Last week, the hard-working team of the Aviation Cooperation Program planned for about 60 people to attend its three-day helicopter workshop. But on the morning of the first day, over 200 people showed up, transforming the event from a workshop to an industry symposium. These attendees included leaders from Civil Aviation Administration of China Transportation Department, Flight Standards Department and Ministry of Transport. There were also representatives from Chinese trade agencies, institutes and about 50 Chinese General Aviation operators.
The workshop covered six topics, from air medical service to accident investigation, each introduced by a U.S. subject expert and followed by group discussion and a Q&A session.
“To organize such a technical communication workshop is very necessary,” remarked one workshop attendee. “We really want to hear more ideas from foreign experts. We want to know how general aviation operates overseas.”
This event was such a runaway success thanks to funding from USTDA and support from CAAC, FCS, FAA and the US Embassy. Special recognition also goes out to Bell Helicopter/Textron, FlightSafety International, Honeywell and ICF.