湖南：通用航空产业加速“起飞”

Deng Yanpei, 59, has dreamed of flying since he was a child.

59岁的邓亚培（音译）自小就梦想着能“飞”上天。

At the age of 7, he held up an umbrella and jumped off a second-floor platform onto a mound of sand. All he did was injure his feet, which after more than 50 years still sometimes ache.

7岁时，他就曾撑伞从二楼平台跃下，落到一处沙堆上，伤到了自己的脚，直到现在50多年过去，依旧时不时会发疼。

Last year, Deng obtained a pilot's license for general aviation after training at Hunan Sunward General Aviation Co in Zhuzhou, Hunan province, realizing his dream of one day flying an aircraft. "I was about to retire soon, and as I had more time and financial means, I decided to chase my dream," he said.

去年，邓亚培在湖南省株洲市的湖南山河通航有限公司接受培训后获得了通用航空飞行员执照，实现了自己驾驶飞机的梦想。“我快退休了，有更多的时间和精力，所以我决定去追求自己的梦想。”他说。

"You cannot realize all of your childhood dreams, but once you achieve one of them, the sense of happiness is overwhelming," Deng added.

“你可能无法实现所有的童年梦想，但一旦实现了其中一个，那种幸福感是难以言喻的。”邓亚培说。

As China steps up its efforts to develop the low-altitude economy and general aviation industry, more people have enjoyed the opportunity to fly.

随着中国加大对低空经济和通用航空业发展的投入，越来越多的人有机会能有飞行的体验。

Meanwhile, various aerial craft, such as large airships for low-altitude tourism, drones for express delivery, and aircraft used in emergency rescues, are being more widely deployed across the country, providing exciting new development opportunities.

同时，各种航空设备正在全国范围内“落地开花”，例如用于低空旅游的大型飞艇、用于物流投递的无人机以及用于紧急救援的飞行器，这些都为航空产业带来了令人兴奋的新发展机遇。

It is estimated that the market size of the low-altitude economy will surge from over 500 billion yuan ($70.3 billion) in 2023 to 2 trillion yuan by 2030, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

据中国民用航空局数据，2023年我国低空经济规模已超过5000亿元，预计到2030年将达到2万亿元。

Pilot program

试点项目

Hunan is the first province to pilot the reform of low-altitude airspace management. In Zhuzhou, the city where China's first aircraft engine was made, development of the low-altitude economy has accelerated in recent years.

湖南是全国首个全域低空空域管理改革试点省份。中国第一台航空发动机诞生地——株洲，近年来低空经济的发展步伐不断加快。

Zhuzhou has more than 120 enterprises involved in the aviation industry. The city is home to Zhuzhou Lusong Airport, the only A1, or highest-level general aviation airport, in the province.

株洲聚集了120多家航空企业，拥有湖南省唯一的A1类通用机场（即最高等级通用航空机场）——株洲芦淞通用机场。

Dong Rui, a marketing manager for the airport, said it has opened two sightseeing routes flying to Zhangjiajie in Hunan and Jinggangshan in Jiangxi province.

芦淞通用机场市场部经理董瑞介绍，该机场已开通了飞往湖南张家界和江西井冈山的两条观光航线。

About 30 to 50 aspiring pilots train at the airport every year. The airport also tests and licenses operators of large-scale drones. Hundreds of people take such tests every month, Dong said.

董瑞表示，每年大约有30至50名志向成为飞行员的人来机场接受培训，该机场还支持为大型无人机操作员测试及颁发执照。

Wang Jingyi, general manager of the airport, said they are planning to add a new runway to meet the burgeoning demands of the general aviation industry.

芦淞通用机场总经理汪靖宜表示，机场计划增加一条新的跑道以满足通用航空业日益增长的需求。

More people are eager to do pilot or drone-operator training, while aircraft manufacturers need more space to test their products, she said. "Although it is still a niche market, we are optimistic about its prospects," Wang said.

她表示，越来越多人渴望接受飞行员或无人机操作员培训，而飞机制造商则需要更多的空间来测试他们的产品。“尽管这还是一个小众市场，但我们对它的前景持乐观态度。”

Reach for the sky

触及蓝天

Deng obtained his pilot's license at the airport on Oct 10 last year, after signing up for training in July of the same year.

邓亚培去年7月报名参加培训，并于去年10月10日在机场获得了私用飞行驾照。

Any Chinese citizen aged 17 or above and with at least a junior high school education, can apply for a private pilot's license. After receiving a certified report of their physical fitness, they have to go through 40 hours of theoretical studies, five hours of simulation studies if a flight simulator is present, and 40 hours of flying training before they take the relevant tests.

任何年满17岁及以上、具有初中以上文化程度的中国公民都可以申请私用飞行驾照。在取得民用航空人员体检合格证后，须完成40小时的理论学习、如果有飞行模拟器的话还要完成5小时的模拟学习，以及40小时的飞行训练，才能参加相应的考试。

Deng said in the beginning, the weightless feeling from doing different flying moves made him uncomfortable, but he quickly got used to it. "After getting over the discomfort, excitement kicked in and I was able to make more difficult moves," he said.

