Arlington Municipal Airport Development Plan Arlington Airport Development Plan | Page 62
Turboprops: In 2013, 645 turboprop airplanes were delivered to customers around the world, an in‐
crease of approximately 10 percent from the previous year’s figure of 580 for equivalent reporting
companies. Overall, the turboprop market has experienced significant gains since 2010.
Pistons: Piston deliveries increased from 881 units shipped from equivalent reporting companies in
2012 to 1,022 during 2013. The piston segment continued to fare best for unit deliveries among the
three segments by which GAMA tracks the airplane manufacturing industry. This is due in part by de‐
liveries to flight schools in emerging markets.
Most industry observers believe that the general aviation market, particularly the business aviation
market, is in a position for sustained growth. Industry net orders are back to positive and most leading
indicators continue to improve. The large jet category of the market is expected to expand faster than
the other categories.
AIRPORT SERVICE AREA
The generalized service area of an airport is defined by its proximity to other airports providing similar
services. As detailed in Chapter One, Arlington Municipal Airport is one of several airports serving gen‐
eral aviation needs in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
The airport service area is a geographical area where there is a potential market for aviation services.
Access to other nearby general aviation airports and transportation networks enter into the equation
in determining the size of a service area. Also factored are criteria such as the quality of aviation facili‐
ties and services.
The primary purpose of defining a service area is to identify
The primary purpose of defin‐
the geographic area from which an airport will derive its
ing a service area is to identi‐
aviation demand. As such, the service area generally repre‐
sents where most based aircraft come from. It is not unu‐
fy the geographic area from
which an airport will derive its sual for some based aircraft to be registered outside the
region or even outside the state. Most pilots base their air‐
aviation demand.
craft at an airport because of the convenience of the airport
to their residence or place of business; however, some air‐
craft owners have other priorities, such as runway length, specific services, hangar availability, airport
congestion, etc. and may elect to base their aircraft at a more distant location.
Typically the general aviation service area for more rural and regionalized airports can extend up to 30
miles. In regions served by multiple similar airports, as is the case for Arlington Municipal Airport, the
definition of the service area is not as simple. Aircraft owners in areas with multiple airports can be
selective when choosing an airport to base their aircraft. Generally, though, the proximity and level of
general aviation services offered by an airport are commonly the defining factors when describing the
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