Investing in municipal airports develops local economies.

If you build it, they will come . . . so goes the mantra of many smaller cities struggling to lure economic development into their corner of the world. But how, exactly, will they get there? Economic growth through the use of smaller planes and carriers is, quite frankly, vital to promoting growth in local communities.

General Aviation was never the exclusive choice of the rich, privileged and famous, but as the auto executives learned the hard way when testifying before Congress, it is a perception that persists with most of the population. “People look at general aviation as the rich guy going out and flying his airplane, but it’s so much more than that: it’s the air ambulance, search and rescue,” he said. “There are so many different facets to aviation that people just don’t realize,” said Al Timmerman, owner of Titletown Jet Centre at Austin Straubel International Airport.

General aviation is much more influential than that, providing a lifeline to economic stability in local communities — and jobs are only part of the equation.

In 2005, a study by Merge Global Inc. concluded general aviation employment totaled about 1.3 million jobs nationally, and put the total economic contribution at $150 billion annually. That’s no small potatoes. But brought home, this means real jobs, in real towns, where real people live.

“You’ve got to look at an airport sort of like a four-lane highway,” said Clarence Schampers, manager of Wisconsin’s Shawano City/County Airport. “If you don’t have access to a city (economic growth) isn’t going to happen … it’s part of the economy.”

“We need representatives in Washington to give us the same emphasis as the automotive industry,” said Carl Brewer, mayor of Wichita, Kansas, a hub in the general aviation industry. Brewer suggests creating an environment “where individuals can purchase planes and get loans; it is not bad to use your aircraft to conduct business.”