Nov. 9 (NBD) -- Hot-air balloon flying, parachuting or parasailing is no stranger to most people, but few has had first-hand experience of it. The first edition of the FAI World Fly-in Expo (WFE), which successfully concluded on Tuesday in Wuhan, capital city of central China's Hubei Province, presented aviation fans worldwide a visual feast.

According to the development plan for the air sports industry issued jointly by the General Administration of Sport of China and other authorities, by 2020 the economic scale of China's air sports industry will reach 200 billion yuan (30.2 billion U.S. dollars), the number of air sports clubs will hit 1,000 and the number of consumers participating in air sports will amount to 20 million. And by then, a series of influential air sports events will take shape as well.

Lei Yin, the operation & development director of the aviation control center of the General Administration of Sport of China, told NBD that to develop the general aviation industry still faces many difficulties. Being the most convenient and closest channel through which the public can feel the charm of general aviation, air sports has become the major driving force for the general aviation industry.

According to Lei, air sports has a long history in China, and hot-air balloon flying, parachuting, parasailing and other events are held annually. Progress in air sports will lay the mass foundation for the development of general aviation.

Photo provided by the WFE organisor 

Ever since the release of the development plan for the air sports industry, capital has increasingly flooded in. WFE, for instance, witnessed the signing of several investment agreements.

Liu Yongjin, deputy secretary-general of the General Aviation Division of the China Air Transport Association, said to NBD that expectations for general aviation are very high at the state level and air sports is well based and offers various events. Air sports like hot-air balloon flying, parachuting and parasailing will gradually evolve into popular events.

NBD notices that in the past several years, air sports started to be marketized. Companies had been set up to cater for the growing needs. Chen Dengpan of Hubei Chutian General Aviation Co., Ltd expressed his bullish view towards air sports. He told NBD that although air sports is just getting started, but it has a vast potential to grow rapidly.

People pay only several tens of thousands of yuan to attend training and get the license to fly a light sport aircraft or a glider, and such special experience will attract more people into general aviation, Chen added.

Chen also admitted that for the general public, air sports is new and events can't be operated without the support of services like traditional aerial photography and survey and artificial rainfall. Harvest season hasn't arrived for enterprises engaging in air sports, but it's time to enter the market, Chen further commented.

Challenges always come along with opportunities. The development plan issued by the General Administration of Sport of China regards air sports as an important engine for lifting air sports consumption, research and manufacturing level of sports aircrafts. But based on interviews, NBD noticed that current air sports faces inadequacy in products and service, profit model and popularity among the public.

Liu Yongjin said to NBD that for events like powered paragliding relies heavily on flying hours, and longer flying hours mean more income. But restricted by site and weather factors, those events can't make both ends meet, which drives some enterprises out of this industry, Liu said.

Lei Yin recognized these limits and difficulties just like Liu, but he kept optimistic about air sports. He concluded that the air sports industry brings into play all respects including culture, tourism and technology. If an enterprise is clear about its development path, it will create a huge profit space.

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn