Awaiting takeoff

By Li Qiaoyi

Foreign stuntwomen perform on an aircraft during a show at the 2009 China International General Aviation Convention in Xi'an, in China's Northwest Shaanxi Province. Photo:IC

A pilot project relaxing airspace restrictions around a Shaanxi Province industrial park could be the clearance needed for China's general aviation industry to take off.

The Chinese mainland's airspace, currently supervised by the Air Force and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), is one of the most tightly restricted airspaces in the world.

General aviation refers to both private and commercial flights at a low altitude usually below 2,000 meters, which do not engage in public aviation services. Civilian flights as well as flights for rescue, offshore exploration and aerial photography all belong to general aviation.

Under the pilot program, areas within a radius of 20 kilometers and below 2,000 meters are designated as open to fly without permission from CAAC and the Air Force.

The move temporarily relaxes military control of the low altitude airspace around the Pucheng general aviation industrial park, opening it up for a wider range of flights, including private jets and helicopters.

"It means general aviation flights within the designated area no longer need approval from the Air Force and CAAC," said Jin Qiansheng, director of the managing committee of Xi'an Yanliang National Aviation Hi-Tech Industrial Base.

The country's general aviation industry is still in its infancy, but it has seen rapid growth in recent years, Wu Tongshui, president of the Civil Aviation University of China (CAUC), told the Global Times.

During the Sichuan earthquake last year, rescue planes and helicopters played a very important role in helping the needed in time.

By the end of 2008, the annual working hours of general aviation flight reached 122,670 hours, up 12 percent from the previous year, and general aviation aircrafts totalled 898 last year, 91 more than a year earlier, according to CAAC. But the numbers pale in comparison to the United States which has about 250,000 general aviation aircrafts.

High-flying expectations

The 2009 China International General Aviation Convention was recently held at the Pucheng general aviation industrial park that belongs to the Xi'an Yanliang National Aviation Hi-Tech Industrial Base, where a number of foreign helicopter and aircraft design and manufacturing companies are setting up shops. Among them are American Cirrus, Bell Helicopter Textron, Robinson Helicopter, and Eurocopter.

The launch of the Pucheng industrial park and loosening of the air space restrictions serves as a prerequisite for the growth of the country's general aviation industry, Jin Qiansheng, director of the management committee of the Yanliang industrial base, told the Global Times.

All told about 3 billion ($439.38 million) will be injected into the experimental project, Jin said.

The time needed to expect investment returns from the general aviation industry in China is relatively long compared with other industries, partly due to advanced science and technology required for designing and manufacturing the aircraft, and partly due to the relatively low use rate of the airports during the early stages, Jin said. He predicted that it would take five to six years to turn a profit.

If Pucheng sees a successful test flight, five to six other experimental areas will be set up in the next two to three years, Jin said. He believes that a national relaxation on low altitude flying restrictions could come by about 2012.

Chen Yilong, an entrepreneur in Shaanxi Province, ordered a private airplane worth 5 million yuan ($732,300) from the Jinggong (Beijing) General Aviation early this year and could soon conceivably fly within the open areas over the Pucheng industrial park after the airplane is delivered at the end of this month.

Chen is atypical, of course. In addition to the expense of his new plane, the cost of a private pilot's license is at least 100,000 yuan ($14,646) in China.

But Liu Songtao, assistant general manager of the Jinggong (Beijing) General Aviation, believes it won't be too much longer when people will be able to afford to fly their own airplanes, just as driving an auto is no longer a dream.

The company, which occupies over 50 percent of China's private plane market, sells about 10 planes a year, said Liu. Currently about 800 private airplanes are sold worldwide annually and the China market has a lot of room to expand, he said.

The total demand for general aviation planes in China within the next 10 years is expected to reach $15.5 billion, said Fu Shula, CEO of the AVIC International Holding Corporation, during the 2009 China International General Aviation Convention.

New flight plan needed

Currently, 88 domestic companies are engaged in the general aviation industry and China has 70 permanent airports and 329 temporary airports. But compared with the US, the leading player in the world's general aviation industry, China still lags far behind.

"It has just started to mull over how to build up a general aviation industrial chain. And it remains fresh to most Chinese. Even some aviation industry insiders are not familiar with the concept," said Jin. "The country is likely to take about 30 years to catch up with the US."

Even with the gradual unlocking of low altitude flying in the near future, there remain some factors which hinder the development of general aviation in the country, Wu and Jin agreed.

The country still lacks laws and regulations needed to manage the general aviation system, and the financing and insurance system to ensure a sustainable growth of the industry is also not available at the moment, CAUC's Wu said.

A sound industrial chain including airplane designing, manufacturing and maintenance, and professional pilot training hasn't been established, said Jin.

Moreover, general aviation companies have to pay heavier duties for imported planes than public transportation companies do for the same delivery, said Jinggong's Liu.

Imported light airplanes and related materials for general aviation carry a 6 percent tariff and a 17 percent valued-added tax (VAT), compared with a 1 percent tariff and a 5 percent VAT for imported public transportation airplanes.

If China is able to break through the current policy barriers, the aviation industry is likely to become a new growth driver for the national economy, much like the auto industry, said CAUC's Wu.

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