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Table 1-13: Active U.S. Air Carrier and General Aviation Fleet by Type of Aircraft (Number of carriers)

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  1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
AIR CARRIERa 2,125 2,679 2,495 3,805 4,678 6,083 6,054 7,320 7,297 7,370 (R) 6,865 (R) 7,077 (R) 7,043 (R) 7,451 (R) 7,859 (R) 7,826 (R) 7,746 (R) 7,673 (R) 7,564 (R) 7,764 (R) 7,686 (R) 7,637 (R) 7,732 (R) 7,337 (R) 7,169 (R) 7,185 (R) 7,168 (R) 6,914 (R) 6,733 6,676
Fixed Wing, total 2,104 2,663 2,488 3,803 4,673 6,072 6,048 7,187 7,173 7,242 7,293 7,357 7,482 7,994 8,106 8,010 8,370 8,161 8,144 8,150 8,182 8,042 7,998 7,808 U U U U U U
Turbojet, total 725 2,136 2,114 2,526 3,164 4,148 4,167 4,446 4,584 4,636 4,832 4,922 5,108 5,411 5,630 5,956 6,296 6,383 6,523 6,691 6,839 6,784 6,784 6,670 U U U U U U
Four engine 511 931 602 436 322 432 410 389 410 420 435 440 450 447 441 432 419 365 337 305 310 272 263 237 U U U U U U
Three engine 173 659 994 1,347 1,488 1,438 1,376 1,381 1,292 1,236 1,210 1,212 1,224 1,238 1,181 1,061 996 790 602 519 540 523 416 373 U U U U U U
Two engine 41 546 518 743 1,354 2,278 2,381 2,676 2,882 2,980 3,187 3,270 3,434 3,726 4,008 4,463 4,881 5,228 5,584 5,867 5,989 5,989 6,105 6,060 U U U U U U
Turboprop, total 312 374 260 682 1,073 1,595 1,598 1,894 1,868 1,782 1,713 1,696 1,646 1,832 1,788 1,469 1,494 1,250 1,123 989 889 803 761 701 U U U U U U
Four engine 215 110 68 92 108 88 75 107 102 87 81 56 45 39 28 29 24 17 16 17 7 7 7 7 U U U U U U
Two engine 89 259 192 590 965 1,507 1,523 1,787 1,751 1,695 1,632 1,635 1,596 1,789 1,759 1,440 1,470 1,233 1,107 968 880 791 750 685 U U U U U U
One engine 8 5 U U U U U U 15 0 0 5 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 4 2 5 4 9 U U U U U U
Piston, total 1,067 153 114 595 436 329 283 847 721 824 748 739 728 751 688 585 580 528 498 470 454 455 453 437 U U U U U U
Four engine 447 34 37 73 38 31 26 20 22 19 15 18 19 17 19 17 16 12 13 20 20 18 18 18 U U U U U U
Three engine 590 110 69 U 4 6 5 5 0 5 1 7 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 14 15 14 U U U U U U
Two engine 30 9 8 522 394 292 252 415 293 335 333 317 298 391 292 255 173 154 143 125 126 184 181 176 U U U U U U
One engine U U U U U U U 407 406 465 399 397 407 340 374 310 388 359 339 323 306 239 239 229 U U U U U U
Helicopter 21 16 7 2 5 11 6 133 124 128 118 121 134 117 122 39 127 33 32 36 43 47 46 48 U U U U U U
GENERAL AVIATION (GENERAL FLEET)b 95,442 161,743 168,475 211,043 196,500 198,000 196,874 185,650 177,120 172,935 188,089 191,129 192,414 204,710 219,464 217,533 211,446 211,244 209,708 219,426 224,352 221,943 231,607 228,663 223,877 223,370 (R) 220,453 209,034 199,927 204,408
Fixed Wing, totalc 93,130 127,934 161,570 200,094 184,700 184,500 182,585 171,671 156,936 150,158 162,342 163,691 166,854 175,203 184,723 183,276 177,697 176,283 176,624 182,867 185,373 182,186 186,806 182,961 177,446 176,272 173,755 165,257 158,911 161,321
Turbojet, total U 950 1,776 2,992 4,100 4,100 4,126 4,004 3,663 3,914 4,559 4,424 5,178 6,066 7,120 7,001 7,787 8,355 7,997 9,298 9,823 10,379 10,385 11,042 11,268 11,484 11,650 11,793 11,637 12,362
Two engined U 822 1,742 2,551 3,600 3,700 3,863 3,738 3,426 3,652 4,071 4,077 4,638 5,513 6,387 6,215 5,643 7,655 7,465 8,649 9,097 10,379 U U U U U U U U
Othere U 128 34 441 50 400 263 266 237 262 488 347 539 552 733 786 831 701 532 650 727 U U U U U U U U U
