Wearing a red flying suit, Tian Weixin starts the engine of his Bee 3C super light plane. After taxiing a short distance on the makeshift runway, the plane takes off.

Tian's long-cherished dream came true in Gaoming Section of Xijiang Dam in the city of Foshan in South China's Guangdong Province on October 24.

"I really feel like a bird when the plane takes off," says Tian, an editor at a local radio station.

Tian became the first in his province, and one of the handful of Chinese who fly their own planes, after he obtained the national identity permit and the airworthiness permit for his plane issued by the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), the nation's top civil aviation authority.

He spent 145,000 yuan (US$17,500) on the domestic-made plane.

"The significance of owning the first private plane in Guangdong Province is that I am a pioneer in a new field in our country, although private planes are fairly popular in developed countries such as the United States," Tian says. "I hope more and more private planes will be available to the general public."

Several days after Tian's trial flight, Shanghai businessman Li Linhai bought a four-seat Robinson R-44 helicopter worth 4 million yuan (US$480,000) from a US airplane agency.

In fact, some wealthy business people bought light planes two years ago for convenient business trips. Among them are Ye Wenzhi, general manager of Huanglongdong Tourist Corporation, and Zhang Yue, president of Broad Air Conditioning Co Ltd in Central China's Hunan Province.

General aviation

Sources from CAAC say there are five light planes in private use in the country compared with 400-plus general aviation planes.

General aviation in China mainly involves surveillance of forests, protecting mines, disaster relief, spraying pesticides, sowing seeds, sports and training. Now private flights are added to the category.

Compared with countries having a long experience in civil aviation such as the United States, private flying in China is still in its infancy, says Meng Ping, director of CAAC's General Aviation Department.

However, China's fast-growing economy is spurring demand for private aviation and an increasing number of people are beginning to reach for the skies to realize their dreams of flying in their own aircraft, he says.

Some business people hope to pilot their own planes on business trips and at the same time, use the ownership to boost their enterprises' images.

For flying enthusiasts, it's the sheer thrill and excitement of flying a plane themselves.

"China is at the threshold of rapid growth in general aviation," says Zhao Mingyu, director of the Administration Center of the Sports Aeronautics, Radio and Model under the State General Administration of Sports.

With an increasing number of people wanting to buy private planes, the number of people who want to receive flight training is on the rise, though the cost for flight training is still high -- around 2,000 yuan (US$240) per hour -- a source from the training center of Guangzhou Baiyun General Aviation Company says.

Statistics from CAAC indicate that around 130 people have got flight licenses for flying light planes since CAAC gave nod to the issuing of private licenses in August 1996.

Private flights

"As economic development reaches a certain point, the need for private flights will arise naturally and definitely see a robust increase," Zhao says, adding it is an inevitable trend in a well-developed economy as people will have more diversified demands for transportation and entertainment.

Private flying is only a small part of general aviation.

According to Zhao, among the roughly 330,000 general aviation airplanes worldwide, China has a meager 400. "General aviation in China pales into insignificance beside the same industry in developed countries, but at the same time it means great potential for development," he says.

However, the biggest problem facing China's general aviation is national and military security. Fearing secret surveillance from the skies, aviation control is very tight and individuals are denied access to aviation matters.

The use of general light planes for other than approved purposes requires the submission of a request to the administration and flight paths have to be clearly defined.

"Actually, this is a rather backward concept today since advanced technologies have made it nearly impossible to hide a secret. The administration should pay more attention to setting up an efficient system to control the flights safely," Zhao says.

The good news for Chinese flight enthusiasts is that China's air traffic management authority is gearing up to loosen its restrictions on general aviation.

Gradual opening up

Policies on a gradual opening up of low-altitude airspace are being formulated and a green light is expected to be given to private flying, sources from the National Air Traffic Control Committee say.

The committee is stepping up its efforts to work out regulations on the opening of low-altitude airspace step by step and make private aviation convenient on the basis of scientific management, says an official from the country's air traffic management authority, who does not want to be identified.

The basic work has been completed and policies in this regard will be unveiled soon, he says, but refuses to give an exact date.

Parts of bans on airspace, routes and flights that have set limitations on private flying will be hopefully lifted, and a specific standard is also being mapped out for private planes, the official said.

The official himself has participated in the preliminary investigation and research of the programme.

In fact, opening low-altitude airspace is only one of the important moves that the civil aviation authority has made to promote the development of its general aviation industry.

On May 1 last year, the State Council and the Central Military Commission issued a new regulation on general aviation, lifting many of the complicated procedures and prohibitions which severely restricted civil flights.

In November, the country's top civil aviation authority gave nod to the personal purchase of light planes.

On December 22, when the National Working Conference on Civil Aviation was held in Beijing, CAAC's Director Yang Yuanyuan declared that procedures of examination and approval of the establishment of general aviation companies would be simplified.

Market access

CAAC will widen the market access to civil aviation and encourage domestic and foreign capital, particularly from private-owned companies, into the civil aviation market and provide full support for the growth of general aviation, the director said.

Using the metaphor of traffic lights to illustrate the situation, the yellow light is on now for general aviation. The green light is a matter of time, which will certainly turn an unprecedented page in China's aviation history, experts predict.

Both the high demand for private flights and the policy support offered by the nation's civil aviation authority are regarded as promising signs for an upsurge in the nation's general aviation.

Insiders analyze that the country's approval of the purchase of private plane and the opening of low-altitude airspace will provide vast business opportunities for airplane manufacturers and flight-training sectors.

CAAC estimates that in the coming 10 years, the nation needs at least 2,000 helicopters for civil use; the number will reach 10,000 by 2020, which means a huge market of US$700 billion.

The increasing market demand has attracted a batch of private-owned enterprises to invest in the airplane manufacturing industry.

Not long ago, the first home-designed light business jet Xiaoying (Eaglet) 500, which is developed for commercial and individual use, was put on the market after completing a successful trial flight on October 26.

The light plane is reportedly worth 2 million yuan (US$240,000) and its producer, Shijiangzhuang Aircraft Industry Co in North China's Hebei Province, has received 60-odd orders.

The three-seat S-300C helicopter, manufactured by Shanghai Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, a joint venture between US-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp and a local private business, Shanghai Xiaoying Science and Technology Co, is priced at US$280,000 on the Chinese market. The joint venture can produce 48 such copters a year.

"We are not worried about the market potential for our products," says Cai Yan, a senior marketing officer with the joint venture.

"The biggest obstacle or uncertainty for us is policy barriers. The market potential in China is undoubtedly enormous, but the country's opening up of its civil aviation market will be a step-by-step process," she says.

(Xinhua News Agency February 6, 2004)