There are a number of towns in the United States where business aviation is big business, such as Wichita. But what about a town dedicated to general aviation, from the airport, to the convention center, to the places people live?
That is the concept behind China’s plan for a city it calls Superior Aviation Town, according to a report on the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) website.
“The town increases business aviation capacity in a country where that’s going to be a big need,” said NBAA Vice President Regulatory and International Affairs Doug Carr, who pointed out that right now, business aircraft that fly into Chinese cities like Beijing or Shanghai must compete for slots with airlines.
Superior Aviation Town, to be constructed in the Shunyi District, approximately 11 miles northeast of Beijing, is named for Superior Air Parts, the Dallas, Texas-based company bought by a Chinese entity five years ago.
According to its website, the town would be home to a general aviation airport with a 7,800-foot-long runway, and would also have a convention center dedicated to general aviation. The town’s backers and the Chinese government plan to make the town a haven for international investment in hopes of sparking global interest in the aviation-related businesses that would call the city home.
“It’ll be interesting to watch,” Carr said. “I really hope it succeeds, because not only do we need the capacity for aircraft to fly into Beijing, but knowing how general aviation is growing in China and throughout Asia, the manufacturing capacity has got to be a help.”
Not only would the runway be reserved for general aviation traffic, but early indications are that the airport in Superior Aviation Town would be geared toward the needs of business aircraft operators.
“We’re talking about an FBO model of service here, a single entity coordinating all services, from fueling to catering,” Carr reported.
How soon might Superior Aviation Town become a reality? China plans to have the airport and much of the city operational in just two years.
“In the U.S., building a runway alone takes between 10 and 12 years. To go from zero to an airport and a town in two years is really a monumental challenge,” Carr said. “But if the Chinese people put their minds to it, that will be an amazing accomplishment.”
Listen to an NBAA podcast about Superior Aviation Town here.
Meanwhile, in the US of A, towns are trying to run airports out of town…led by idiots who moved into a neighborhood right next to an airport that had been there for 50 years but they discovered to their pearl clutching horror there were AIRPLANES around there.
Very well said. My home base airport has extended the upwind and downwind components for noise abatement for exactly what you said. This airport has been here for 78 years and knuckleheads (that’s putting it very nicely) move in NEAR the runway and, yes, complain that there are airplane noises near them.