Turboprop, total U 1,458 2,519 4,089 5,000 5,300 4,941 4,786 4,117 4,093 4,995 5,716 5,618 6,174 5,679 5,762 6,596 6,841 7,689 8,379 7,942 8,063 9,514 8,906 9,055 9,369 (R) 9,523 10,304 9,619 9,777
Two engined U 1,287 2,486 3,966 4,900 4,900 4,415 4,187 3,443 3,605 4,295 4,917 4,939 5,076 4,641 5,040 5,643 5,703 5,790 5,858 5,307 5,487 5,456 5,456 5,096 5,155 U 5,215 5,140 5,188
One engine U 138 33 U U U U U 650 481 668 719 650 1,033 1,018 678 915 1,108 1,821 2,468 2,595 2,576 4,059 3,450 3,958 4,214 U 5,090 4,478 4,590
Other U 33 U 123 100 400 526 599 24 7 32 80 29 65 21 45 38 30 78 54 40 U U U U U U U U U
Piston, total 92,556 125,526 157,275 193,013 175,600 175,200 173,518 162,880 149,156 142,152 152,788 153,551 156,055 162,963 171,923 170,513 163,314 161,087 160,938 165,189 167,608 163,743 166,907 163,013 157,123 155,419 (R) 152,597 143,160 137,655 139,182
Two engined 11,422 15,835 20,331 24,366 22,100 21,100 20,551 17,966 15,626 14,750 15,706 16,082 15,938 18,659 20,930 20,951 18,192 17,483 17,491 18,469 19,412 18,708 19,337 17,515 16,474 15,900 (R) 15,702 14,313 13,257 13,146
One engine 81,134 109,492 136,944 168,435 153,400 154,000 152,836 144,837 133,516 127,351 137,049 137,401 140,038 144,234 150,886 149,422 145,034 143,503 143,265 146,613 148,101 145,036 147,569 145,497 140,649 139,519 (R) 136,895 128,847 124,398 126,036
Other U 199 U 212 100 100 131 77 14 51 33 68 79 70 108 140 89 101 182 107 95 U U U U U U U U U
Rotorcraft, total 1,503 2,255 4,073 6,001 6,000 6,900 6,238 5,979 4,721 4,728 5,830 6,570 6,786 7,425 7,448 7,150 6,783 6,648 6,525 7,821 8,728 9,159 9,567 9,876 9,984 10,102 (R) 10,082 10,055 9,765 9,966
Piston U 1,666 2,499 2,794 2,700 3,200 2,390 2,348 1,846 1,627 1,863 2,507 2,259 2,545 2,564 2,680 2,292 2,351 2,123 2,315 3,039 3,264 2,769 3,498 3,499 3,588 (R) 3,411 3,292 3,137 3,154
Turbine, total U 589 1,574 3,207 3,300 3,700 3,848 3,631 2,875 3,101 3,967 4,063 4,526 4,881 4,884 4,470 4,491 4,297 4,403 5,506 5,689 5,895 6,798 6,378 6,485 6,514 (R) 6,671 6,763 6,628 6,812
Multiengine U U U U U U U U 629 616 733 643 764 843 839 694 884 686 853 1,130 1,151 1,268 1,367 1,371 1,520 1,502 U 1,663 1,596 1,685
One engine U 589 U U U U U U 2,246 2,485 3,234 3,420 3,762 4,038 4,045 3,776 3,607 3,611 3,550 4,376 4,537 4,627 5,431 5,007 4,965 5,012 U 5,100 5,032 5,127
Other Aircraft, total 809 1,554 2,832 4,945 5,800 6,600 8,051 8,000 5,037 5,907 4,741 4,244 4,091 5,580 6,765 6,700 6,545 6,377 6,008 5,939 6,454 6,277 5,940 5,652 5,480 5,684 (R) 5,681 5,006 4,277 4,699
Gliders U U U U U U U U 1,814 2,976 2,182 1,934 2,016 2,105 2,041 2,041 1,904 1,951 2,002 2,116 2,074 1,975 1,947 1,914 1,808 1,899 U 1,820 1,594 1,791
Lighter-than-Air U U U U U U U U 3,223 2,931 2,559 2,310 2,075 3,475 4,725 4,660 4,641 4,426 4,006 3,823 4,380 4,303 3,993 3,738 3,672 3,785 U 3,186 2,684 2,908
Experimental, total U U U U U U U U 10,426 12,144 15,176 16,625 14,680 16,502 20,528 20,407 20,421 21,936 20,550 22,800 23,627 23,047 23,228 23,364 29,497 29,662 24,275 26,715 24,918 26,191
Amateur Built U U U U U U U U 6,171 8,833 9,328 11,566 10,261 13,189 16,858 16,739 16,736 18,168 17,028 19,165 19,817 19,316 19,538 19,767 20,794 21,270 U 18,843 17,503 18,873
Exhibition U U U U U U U U 1,868 637 2,245 2,094 1,798 1,630 1,999 1,973 2,052 2,190 2,031 2,070 2,120 2,103 2,101 2,096 2,063 2,029 U 1,923 1,908 1,893
Other U U U U U U U U 2,387 2,674 3,603 2,965 2,620 1,684 1,671 1,694 1,633 1,578 1,491 1,565 1,691 1,629 1,589 1,501 6,640 6,363 U 5,949 5,507 5,425

