Chinese Aviation Industry

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Attendees at an ongoing business aviation exhibition are keenly eyeing China's lucrative private aviation market despite major obstacles in the way of realizing the market's potential.

During the Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition held in Shanghai from March 27 to 29, officials have promised more support in developing the country's burgeoning business aviation market.

"The Chinese government is drafting specific rules to regulate business aviation. Various improvement measures and industry layouts are also underway," said Xia Xinghua, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

Bans on the use of China's low-altitude airspace for general aviation will also be further relaxed, he added.

Xia's statement has won applause from the world's aviation giants and the country's super-rich, who are anxiously waiting for their jets and have complained about a series of problems hampering further expansion for the market.

Insiders have said China is facing serious problems, including a lack of trained pilots and maintenance technicians, the difficult visa and entry process for foreign professionals and the comparatively high composite tax rate for imported jets.

"Certainly there is enough wealth in China," Carey Matthews, general manager of the Shanghai Hawker Pacific Business Aviation Service Center, a leading aircraft service company, said, but the country's super-rich and organizations have to wait a long time for the jets to arrive and for support services to be built up around the country.

"The key here in the country is not infrastructure, as building is easy in China," he said, explaining that the "exciting part" of business aviation in China is the cultivation of industry professionals, who are "gaining, day by day, the experience to make it work."

NO PLANE, NO GAIN

The rise of the business jet market in China means business jets are no longer a privilege reserved for the country's wealthy elite, and the country should take this time as an opportunity to learn from the world's pioneers, said insiders.

"Organizations all over the world have the same amount of time in each day. Business airplanes help governments and companies all over the world use that time efficiently and productively," said Ed Bolen, president and CEO of the U.S. National Business Aviation Association.

Bolen said business aviation has enabled companies of all sizes to be more competitive. It saves them time, increases productivity and helps companies grab new opportunities.

"It is a time of great opportunities for Chinese companies and units to explore their domestic and global market efficiently by using high-performance and modern aircraft," said Jeffrey W. Lee, vice president of flight operations with American Express.

Apart from providing on-the-go offices and a more flexible timetable, a business jet can also boost the development of a well-run and forward-thinking company, said Lee, who has accrued 30 years of professional experience in the industry.

Lee hopes China will share with the world the opportunities presented by its emerging aviation market, which is vast but has obvious gaps.

China has seen rapid growth in both the civil and general aviation sectors, but especially in the business aviation sector.

In 2008, 32 business aircraft were registered in China. In 2011, the number reached 109, and the country saw 13,400 registered departures and arrivals of business flights last year, according to statistics from the CAAC.

VAST VIRGIN MARKET

Global and domestic business aviation giants, such as the Aviation Industry Corporation of China and the newly-established Beijing Airlines, are now looking forward to support services, professional training and consultancy surrounding the business aviation sector.

The sector's future development, however, depends on a more open airspace as well as a determined and unified policy stance governing the industry, said Wang Wei, vice president of Beijing Airlines.

It is estimated that China's business aircraft fleet will exceed 260 by the end of 2015. By 2020, China will add more than 280 general airports, 40 of which will be designated for business jets, Xia said.

By 2020, China will set up a basic service support system for the business aviation sector, which includes fixed base operators, flight service stations and maintenance service centers, he said.

China's central government said in its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) that it will promote the development of the general aviation industry, reform the airspace management system and increase the efficiency of the allocation and utilization of airspace resources.

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Low-rail gantry CHARGER™ contour tape layer to produce main wings, stabilizers and central wing boxes for COMAC Shanghai Aircraft C919 and C929 commercial passenger jets

MAG expands its presence in the Chinese aerospace industry with the sale of the first composite processing system from a U.S. company. The new CHARGER™ low-rail gantry contour tape layer, to be installed in Shanghai, will produce wings, horizontal stabilizers and central wing boxes for COMAC's C919 and C929 commercial passenger jets, slated to enter service in 2016. According to Chip Storie, MAG Executive Vice President Aerospace, "This sale of the first U.S.-made automated tape layer for the Chinese market builds on MAG's successes in China's growing aerospace industry. Shanghai Aircraft already has dozens of MAG machine tools in production in its manufacturing operation. This further solidifies MAG as the premier supplier of advanced manufacturing equipment for commercial aerospace production in China."

Shanghai Aircraft is the major production facility of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). This tape layer will be installed in the new COMAC Pudong composite facility.

"The Chinese aerospace industry is booming, and this sale is a breakthrough for U.S. machinery exports in general and MAG in particular," Storie added. "We are highly encouraged about the potential for follow up sales, where our global reach as an integrated supplier of composites and metal cutting solutions offers customers advantages in engineering and local service support through our Shanghai tech center."

MAG's CHARGER tape layer deposits composite tape at industry-leading speeds, while achieving aerospace grade placement accuracies on complex contours. CHARGER Series machines lay 75, 150 or 300 mm (3, 6 or 12 in) carbon/epoxy tape with any orientation and number of plies, over tool surfaces with contours, flats and changing geometries, producing consistent quality, part shape, thickness and strength. MAG-designed controls and software make CHARGER's multi-axis movements easy to program and control. The powerful ACES® programming software translates CAD or CATIA tooling and laminate data into multi-axis machine commands. MAG has sold more than 90 seats of this proprietary software throughout the world.