邓亚培回忆，一开始做不同的飞行动作时，产生的失重感让他感到不舒服，但他很快就适应了。“克服了不适之后，兴奋感就来了，我能做出更难的动作了。”他说。

He has flown almost 500 times and is getting more relaxed and skilled as a pilot.

他已经飞行了将近500次，作为飞行员，他变得越来越放松和熟练。

"Rather than being at a loss navigating so many things simultaneously, as I was in the beginning, I can enjoy flying now and I feel happier," he said.

“与一开始面对众多事情不知所措相比，我现在可以享受飞行了，而且感觉更开心了。”邓亚培说。

Deng said many of his friends envy him for getting his pilot's license, and he has re-posted videos of himself practicing flying.

邓亚培表示，他的许多朋友都羡慕他拿到了飞行员执照，他还重新上传了自己练习飞行的视频。

He views the pilot's license as a retirement gift to himself. "You are never too old to get out of your comfort zone and realize decades-old dreams," he said.

他把飞行员执照看作是给自己的退休礼物。“年龄不会限制你走出自己的舒适区，你依然能实现几十年来的梦想。”

Zeng Qinglun, 25, who works for a media outlet in Zhuzhou, obtained a pilot's license at the airport in July.

25岁的曾庆伦（音译）在株洲一家媒体机构工作，今年7月在该机场获得了飞行员执照。

When he was in high school he tried a flight simulator at the airport, and after he started work he decided to fulfill his dream of learning how to pilot a plane.

他上高中时曾在机场尝试过飞行模拟器。在开始工作后，他决定实现自己学习驾驶飞机的梦想。

"What I like most about flying is that it is so free and relaxed, and I feel that I belong in the air once the aircraft takes off," he said.

他说：“我最喜欢飞行是在于它非常自由和轻松，一旦飞机起飞，我就觉得自己属于天空。”

Yu Zhangchang, general manager of Hunan Sunward General Aviation Co, said the company has trained more than 300 pilots and more than 4,000 people have used their flight simulators.

湖南山河通航有限公司总经理余章常表示，该公司已培训了超过300名飞行员，并且有超过4000人使用过他们的飞行模拟器。

With more support from the government for the general aviation industry, Yu said he is witnessing an increasing number of people wanting to experience flying.

随着政府对通用航空产业的支持力度不断加大，余章常表示，他看到越来越多的人想要体验飞行运动。

"I am very optimistic about the industry and I believe it will take three to five years for flying to become common in people's lives," he said.

他说：“我很看好这个产业，我相信飞行运动将在三到五年内成为人们生活中的常态。”

Homegrown thrills

本土刺激

To popularize flying, the company established China's first civil aerobatic team in 2014, which has since performed at more than 40 air shows in 16 provincial regions.

为了推广飞行运动，湖南山河通航于2014年成立了首支国产民间飞行表演队，此后在16个省份的40多场航展上进行了表演。

Yu, also a retired flyer of People's Liberation Army Air Force, is a member of the team.

余章常是中国退役空军飞行员，是该表演队的成员之一。

"We are the first civil aerobatic team in China piloting aircraft developed by Chinese companies, and we are very proud to have led the development of civil aerobatic shows in the country," he said.

他说：“我们是中国首个驾驶国产飞机进行特技飞行的飞行表演队，能够引领国内民用特技飞行表演的发展，我们感到非常自豪。”

The team is very proud of its aerobatic routine, which is renowned for its precision and creativity, he said.

他介绍，表演队以其精湛的技艺和富有创意的编队飞行而闻名，对此他们感到非常骄傲。

Starair Aircraft Co's Aurora — the first lightweight sports aircraft developed domestically — is the only model flown by Yu's team.

山河星航生产的“阿若拉”飞机是国内首款轻型运动飞机，是余章常团队唯一驾驶的型号。

The first Aurora was manufactured by the company in October 2008. As of Sept 20 this year, the company had made 300 of the aircraft, which is sold to clients in 28 provincial-level regions across the country.

第一架“阿若拉”飞机是由该公司于2008年10月时制造。截至今年9月20日，该公司已生产交付了300架，客户覆盖全国28个省市区。

The plane also won flying approval from aviation authorities in the United States in 2019, and Australia in 2023.

据悉，该飞机还分别于2019年、2023年取得美国航空局、澳大利亚民航局适航认证。

Weighting only 350 kilograms, the two-seat airplane has a maximum flying distance of 1,200 kilometers and can fly at a speed of up to 265 km per hour.

这种两座型飞机重量仅为350千克，最大航程1200千米，飞行速度可达每小时265公里。

Deng Yu, general manager of Starair Aircraft, said the company is very optimistic about the future commercial prospects of the plane.

山河星航总经理邓宇表示，他对这款飞机的商业前景非常乐观。

"In the beginning, we named the plane the Aurora because we wanted to sell it to overseas market, but it is the Chinese market where we first realized a breakthrough," he said.

他说：“我们刚开始把飞机命名为‘阿若拉’，是因为我们想把它推向海外市场，但实际上，它在中国市场实现了突破。”

Deng said the company is striving to improve the quality of the Aurora while lowering its price, so it is competitive in the international market.

