In the early part of June，the 2009 China General Aviation Forum, sponsored by Capital Airport VIP Service Management Co., Ltd. and China Civil Aviation Report, was hosted  in the beautiful and historic city of Beijing, the capital of China. The two-day event  emphasized the current situations of GA in both China and the international communities., while the panel format portion of the forum provided the business intercommunications and cooperation opportunities between the international and domestic GA companies.  On the 3rd day, an orientation visit to Weinan Luyanghu GA Integrated General Aviation Development Zone was arranged for the potential GA investors.

Monday, June 1st 2009

With the melodious music flowing from the Sunshine Hall of the King Wing Hot Spring International Hotel, the reception started with some red wine, appetizers and desserts. As the sponsor of the reception, a 6m Breitling banner hung in the center of the ceiling, and a nearly 2m giant poster stood  in the middle of the hall.  A breif welcoming remark was given by Mr. Andy Chan, the General Manager of Breitling China Ltd.After his welcoming remarks, Mr. Chan raised the curtains and now  all old and new friends were gathered under the same roof, dining and wining, and saying hello to each other. The reception provided  a relaxing and positive atmosphere for all the guests to communicate with each other. The receptionwas a perfect start for the next two-day event.

Tuesday, June 2nd 2009

The 2009 China GA Forum  started sharply at 9:00am,At the very beginning, Mr. Zhao Qijiang, the President of Capital Airport VIP Service Management Co., Ltd. and Mr. Francis Chao, the Publisher of CCAR gave the opening remarks.  Mr. Zhao welcomed all the Chinese and international attendees.  With the rapid growth of the China aviation market, we believe more and more people will join the GA market and make a bright future  for all stakeholders.  Finally, he wished  the success of the 2009 China GA Forum.As a highlight of this year's forum, The Government of Weinan  joined  to be co-sponsor of the event.  Mr. Xu Xinrong, the mayor of Weinan brought us a wonderful lecture.  Besides introducing the city of Weinan to all attendees, he brought along?
 
Mr. Jin Junhao, the Deputy Director of the Policy & Regulation Deptartment of the CAAC, introduced the new policies and measures for promoting the future of the GA industry, as the voice of the safeguarding authority.  All the GA participants see the bright future of investing in the China GA industry.
Mr. Wu Tongshui, the chairman of the General Aviation Committee of the CATA gave an excellent speech, along with detailed  introductions tothe development of China GA, starting from the current situation to the future of development, and also pointing out a number of issues to be solved.
Next, Mr. Patrick Power, the Senior Representative of the FAA Beijing office introduced the status of American GA, and the future of aviation technology development, which will improve flight safety tremendously.
Ms. Gwen Lyle, the Commercial Officer of the Embassy of the United States of America also introduced the current situation of America's GA, and extended the wishes of enhancing the amount of cooperation with China's GA industry and preferential policies.
Later, Mr. Francis Chao, the Publisher of CCAR presented a very special “Honoring Francis Yiu Cheong CHIN, Q.S., J.P.” ceremony.
Dr. Gao Yuanyang, the Assistant Mayor of Weinan City, presented the Weinan General Aviation project – Luyanghu Integrated GA Development Zone and the aviation-related resorts, including aviation supplies project, general aircraft maintenance base, general aircraft consigned operation services, general aircraft fuel supplies project, air emergency secure system project and .many others. These projects brings tremendous amounts of business oppertunities and development space.
The first half-day agenda is closed by taking a group photo.
After the lunch sponsored by Embraer China, all the attendees  came back to the Sunshine Hall for the panel discussion in the afternoon.
The first subject was “Building China’s emergency rescue infrastructure and network with GA”. The Panel Chair  was Mr. Wilson Kao, CEO of Asia Air Medical (Beijing) Ltd., and the panelists were: Mr. Jin Junhao, the Deputy Director of Policy and Regulation Department of the CAAC; Mr. Marin Lin, President of Textron China; Mr. Matthew Liu, the Regional Sales Director of North Asia of Hawker Beechcraft Corporation; and Mr. Shijiang Liu, the Vice General Manager of China Emergency Assistance Investment Co., Ltd..  They delivered speeches regarding GA emergency rescue and introduced the related projects.  The panel disscussion helped the attendees to understand the importance of GA emergency rescue in  disaster relief efforts, and also  recieved good resonance among the attendees  through the interactive Q&A portion of the disscussion.
During the tea break, we ran the prize raffle draw, which brought a little  relaxation into the tense agenda.
Following the tea break was  the second panel discussion: Benefit and impact of GA to China’s agriculture.  The panel chair  was Mr. Charies Lin, the President of Yoshine Helicopters DBA Safari-Asia, who introduced the applications of GA in agriculture, avoiding the loss caused by the natural disasters, and rescuing the sustainable development and growth of agriculture.
The last subject of the day was the instruction on AOPA-Japan (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Japan), by Mr. Arinori Yamagata, the Vice President of AOPA-Japan.
The second run of the prize raffle marked the closing of the first day's meeting.

