The aviation industry is set to spread its wings rapidly with
the rising use of small aircraft and a boost from the
authorities.
Apart from scheduled and military flights general aviation
encompasses almost everything that flies -- ranging from corporate
jets, charter companies catering for businesses, air taxis,?
crop-dusting, cloud seeding and aerial photography.
"Flight has many advantages such as flexibility and efficiency,"
said Wu Changping, director of the general aviation division of the
General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC). "The proper
development of the country's civil aviation sector needs a balanced
growth of scheduled and general aviation operations."?
There was an increasing need for business flights and air taxi
services to keep pace with China's growing economy, Wu said, "More
multinational companies are opening offices in China and more of
our companies are expanding," he added. "They all need flights
other than those provided by airlines."
Globally it's estimated there are around 340,000 general
aviation aircraft making up 97 percent of the 350,000 civil
aircraft. But in China the figures are completely different with
the number of general aircraft less than half of the total. .
CAAC statistics show that at the end of 2005 there were more
than 600 general aviation aircraft in China which between them
chalked up around 80,000 flight hours last year.
In contrast, there are at least 220,000 small airplanes in the
United States, which carry 133 million passengers each year to more
than 19,000 airports and heliports, according to?
www.gaservingamerica.org, a US website on general aviation.
Another difference is that 70 percent of general aviation flight
hours in the US are business-related while a majority of the small
airplanes in China are used in agriculture, forestry and industries
such offshore drilling and mineral exploration. The reasons for the
differences are many.
"First, we lack airports and pilots," said Yang Jie, a member of
the general aviation expert committee under the Chinese Society of
Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Apart from makeshift airstrips where small planes can take off
and land there's only 57 airports for general aviation use and 126
used for scheduled flights, according to Yang. He also pointed out
that there's a shortage of around 1,000 pilots for small airplanes
adding that China had only 13 pilot training schools.
Another important factor was availability of airspace. "General
flights need to get approval from the authorities," Yang said. "The
process used to take at least two weeks but now it can be done in
half a day." This sort of change makes Yang confident about the
future of general aviation.
The expert estimated that China would have 10,000 general
aircraft by 2020 and their flight hours will be three times more
than that in 2005 hitting 260,000 flight hours by 2015.
The CAAC has made general aviation a priority in the
11th Five-Year Guidelines (2006-10). It expects the sector to
grow by at least 10 percent year on year and with growth in a
variety of sectors.
Interestingly is has been pointed out by Jiao Tianli, an
organizer of China's first general aviation industry exposition to
be held in Binzhou of Shandong in May that currently 70 percent of
all general flight hours are in fact devoted to
agriculture.?
(China Daily March 16, 2006)