China’s first general aviation “airpark” will open to the public soon and will feature a host of services and industries based on non-scheduled aviation activity. The Aviation Industry Corp. of China (AVIC) says it wants to build 50 facilities like the one it’s almost finished in Jingmen in Central China’s Hubei province. The services and basic facilities at the 30-square-kilometer AVIC Airpark are done and include a 6,000-foot runway, a 2,800-foot runway and an adjoining reservoir where seaplanes can land and take off. The airpark will become the hub of GA activity in that area of China, which is about 800 miles southwest of Beijing.
The airport is a small part of what’s planned for the airpark. AVIC is planning a sport aircraft factory that will build 500 aircraft a year, along with research and development facilities. To serve the GA traffic that is expected there, hangars, flight schools, club facilities and museums are planned. “The opening of the park will help boost development of China’s general aviation and strengthen public interest and awareness of the sector,” AVIC said in a news release. The airpark will be divided into five zones concentrating on commercial flight services, GA manufacturing, aviation tourism, research and development and “cultural industries.”