KEY: R = revised; U = data are unavailable.

a Air carrier aircraft are aircraft carrying passengers or cargo for hire under 14 CFR 121 (large aircraft-more than 30 seats) and 14 CFR 135 (small aircraft-30 seats or less). This definition is more encompassing than that in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aviation Forecast- jet aircraft, 60 seats or more carrying passengers or cargo for hire. Beginning in 1990, the number of aircraft is the monthly average reported in use for the last three months of the year. Prior to 1990, it was the number of aircraft reported in use during December of a given year.

b Details may not add to totals due to estimation procedures and rounding. Beginning in 1993, excludes commuters. Prior to 1993, single-engine turboprops were included in Turboprop, Other; single and multiengine turbine rotorcraft were not shown separately; Gliders and Lighter-than-air aircraft were combined into the Other category; and Experimental aircraft were included in the appropriate aircraft type; for example, prior to 1993, the Piston, One engine aircraft type included both experimental and nonexperimental aircraft. Starting in 1993, that aircraft type only includes nonexperimental aircraft. Due to changes in methodology beginning in 1995, estimates may not be comparable to those for 1994 and earlier years.

c For 1965, total includes 574 turbine aircraft of unspecified subtype.

d For 1965-1975 this category includes multiengine aircraft.

e For 1975, this category includes single-engine aircraft.

NOTES

Prior to 1970, aircraft counts included aircraft retained in FAA data systems until the owners requested that they be deregistered. As a result, thousands of aircraft that had been destroyed over the years remained in the system. Since 1970, annual verification of aircraft registrations is required. Failure to comply with this requirement leads to revocation of the registration certificate and exclusion of the aircraft from the official count of the following year. Listed engine configurations (e.g., Two-, Three-, Multi-) represent all applicable combinations for each aircraft type. Totals may not agree with those in other tables as revisions to prior year data are reported at the aggregate level only.

