The Harbin Aviation Training Center, China's largest school
training private pilots, will be set up soon in Harbin, capital
city of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, with the recent
approval of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
The aviation center will be equipped with 12 light planes and
helicopters and various training facilities. Some 20 senior flight
tutors will guide trainees to acquire professional aviation skills,
said Liang Ermin, deputy manager with Feilong Aviation Co. Ltd, the
sponsor of the training school.
As
cars have become common traffic means for ordianry people in China,
more Chinese are now willing to pilot planes in the sky.
Given the current economic level in China, it might be too
expensive for ordinary Chinese to buy airplanes, but joining
training programs and then piloting airplanes in aviation clubs
does not cost so much, said Li Hui, an official in charge of flight
services.
The Harbin-based aviation center has so far received hundreds of
calls for consultation and signing up for the training courses,
according to Liang.
Most of China's current aviation schools are mainly engaged in
training military and commercial aviators. There are only a few
schools in Beijing, Shanghai and Sichuan Province in southwest
China offering training courses for private pilots.
Statistics show that about 60 Chinese have got private aviation
licenses, while such a population in the United States amounts to
over 700,000.
With the approval of CAAC, The new training school will not require
as strict physical examination standards as those set for military
and commercial aviators, so more people will be able to realize
their dreams of flying.
(People's Daily 03/27/2001)