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Private pilots all set to fly, but more reform needed
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SEVERAL Chinese companies are marketing utility aircraft for pilot training at the ongoing Singapore Airshow, despite claims by experts that the government’s reforms on low-altitude airspace management fall short of what the public wants.
A Jiangsu-based company that operates an aviation industry park in the eastern province yesterday presented the AT-3, a two-seat utility aircraft it acquired from Poland-based manufacturer Aero AT.
The aircraft is typically used for pilot training purposes.
The Chinese company is also building a local manufacturing plant in readiness for the opportunities it sees in the general aviation sector.
“We expect a lot of people in China to begin training for their pilot’s licenses if the low-altitude airspace restrictions are removed,” company director Steven Zhang said.
“Even pilots of commercial aircraft have to start their flight training in small planes,” he said.
The government has announced several reforms in recent years to loosen airspace control. For instance, airlines now generally do not have to seek approval from the military before taking off.
The ongoing reforms are expected to drive greater demand in the general aviation sector, especially for smaller, private aircraft that operate in low-altitude airspace.
Aero AT is also considering manufacturing slightly larger aircraft for the Chinese market, Walter Jankowski, its chief executive said.
Under new regulations announced late last year, general aviation flights no longer have to apply for approval, except when entering or exiting Chinese territories, flying through restricted zones, or conducting aerial photography or surveys of military facilities.
The new rules were issued by the General Staff Headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army and the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
However, experts like Yang Guoqing, vice president of the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and former deputy administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said the reforms to low-altitude airspace management do not go far enough.
“I’m not saying that there has been no progress. But the reforms do not meet the public’s expectations,” Yang said on Wednesday at a forum held on the sidelines of the Singapore show.
Many groups have been trying their best to push through the reforms, he said.
The reforms involve various authorities and parties. The Civil Aviation Administration is not the main agency behind the reforms as airspace control primarily falls within the authority of the military.
“It takes time to move ahead with the reforms,” Yang said.
General aviation is one of the country’s still nascent industries but is key to the strategic plans for the aviation sector as a whole, he said.
China’s goal is to achieve an annual air passenger traffic figure of 1.5 billion by 2030, which would make it the world’s largest domestic air transport market.
By 2020, the annual turnover of the country’s air transport system is expected to hit 140 billion ton kilometers.
People will make an average of 0.47 trips per person per year, and there will be 260 airports, making air transport services available to 89 percent of the population.
However, Yang acknowledged that there are still bottlenecks, such as infrastructure, to the growth of the air transport sector in China.
The supply of air transport services will continue to be stretched for several years to come, he said. This can already be seen from the on-time rate of flight services, which has fallen steadily in recent years to a low of 71.8 percent in the first half of 2013. The figures is some way below the target of 85 percent set for 2030.
The authorities have several areas to address, Yang said. These include extending the pilot reforms for low-altitude airspace management, speeding up relevant legislation, and simplifying procedures for the approval of general aviation aircraft and equipment.
They must also provide more support for general aviation, especially as it applies to charities, and training, he said.
Stanley Hui, CEO of Hong Kong Airport Authority, said that the approach of allowing airspace to be primarily utilized for civil aviation, but with exceptions, might be an option for the authorities to consider.
Yang said there is still much work to be done to push through the low-altitude airspace reforms, including capability and capacity building, in order for the new system to be successfully managed.
“At the end of the day, airspace resources should be used primarily to drive economic growth in peaceful times,” he said.
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