The low-rail gantry platform is designed with high structural stiffness for reliability and fast, accurate lay-up. The next-generation re-engineered contour tape head contributes to higher throughput with faster, simpler side loading of tape rolls up to 300 mm (12 in) wide and 650 mm (25.6 in) diameter. The new head also features integrated ultrasonic laminate cutting, cutter depth-setting assistance and dockable inkjet marking for maximum system flexibility and performance.

MAG composite processing systems are the most widely used equipment throughout the worldwide aerospace industry, with more than 130 systems sold. In addition to the Shanghai Aircraft programs, MAG taper layers and fiber placement systems are used to produce a wide range of components for numerous aircraft programs, including the Airbus A350-XWB and Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

China's C919 to Make Maiden Flight in 2014 as Planned

2012-03-31 Source:Wcarn Traffic

There has been lots of controversy over whether China could conduct the first flight of the C919 -- China's homebred large aircraft -- in 2014. On Mar. 28, Honeywell, a main provider of spare parts for the C919, relieved the worries with disclosure that the C919 will be launched as scheduled, while the first prototype aircraft will be made this year and the first flight will be conducted in Shanghai in the middle of 2014.

Honeywell provides the C919 large aircraft with four main spare parts and electronic equipments such as auxiliary power unit, fly-by-wire flight control system, etc. On Mar. 28, president of Honeywell Asia Pacific Gao Bo'an told reporters in Shanghai when participating in the ABACE 2012 (Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition 2012), according to the plan of COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China), the plane maker will start constructing the prototype aircraft of the C919 this year, and the first components have been in production as well. Moreover, the aircraft is planned to make maiden flight in the middle of 2014. "Until now, COMAC makes no change to the plan", Gao said.

According to the public documents of "The Environmental Impact Report on the Fourth and Fifth Runway of Pudong International Airport", homebred ARJ21 aircraft will conduct its test flight on the fourth runway of Pudong International Airport, while its pre-delivery test flight will be finished in the beginning of 2013. The C919 is expected to make test flight at Pudong International Airport in the middle of 2014.

What is wrong with ARJ 21 Jet? Until now , not even goes into operation yet? Or they decide to abandon it and devote all time and effort on C919? It sounds rational but C919 will still need to wait until 2016 before first jet goes operational.

Why not they make some effort to make ARJ 21 also be a success. No more delay and hicups.

Why do you think they are abandoning the ARJ21? It's going through its final phases of certification. China's regional aviation market is way less profitable than trunkline routes, in recent years it's practically killed by HSR, so ARJ21 itself will be a less profit venture anyway.

Lion said:

What is wrong with ARJ 21 Jet? Until now , not even goes into operation yet? Or they decide to abandon it and devote all time and effort on C919? It sounds rational but C919 will still need to wait until 2016 before first jet goes operational.

Why not they make some effort to make ARJ 21 also be a success. No more delay and hicups.

Click to expand...

!? ARJ21 has bagged over 300 orders, most recent one was last month from Indonesia of 40 aircraft

these things time, its for international market and must meet all saftey and aircraft regulations, its Chinas first aircraft of its sort, they must be sure 110% it does what its meant to and in a safe way

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ARJ21-700 AC104 successfully flew to Urumqi Diwopu International Airport on March 3rd, 2012. Then, the aircraft conduct a familiarity flight test plus ground-air joint test, and two dry air anti-ice compliance flight tests on March 6th and 7th, 2012,. The test results were satisfying, and all the systems of the aircraft operated normally with stable performance. According to the plan, ARJ21-700 AC104 would carry out in Urumqi natural icing flight test, performance stability flight test.

from Urumqi

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Shanghai's goal of becoming a globally important aviation hub by 2015 has been brought closer by a deal signed between the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the eastern Chinese municipality's government here on Thursday.

The strategic cooperation agreement aiming to speed up Shanghai's civil aviation development will usher in a new era for the municipality's aviation industry, said CAAC officials at the signing ceremony.

According to the agreement, efforts will be made to ensure the safety of air traffic, improve aviation services and promote research, development and manufacturing of large passenger aircraft.

By 2015, the two airports in Shanghai, Hongqiao and Pudong, should be able to handle 100 million passengers and 5.5 million tonnes of cargo annually, thus becoming a key node in the global aviation network, officials said.

Specific objectives were also provided for the two airports in the agreement.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport should be a key aviation hub in the Asia-Pacific region and a leading cargo airport worldwide, while Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport should be a highly passenger-friendly facility.

Civil aviation development is a priority for China during the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015). The country plans to build 70 new airports, relocate 15 airports and renovate 101 others nationwide and buy more than 300 planes annually, according to the plan.

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China’s independently-developed flight inspection equipment was recently delivered to General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), which made China the sixth country that capable of independently developing the equipment.

The flight inspection equipment was jointly developed by Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics as well as Flight Inspection Center of CAAC.

The flight inspection system is the core equipment for the implementation of the flight inspection mission and it is also one of the premises for airport operations and route openness. The equipment can ensure the safety of communications, navigation, surveillance and other facilities to meet operating requirements of the flight.