ABSTRACT
In 2003 the U.S. aviation industry consisted of approximately 219,000 active aircraft including those operated by the airlines, general aviation, helicopters, and both piston engine powered and turbine powered aircraft. The majority of this number (211,000) is piston engine powered. The amount of lubricants consumed annually by this aviation population consists of about 8 million gal of piston engine oil. A similar volume of turbine oil is also consumed, but some of this is used in marine and power generation equipment. The General Aviation and Regional/Commuter segments of the industry are expected to enjoy the most future growth. Most of this growth will be turbine engine powered. Factors for this turbine powered aircraft growth are the increases in fractional jet ownership and regional jets providing point-to-point service [1].