Details may not add up to totals due to rounding in the source.

Estimates from the 2011 GA Survey are currently not available. The FAA is engaged in re-calibration efforts. 2011 data on the table are from FAA's Aviation Forecast estimates.

Beginning in 2004, commuter activity is excluded from all estimates.

Prior to 2012, estimates for experimental light-sport aircraft were not included in the experimental category. In 2009 and 2010, the totals shown for experimental aircraft were manually calculated by summing the figures from amateur, exhibition, experimental light-sport, and other experimental. Due to the manual summation of experimental total, the percent standard error cannot be calculated.

From 1995 to 2009, numbers for active fleet under air carrier may not add to totals due to different sources.

Subcategories data under air carrier are no longer provided by the FAA after 2008.

SOURCES

Air Carriers:

1965: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA Statistical Handbook of Aviation, 1966 Edition. (Washington, DC: 1966), table 7.5.

1970: Ibid., Calendar Year 1971. (Washington, DC: 1972), table 5.5.

1975: Ibid., Calendar Year 1975. (Washington, DC: Dec. 31, 1975), table 5.3.

1980: Ibid., Calendar Year 1980. (Washington, DC: Dec. 31, 1980), table 5.2.

1985: Ibid., Calendar Year 1993. FAA-APO-95-5 (Washington, DC: 1995), table 5.2.

1990-94: Ibid., Calendar Year 1996, available at http://www.api.faa.gov/handbook96/toc96.htm as of Mar. 31, 2000, table 5.2.

1995-2014: Department of Transportation, Federal aviation administration, FAA Aerospace Forecasts, tables 21, 22, and 27, available at https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation/aerospace_forecasts/ as of Mar. 10, 2016.

Fixed Wing, Turbojet, Turboprop, Piston, Helicopter:

1965: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA Statistical Handbook of Aviation, 1966 Edition. (Washington, DC: 1966), table 7.5.

1970: Ibid., Calendar Year 1971. (Washington, DC: 1972), table 5.5.

1975: Ibid., Calendar Year 1975. (Washington, DC: Dec. 31, 1975), table 5.3.

1980: Ibid., Calendar Year 1980. (Washington, DC: Dec. 31, 1980), table 5.2.

1985: Ibid., Calendar Year 1993. FAA-APO-95-5 (Washington, DC: 1995), table 5.2.

1990-94: Ibid., Calendar Year 1996, available at http://www.api.faa.gov/handbook96/toc96.htm as of Mar. 31, 2000, table 5.2.

1995-2008: Aerospace Industries Association, Aerospace Facts and Figures (Washington DC: Annual Issues), "Active U.S. Air Carrier Fleet," and similar tables in earlier editions.

General Aviation:

1965: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA Statistical Handbook of Aviation, 1966 Edition. (Washington, DC: 1966), table 5.1.

1970: Ibid., Calendar Year 1971. (Washington, DC: 1972), table 8.3.

1975: Ibid., Calendar Year 1975. (Washington, DC: Dec. 31, 1975), table 8.4.

1980: Ibid., General Aviation Activity and Avionics Survey, Annual Report Calendar Year 1980, FAA-MS-81-5 (Washington, DC: December 1985), table 2-6.

1985: Ibid., Annual Summary Report 1994 Data, FAA-APO-95-10 (Washington, DC: 1996), table 1.2.

1990: Ibid., General Aviation and Air Taxi Activity Survey, Calendar Year 1999 (Washington, DC: 2001), table 1.2.

1991: Ibid., General Aviation and Air Taxi Activity Survey, Calendar Year 2002 (Washington, DC: 2004), table 1.2.

1992-2000: lbid., General Aviation and Air Taxi Activity Survey (Washington, Annual Issue), table 1.2, available at http://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/general_aviation/ as of Jul. 11, 2012.

2001-2014: lbid., General Aviation and Air Taxi Activity Survey (Washington, Annual Issue), table 1.1, available at http://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/general_aviation/ as of Mar. 10, 2016.