
One of the big hopes of the global aviation community — besides the shared wish for more young people to take up flying — is that Chinese interest in aviation grows. China has convincingly proven it can build vast numbers of bridges, apartments, railways, and all sorts of major infrastructure. Can their people develop an interest in flying? Why might this be important to Americans? To date, Chinese investors have bought all or portions of big GA companies, such as Cirrus, Mooney, Continental Motors, Glasair, and more. Yet those acquisitions do not start Chinese youth on their way to enjoy flying as Americans and Europeans do today. Real growth needs to be grassroots. Chinese leaders have staffed their airlines and their military, but from my own close-up view, the number of Chinese involved with sport or recreational flying is a very small number, microscopic compared to their immense population. One organization working to change that is Aero Sports Association, run by the tireless, ever-positive Shudong Li a former Chinese national who today lives and works in the San Francisco area.