Light aircraft manufacturers in the United States were typically members of the Aerospace Industries Association (originally called the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce), which represented all aircraft manufacturers in the U.S. catering to military aviation, commercial aviation and general aviation.

Increasing division of interests and priorities, and the disproportionate power of the military and commercial aircraft manufacturers, led to the establishment of a new organization to represent general aviation aircraft manufacturers. The organization was established as the Utility Aircraft Council, until its director died suddenly. That organization's public relations man, Ed Stimpson, took the reins and evolved the organization into GAMA in 1970.^[2]

Initially, GAMA represented general aviation fixed-wing aircraft (not helicopter) manufacturers in the United States only. It has since grown to embrace aircraft manufacturers in other countries, with an additional office in Brussels, Belgium. In 2011, GAMA members voted to open GAMA membership to helicopter manufacturers as well.^[3]

GAMA has also expanded its membership to include producers of general aviation engines, avionics, spare parts and related services. The organization claims to represent over 80 manufacturers.^[1]

GAMA serves as a:

• Political lobbying group, representing the interests of the manufacturers of general aviation aircraft and products to governments^[1][4]
• Industry data and information clearinghouse, public relations and reporting service (particularly publishing quarterly aircraft production data and the annual GAMA Statistical Yearbook and Industry Outlook, which typically contains an annualized summary of the quarterly reports, over several years, with additional general aviation statistics, and analysis)^[5][6]
• Industry partnering organization, providing for joint efforts by general aviation manufacturers towards shared goals (among these, various industry promotions, training, scholarships and awards programs)^[7][8][9]

Among the issues dealt with by GAMA have been:^{[10][11][2][12][13]}

• Encouraging people to become lightplane pilots
• Lobbying for manufacturing and safety standards suiting the GAMA members
• Establishment of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund
• Allocation of aviation fuel during the Arab oil embargo of the mid-1970s
• Dealing with the impact of the PATCO strike by the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization that crippled U.S. aviation in the 1980s
• Leading the (eventually successful) effort to pass the General Aviation Revitalization Act, which shields manufacturers of light aircraft from lawsuits over crashes of small aircraft that are 18 years old or older (This act, passed in 1994 after several years of GAMA lobbying, is credited with reviving the small aircraft industry, which had been hard hit by a rapidly rising tide of crash-lawsuits)
• Corporate risk managers' opposition to corporate aviation^[13]
• Shortages of aviation fuel for piston-powered aircraft
• Government attempts to tax general aviation through "user fees"
• The shift of general aviation away from mass-market, piston-powered light aircraft to narrow-market, high-priced business jets and turboprops

Current member organizations are:^[14]

Ed Stimpson (died 2009)^[11] headed GAMA for 25 years as its first president and shaped the identity and role of the organization.^[2][12]

Drew Steketee served as communications director from 1980 to 1987.^[15][16]

Pete Bunce is the current president and CEO since 2005.^[1][17]

• General aviation in Europe
• General aviation in the United Kingdom

• Official website