China GA report released at China Heli Expo

China GA report released at China Heli Expo

10-Oct-2019 Source: Asian Sky Group

Hong Kong business aviation consulting company Asian Sky Group (ASG) has released the third edition of its China GA Report, showcasing the country’s growing general aviation industry, including a fleet breakdown by aircraft type and itemized list of recent government initiatives. The latest edition also includes a special feature on commercial drones in China, courtesy of Ipsos Business Consulting. The China GA Report will be distributed at the China Helicopter Expo in Tianjin (Oct 10-13).

“In 2017, ASG released a ‘first of its kind’ overview on general aviation in China,” says ASG Managing Director, Jeffrey Lowe. “Since then, the industry has seen rapid development and significant supporting legislation put in place by the Chinese Central Government. Our second edition then focused exclusively on the Greater Bay Area; its challenges and opportunities; and potential benefits for GA. This latest edition reflects on the growth in GA since 2017 and since the regulatory support was implemented by the Central Government.”

Lowe continues: “This edition also features a special section on China’s commercial drone industry as there’s a worldwide, growing interest in unmanned aerial mobility and China currently supplies up to 70% of the world’s civilian drone market with 1,200 domestic manufacturers.”

Highlights of this Report include:

China’s GA industry consists of 3,317 aircraft, as of June 30, 2019. This includes turboprop / piston aircraft (1,667), helicopter (1,200), business jets (330) and others[1] (120).
The fixed-wing fleet stands at 2,007. Of this, 68% are piston aircraft, 16% are business jets, 15% are turboprop and 1% are electric aircraft. The Southwestern province of Sichuan is home to the most fixed-wing aircraft, many of which are used for training purposes and where the Civil Aviation Flight University of China is located. The Northernmost province of Heilongjiang, which is China’s largest agriculture base, has the second highest number of fixed-wing aircraft, followed by the Shandong Province which borders the Bohai Sea.
The rotary-wing fleet stands at 1,237. Of this, 57% are turbine helicopters, 40% are piston helicopters and 3% are gyroplanes. The Guangdong Province has the highest amount of rotary-wing aircraft, many of which are used in the offshore oil and gas segment and where CITIC Offshore Helicopter is based. Beijing, the home of China’s largest powerline inspection company – State Grid GA, has the second highest amount, followed by Shanghai, the home of China’s largest helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) operator Kingwing.
As of June 30, 2019, there were 228 CAAC approved GA airports, with 84 located in the agricultural province of Heilongjiang alone. The total number of certified airports has tripled from 2017 when there was just 75 GA airports.
There were 234 heliports and helipads, as of June 30, 2019, with the most located in Guangdong province.
It is estimated China supplies up to 70% of the world’s civilian drone market[2]. Drone use has become increasingly important to support construction, energy, agriculture, forestry, security, emergency operations and logistics, in addition to being used for photography and aerial imaging.
In 2013, there were approximately only 130 drone manufacturers in China, which has now increased to 1,200 drone manufacturers as of the beginning of 2019. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, there were 285,000 drone aircraft registered at the end of 2018. By June 2019, the number of registrations increased to 339,000 drone aircraft[3].
The China GA Report will be released in English and Chinese. A copy of the report will be at the Asian Sky Media booth at the China Helicopter Expo (Booth 2AM03). A digital version will be available at www.asianskymedia.com.

[1] Others include balloon, gyroplane, airship and electric fixed-wing aircraft.

[2] Information on commercial drones in China courtesy of Ipsos Business Consulting.

[3] These figures do not reflect all civilian drones sold and used in the market, nor reflect China’s total production capability.

, , , , ,

Copyright © 2024 HeliHub

Website by Design Inc

Helihub logo

X