Burgeoning consumer demand in the general aviation sector for business travel, flight sightseeing tours and individual entertainment flying will keep growing in the years ahead, and that demand is expected to drive the growth of the general aviation sector in China.
In 2019, the flying hours in general aviation reached 1.13 million hours, rising 13.8 percent year-on-year. Most flying hours comprise flight training, short-distance transportation, and general aviation tasks such as law enforcement and medical assistance, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
Last year, there were 246 certified general aviation airports nationwide and the number exceeded that of commercial airports in October, the CAAC said.
The government said it will encourage and attract private investment to help build more general aviation airports to provide more comprehensive services such as public transportation and social services.
On the other hand, the number of registered unmanned aircraft reached 392,000 in China last year and their commercial flying time reached 1.25 million hours, the CAAC said.
"Heavy-load unmanned helicopters that have high performance and reliability are in severe shortage. Sectors such as emergency firefighting and rescue, military transportation, and civil logistics will have high demand for such helicopters and there is ample room for growth," Wang Qiang, a researcher of unmanned flying systems at Beihang University, said.
"We need to put in more investments in research and development, and self-develop more heavy-load, highly cost-efficient, unmanned helicopters with independent intellectual property rights."
Source: China Daily
