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Aviation or Air transport refers to the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. Aircraft, include fixed wing (airplane) and rotary wing (helicopter) types, as well as lighter than air craft such as balloons and airships (also known as dirigibles.) Aviation can
be broadly divided into three areas:
Commercial Aviation
Commercial Aviation or Commercial air transport is offered by airlines such as American Airlines, Royal Brunei, British
Airways, Lufthansa, and Singapore Airlines, while airlines such as Cargolux and Delta Airlines
operate passenger and cargo flights.
This type of aviation started after World War I using mostly ex-military
aircraft for the purpose of transporting people and goods for profit. A profitable cargo was air mail, which was the means by which governments subsidized air travel. Between October 1929, when the Graf Zeppelin inaugurated the first
commercial transatlantic service, and May 6, 1937,
when the Hindenburg burned, airships were a major mode of long-distance air travel. After World War II the introduction of Jetliners allowed large
numbers of people to be quickly transported.
General Aviation
General Aviation is a term comprising all of aviation other than military and scheduled air transport (airlines), and includes privately owned aircraft, charter services, business owned aircraft,
such as "bizjets," and many more types of working aircraft that are not, strictly speaking, for transportation. General aviation
(GA), contrary to popular opinion, is not exclusively non-commercial. Although a large part of General Aviation consists of
recreational flying, an equally large part involves important, commercial activities. These include flight training, shipping, surveying, agricultural application, air taxi,
charter passenger service, corporate flying, emergency transport, police, firefighting and more. Ultralights are increasingly becoming a part of the highly
regularised civil aviation system, and are often considered a part of general aviation. General Aviation also serves the
humanitarian needs as well. Many organizations use light aircraft to carry supplies, doctors, and the sick. http://www.angelflightamerica.org is one such organization.
Military Aviation
Military aviation includes combat activities as well as flight missions that support military activities.
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