Ed Bolen writes: By any measure, these are good times in the general aviation industry. For the past four years, industry billings and shipments have been rising sharply. Last year, the industry set a new all-time record for total billings, and shipments of general aviation aircraft reached their highest level in nearly two decades. Reports from the first six months of this year indicate that 1999 will likely be an even better year.\rStatistics like these beg two questions: 1) What is the reason for the growth?; and 2) Can the growth be sustained? Part of the growth in general aviation can be traced to the fact that in 1994, the United States enacted a new product liability law limiting a manufacturer's responsibility for a general aviation product to a period of 18 years. Although laws that limit a manufacturer's liability to a set period of time are relatively common in Europe, this was a major change in the US legal system, and one that has been highly successful. In short, it has allowed manufacturers to invest in the future rather than litigate the past. Another reason for the current growth has been the plethora of new aircraft models that have come to market over the past four years. Historically, new aircraft models have consistently resulted in increased sales. The current trend is no exception to that rule.\rThe Cessna Citation X and Excel, the Gulfstream V, the Boeing Business Jet, the Learjet 45, and Mooney Encore, Piper Meridian, and Raytheon's Premier I and Hawker Horizon are just some of the exciting new aircraft entering the general aviation market. The new models are the result of extensive market research into what customers need and want in a general aviation aircraft. They are setting new standards for speed, distance, comfort, efficiency and innovation in the general aviation fleet. The highly competitive global marketplace, which places a premium on speed, efficiency and productivity, is also spurring general aviation sales. As companies around the world look for a competitive edge, they are finding that general aviation gives them more control over travel schedules and allows them to reach markets not well served by the commercial airlines. Companies are also finding that the aircraft can serve as a virtual office that allows employees to turn travel time into productive work time. \rFractional ownership programs have helped increase the size of the general aviation market by making general aviation more affordable than ever to both businesses and individuals. These programmes, which began in the US in the mid-1980s and more recently expanded to Europe, have been growing at the remarkable rate of 50 per cent per year. Last year, fractional program-mes accounted for nearly one-third of all new business jet orders. To maximise the advantages of business aircraft and provide new technology aircraft, it is important that the United States and Europe, through the JAA, continue to work together to harmonise certification standards and operational require-ments. Issues like ETOPS must be resolved quickly to provide maximum flexibility for operators without sacrificing safety. \rAs the general aviation industry continues to set new records, there are those who caution that ours has always been a cyclical industry and that downturns are inevitable. However, a number of general aviation companies and inde-pendent firms have done 10-year market forecasts. These forecasts are almost without exception very positive about the future. AlliedSignal, for example, forecasts that over the next five years we will ship about 3,600 new turbine-powered aircraft! Although no one is suggesting that our industry will never hit turbulence, it is clear that there are a lot of reasons to feel good about the future of general aviation including growth in Europe. \rManufacturers are building aircraft that give their customers real value. The competitive market-place is demanding the productivity and efficiency that is only available through general aviation. And innovative financing programmes like fractional owner-ship can expose an ever broader base of US and European companies and individuals to the benefits of general aviation. With these building blocks in place, it seems the industry has every reason to be optimistic.