviation (non-aerial-work).

The International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA) refers to the category as general aviation/aerial work (GA/AW) to avoid ambiguity. Their definition of general aviation includes:<ref name="IAOPA" />

*Corporate aviation: company own-use flight operations
*Fractional ownership operations: aircraft operated by a specialized company on behalf of two or more co-owners
*Business aviation (or travel): self-flown for business purposes
*Personal/private travel: travel for personal reasons/personal transport
*Air tourism: self-flown incoming/outgoing tourism
*Recreational flying: powered/powerless leisure flying activities
*[[Air sports]]: [[aerobatics]], [[Air racing|air races]], competitions, rallies, etc.<ref name="IAOPA"/>

General aviation thus includes both [[commercial aviation|commercial]] and [[Private aviation|non-commercial]] activities.

IAOPA's definition of aerial work includes, but is not limited to:<ref name="IAOPA"/> 

*[[Agricultural aircraft|Agricultural flights]], including [[aerial application|crop dusting]]
*[[Banner towing]]
*[[Aerial firefighting]]
*[[Medical evacuation]]
*[[Pilot training]]
*[[Search and rescue]]
*[[Sight seeing]] flights
*[[Skydiving]] flights
*[[Organ transplant]] transport flights

Commercial air transport includes:

*[[Scheduled airline|Scheduled air services]]
*[[Air charter|Non-scheduled air transport]]
*[[Air cargo]] services
*[[Air taxi]] operations

However, in some countries, air taxi is regarded as being part of GA/AW.

Private flights are made in a wide variety of aircraft: [[light aircraft|light]] and [[ultra-light aircraft|ultra-light]] aircraft, [[light sport aircraft|sport aircraft]], [[homebuilt aircraft]], [[business aircraft]] (like [[business jets|private jets]]), [[Glider aircraft|gliders]] and [[helicopters]].<ref name="IAOPA" /> Flights can be carried out under both [[Visual flight rules|visual flight]] and [[Instrument flight rules|instrument flight]] rules, and can use [[controlled airspace]] with permission.

The majority of the world's air traffic falls into the category of general aviation, and most of the world's airports serve GA exclusively.<ref name="IAOPA"/> [[Flying club]]s are considered a part of general aviation.