邓宇表示，该公司正努力提高“阿若拉”的品质，同时降低其价格，以便具有国际市场竞争力。

"The design and technology of the airplane are among the top levels in the world," he said. "We want to further cut the manufacturing costs so that after the costs of tariffs, shipping, and sales agents are factored in, the airplane is still competitive in overseas markets."

他说：“这架飞机的设计和技术在世界上处于领先地位。我们希望进一步降低制造成本，以便在考虑关税、运输和销售代理费用之后，该飞机在海外市场仍然具有竞争力。”

The company wants to expand the Aurora's sales to markets including North America, Europe, Oceania and Southeast Asia, he said.

他还表示，山河星航希望将“阿若拉”飞机的销售市场拓展至北美、欧洲、大洋洲以及东南亚。

Despite the progress in the domestic general aviation industry, Deng believes there is still a wide gap to other countries in infrastructure building and the opening of lower-altitude space. The US, for example, has more than 20,000 airports for general aviation, while China only has around 400, he said.

尽管国内通用航空产业取得了进展，但邓宇认为，在基础设施建设和开放低空领域方面，中国与其他国家仍有很大差距。例如，美国拥有超过2万个通用航空机场，而中国只有大约400个。

While the central government has encouraged the development of the low-altitude economy and general aviation, safety is still its top priority, so opening up low-altitude airspace has been done in an incremental way, he said.

他表示，虽然政府鼓励低空经济和通用航空的发展，但安全仍然是首要任务，因此低空空域的开放是逐步进行的。

Aerial rescue services

空中救援

Starair Aircraft has also spent three years in research and development of a firefighting truck equipped with drones to put out fires in high-rise buildings.

山河星航花了三年时间研发了一款配备无人机的消防车，用于高层建筑灭火。

The drones, which carry fire hoses as well as electric wires for power, can fly as high as 280 meters to fight a building fire.

这些无人机携带消防水管和电缆，可以飞到280米的高度来扑灭建筑物火灾。

Deng is optimistic the sales prospects of the drone-equipped firetruck, and believes it can exceed the sales revenue of the Aurora in one to two years.

邓宇对配备无人机的消防车的销售前景持乐观态度，并认为它可以在一、两年内超过“阿若拉”飞机的营收。

The drone-equipped truck is expected to hit the market by the end of this year, and is predicted to become one of Starair Aircraft's flagship products.

配备无人机的卡车预计将于今年年底上市，并有望成为山河星航的旗舰产品之一。

Deng said the company expects to sell more than 1,000 firetrucks, with forecast sales revenue of up to 10 billion yuan.

邓宇表示，山河星航预计将销售超过1000辆消防车，销售额可达100亿元。

The low-altitude space economy is an important part of China's new-quality productive forces and has a very bright future, which is why the company has stayed in the industry for such a long time, he said.

他表示，低空经济是中国新型生产力的重要组成部分，具有非常光明的未来，这也是该公司长期坚守这一行业的原因。

However, the development of aircraft requires a large amount of investment and time. It also takes time to build the required infrastructure and popularize a "flying culture", Deng added. Companies operating in the industry, therefore, still need to take a rational approach to development and not be too impulsive, he said. "It is an industry worth the long-term investment," he added.

不过飞机的研发需要大量的投资和时间。邓宇表示，此外还需要时间来建立必要的基础设施，并普及“飞行运动文化”。因此，相关行业企业仍需采取理性的发展方式，不要过于冲动。“这是一个需要长期投资的行业。”他补充说。

Emergency rescue is another area where general aviation companies are making a big difference.

紧急救援是通用航空公司能够发挥重要作用的另一个领域。

Ou Deqing, president of Xiangwei General Aviation in Zhuzhou, said that during the disastrous landslides in Zixing, Hunan, in July — which left 50 people dead and 15 others missing — roads and communications were cut, and the company's helicopters transported emergency goods and lifted stranded people to safety.

湖南翔为通用航空有限公司董事长欧德清表示，今年7月，湖南资兴发生了严重的山体滑坡灾害，造成50人死亡、15人失踪，道路和通讯中断。翔为通航直升机运送了应急物资，并将被困人员救至安全地带。

The helicopters were deployed in Zixing for more than 10 days and made more than 600 trips, he said. "People said that they had hope with the arrival of each aircraft and we are very proud of our work," he said.

他说，这些直升机在资兴驻守了十多天，飞行了600多次。“每当有飞机到达时，人们都会说‘有希望了’，我们为我们的工作感到非常自豪。”

In cooperation with emergency response, firefighting and public security authorities in Hunan, the company established the first flight teams in the province for emergency rescues, firefighting and air police work, he said.

他表示，翔为通航与湖南的应急救援、消防和公安等部门合作，成立了湖南首支航空消防救援大队。

It has also conducted fire rescue operations, forest firefighting, flood rescues, and agricultural seeding and spraying across the country, he added.

他补充说，航空消防救援大队还开展了全国范围内的消防救援、森林灭火、防洪救援、农业播种喷洒等工作。