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Private flying clubs struggle to stay airborne
By Xin Dingding (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-10 07:41 Low-altitude airspace should be opened up to save China's embattled flying clubs, pilots said. Xing Jizhu, one of China's 1,000 private pilot license owners, said flying clubs across the country were losing revenue and many were closing. "Last year they almost had no business and no income, but still had to pay high operating costs," he said. Beijing flying clubs, which use low-altitude airspace over the suburbs, are ordered not to fly whenever the city hosts an important meeting or event.
Major events have been frequent in the past year with the Olympic Games in August and the sessions of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the National People's Congress in March. "I have not piloted a plane for a year," said Xing, who used to fly every weekend. "I am afraid there will be not many chances in the coming year either because clubs have been shut down or are on the brink of collapse." There is no official data on the number of flying clubs that have closed. It is understood that all flying clubs in China are affected by the restrictions but that Beijing clubs are most under threat. "The current airspace restriction is a waste of resources and money," he said. Experts said flying clubs were also struggling with a limited number of customers. "Compared to other nations in the world, Chinese people do not like adventures," said Liu Jianhua, former Party secretary with Zhongfei General Aviation Company, which owns Zhongfei Aviation Club. There are "less than 1,000" Chinese people with a private pilot license and that figure is not increasing, said Yang Hu, of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). Xing, who received his license in 2002, said many people train to be pilots for business rather than recreational purposes. At Zhongfei aviation club in Yanliang of Shaanxi province, some graduates said they wanted to be pilots for super-rich businessmen with their own planes. Zhao Junming, the club's general manager, said other graduates would replace pilots who were soon to retire from the Zhongfei General Aviation Company. "This year, we had a few students who are millionaires and learn for fun. Each trainee pays 140,000 yuan. But the club is not making a profit," he said. As private pilot training is not generating revenue, the club will focus on providing short flight experiences for rich people, he said. Taking care of private planes for rich owners is also a potential path to profit, Liu added. The Zhongfei Aviation Club maintains a private plane for a Shaanxi corporation. Liu said taking care of 10 planes could generate at least 20 million yuan per year. But the rich are now unwilling to buy planes because of airspace restrictions, he said. Xing, a businessman, said it took up to 10 days to have a flight plan approved in Beijing, and this was too long for private plane owners. Experts said opening up low-altitude airspace will not harm commercial air transport. "China has established a reliable system to safeguard the national security so the airspace that used to serve national defense can be released for civil use," Xinhua News Agency reported. The CAAC is testing the opening up of low-altitude airspace in part of Fujian province and Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province. Both areas are considered not ideal for the trial. The CAAC said there was no timetable for the opening up of low-altitude airspace.
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