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5 Statement of Problem Annual aircraft operations estimates are used in aviation system planning, airport master planning, environmental studies, aviation forecasts, and for a host of other reasons. At airports with air traffic control towers, aircraft operations are tracked and recorded by the air traffic controllers; however, most airports in the United States do not have air traffic con- trol towers (FAA 2012). Such airports are generally known as non-towered, and they comprise the vast majority of the air- ports open to the public. Accordingly, unlike the larger, tow- ered airports, these non-towered airports do not have readily available records on aircraft activity. Consequently, many state aviation agencies and some airports and metropolitan plan- ning organizations (MPOs) have developed aircraft traffic counting programs to track airport activity at their airports, although many have not. Knowledge of the cost, accuracy, and complexity of the various methods for obtaining aircraft operations counts at non-towered airports is needed to help airports select the most appropriate method for their needs. Purpose of Study The objective of this research is to identify, test, and evalu- ate methods for obtaining aircraft operations counts at non- towered airports. C H A P T E R 1 Introduction
