Soaring in China

[Michael Ash]

I'm going to China for a few weeks in October and I thought it would be
nice to get in a little flying while I'm there. Unfortunately information
on the subject seems hard to find. I've found a couple of posts in this
group which didn't get much in the way of replies, and I found one article
talking about somebody visiting a soaring operation, but I haven't
actually found any concrete information as to where I might find one.

Does anyone know of any soaring operations in China, or even a good place
to look for such information? Thanks in advance for any pointers.

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software

[[email protected]]

One of the major obstacles to aviation sports making it into the
Olympics is that most Asian countries have no civil aviation. Very
unlikely to find soaring in any place like that. But good luck!

[Mal]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> One of the major obstacles to aviation sports making it into the
> Olympics is that most Asian countries have no civil aviation. Very
> unlikely to find soaring in any place like that. But good luck!
>

Some years back a group from Australia went to China and flew.

[neil@avon=tech=solutions.co.nz]

Mal wrote:

> Some years back a group from Australia went to China and flew.

Mal,
Do you have a link or copy of the article they wrote? I've previously
read it but can't find it now.

I'm from NZ but currently located in Jurong, Jiangsu Province, PRC
(31°57'31"N, 119°9'56"E) for a year while my wife teaches English.
I'm keen to do some flying here: if I can get some contacts & info.
I've sent a few emails, searched the internet but not come up with
anything concrete yet. I've heard anecdotes from a contact in Nanjing
that powered flying (training) might be available but I've no details
on this.

Michael,
I'll post any info that I find on this NG. What city/ies are you
visiting?

Cheers
Neil
--
Change equals to minus to reply.
http://www.avon-tech-solutions.co.nz/china_blog.html

[Michael Ash]

> wrote:
>
> I'm from NZ but currently located in Jurong, Jiangsu Province, PRC
> (31?57'31"N, 119?9'56"E) for a year while my wife teaches English.
> I'm keen to do some flying here: if I can get some contacts & info.
> I've sent a few emails, searched the internet but not come up with
> anything concrete yet. I've heard anecdotes from a contact in Nanjing
> that powered flying (training) might be available but I've no details
> on this.
>
> Michael,
> I'll post any info that I find on this NG. What city/ies are you
> visiting?

I'll be spending most of my time in Beijing, although we're going to
Luoyang for at least a few days, which looks to be relatively close to
where you are if I haven't gotten my geography confused. I'd be willing to
travel some if the situation looked good, although just how far or how
good is something I haven't really figured out.

I'm a bit pessimistic about finding anything, and my time may be better
spent studying for the knowledge exam rather than flying, but it would be
a neat experience. I appreciate your offer to post what you find, and I'll
be sure to do the same.

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software

[hans]

I know that some members of Segelfluggruppe Werdenfels went several
times to China for soaring. You can contact Segelfluggruppe Werdenfels
under . Ask for Juergen W., he
organized the trips.

[Mitch[_2_]]

Hi Michael,

I'm based in Shanghai, have been here a couple of years, and as far as
I know, there's just one place in China where u can go gliding. I never
been there, it's about 3/400kms from Beijing but I cant find the link
of the website at the moment.

We are trying to change the situation here, but there's a matter of
airspace. I guess it gives a good idea of what could happen if we do
not lobby loud enough in Europe... Not nice.

If you ever drop by one of these days let me know, beware that the
first week of october is national holyday, hence everything we'll be
shut down, nationwide.

I'll mail you some more info as soon as i find them in my laptop..

Cheers

Michele



Michael Ash wrote:
> > wrote:
> >
> > I'm from NZ but currently located in Jurong, Jiangsu Province, PRC
> > (31?57'31"N, 119?9'56"E) for a year while my wife teaches English.
> > I'm keen to do some flying here: if I can get some contacts & info.
> > I've sent a few emails, searched the internet but not come up with
> > anything concrete yet. I've heard anecdotes from a contact in Nanjing
> > that powered flying (training) might be available but I've no details
> > on this.
> >
> > Michael,
> > I'll post any info that I find on this NG. What city/ies are you
> > visiting?
>
> I'll be spending most of my time in Beijing, although we're going to
> Luoyang for at least a few days, which looks to be relatively close to
> where you are if I haven't gotten my geography confused. I'd be willing to
> travel some if the situation looked good, although just how far or how
> good is something I haven't really figured out.
>
> I'm a bit pessimistic about finding anything, and my time may be better
> spent studying for the knowledge exam rather than flying, but it would be
> a neat experience. I appreciate your offer to post what you find, and I'll
> be sure to do the same.
>
> --
> Michael Ash
> Rogue Amoeba Software