Wednesday, June 3rd 2009

The attendees returned and choose their spot at each round table for the start of the second day of the GA forum. At 9:00am, the meeting started once again.  The first subject of the panel discussion was “operation and management of business aviation FBOs”.  The panel chair for this discussion was Mr. Jin Yongfa, the General Manager of Beijing Capital Jet Co. Ltd.; and the panelists were Mr. David Rodenhaver, a Pliot and Business Aviation Consultant. They deliver their speeches, and the audience asked questions actively and discussed with each other to learn the benefits of business aviation in saving time, and keeping the  competitiveness and productivity of the strongest enterprises. 
The next subject was “GA’s industrial application and functions”.  The panel chair was Mr. Kevin Wu, the Vice President of Textron China, and the panelist member was Mr. Wilson Kao.  Both of them give the speeches related to the subject of industrial application and function.  During the discussion, attendees acknowledged the importance of GA applications in the major and rural projects. From survey, to construction andacceptance, in which GA exerts its time efficiently and flexibly
After the thrid prize raffle drawing, attendees  enjoyed the generous lunch, sponsored by Hawker Beechcraft.
In the afternoon, the first subject was “GA flight training’s contribution to the passion of flying”.  The panel chair was Mr. Jeff Darnall, the Captain of Mile High Ventures; and the panelists were Mr. Bi Donghai, the Deputy Director of State Aeronautics, Radio, and Orienteering & Model Sports Administration Center, General Administration of Sports of China; and Ms. Jane Zhang, the President of Silk Wings. As an aviation consultant, Jeff introduced the GA flight training  experience.  Mr. Bi represented the current status and future development of China's sports aviation.  As  one of the very few female pilots, Jane shared her personal experience of flight and her future GA flight plans in China with everyone in attendence.
The final subject of the event was  “the exchange and development of business and general aviation between China, Hong Kong and Taiwan”.  The panel chair for this final disscussion was Mr. Shaun Huang, the Advisor of Chinese Aviation & Space Industry Development Association.  The panelists were Mr. Shao Long, Director of Airline Market Analysis of Embraer China; Mr. Francis Chao who represented Prof. Chin E. Lin, who was temporarily absent; and Mr. Peter Claeys, the Regional Director SE Asia of  Cirrus Design Corporation.  They discussed the future expectations of flight charter over the Taiwan Strait.
After the interactive project sharing section, the two-day forum comes to the end.

After the last prize raffle drawing, Mr. Zhao Qijiang and Mr. Francis Chao respectively make the closing remarks for the successful 2009 China GA Forum.

China needs the development of the GA industry and it should be based on China’s conditions and by looking into the rest of the world.  By utilizing the capital, advanced technologies, human resources, management experiences, and cooperation with counterparts  throughout the world, we can further promote the growth of China's GA industry.  We are expecting a better future!