[Mitch[_2_]]

I forgot, a PPL program is actually available in Shanghai, run by a
fully owned enterprise of China Eastern, the shanghai based airline.
The have new C172, but the rates are as high as in Europe.

They are based on the well know Longhua airfield, famous for having
been depicted in the Spielberg movie "The Empire of the Sun", from the
omonimous Ballard's autobiographical book. The city developped so much
in the recent past that now the airport is surrounded by building on
the four side and it's almost walking distance from Shanghai's Ikea..
It was once on the outskirts of the city.

Anybody wanting to know more, pls mail me.

I wonder how soaring over the smokes of the chemical plant right aside
the strip would be..

Michele


Mitch wrote:
> Hi Michael,
>
> I'm based in Shanghai, have been here a couple of years, and as far as
> I know, there's just one place in China where u can go gliding. I never
> been there, it's about 3/400kms from Beijing but I cant find the link
> of the website at the moment.
>
> We are trying to change the situation here, but there's a matter of
> airspace. I guess it gives a good idea of what could happen if we do
> not lobby loud enough in Europe... Not nice.
>
> If you ever drop by one of these days let me know, beware that the
> first week of october is national holyday, hence everything we'll be
> shut down, nationwide.
>
> I'll mail you some more info as soon as i find them in my laptop..
>
> Cheers
>
> Michele
>
>
>
> Michael Ash wrote:
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > I'm from NZ but currently located in Jurong, Jiangsu Province, PRC
> > > (31?57'31"N, 119?9'56"E) for a year while my wife teaches English.
> > > I'm keen to do some flying here: if I can get some contacts & info.
> > > I've sent a few emails, searched the internet but not come up with
> > > anything concrete yet. I've heard anecdotes from a contact in Nanjing
> > > that powered flying (training) might be available but I've no details
> > > on this.
> > >
> > > Michael,
> > > I'll post any info that I find on this NG. What city/ies are you
> > > visiting?
> >
> > I'll be spending most of my time in Beijing, although we're going to
> > Luoyang for at least a few days, which looks to be relatively close to
> > where you are if I haven't gotten my geography confused. I'd be willing to
> > travel some if the situation looked good, although just how far or how
> > good is something I haven't really figured out.
> >
> > I'm a bit pessimistic about finding anything, and my time may be better
> > spent studying for the knowledge exam rather than flying, but it would be
> > a neat experience. I appreciate your offer to post what you find, and I'll
> > be sure to do the same.
> >
> > --
> > Michael Ash
> > Rogue Amoeba Software

[Michael Ash]

hans > wrote:
> I know that some members of Segelfluggruppe Werdenfels went several
> times to China for soaring. You can contact Segelfluggruppe Werdenfels
> under . Ask for Juergen W., he
> organized the trips.

Thanks for the tip. I've e-mailed them, and I'll post back with what I
find.

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software

[Michael Ash]

Mitch > wrote:
> Hi Michael,
>
> I'm based in Shanghai, have been here a couple of years, and as far as
> I know, there's just one place in China where u can go gliding. I never
> been there, it's about 3/400kms from Beijing but I cant find the link
> of the website at the moment.
>
> We are trying to change the situation here, but there's a matter of
> airspace. I guess it gives a good idea of what could happen if we do
> not lobby loud enough in Europe... Not nice.

So it seems. I guess it's the logical result of combining an unelected
government with no pre-existing GA activity.

> If you ever drop by one of these days let me know, beware that the
> first week of october is national holyday, hence everything we'll be
> shut down, nationwide.

So I'm told. I think I'm going to be busy with various family things that
week anyway. I don't think we'll make it to Shanghai this trip,
unfortunately. In any case, soaring in a chemical plant's exhaust
sounds... unhealthy.

> I'll mail you some more info as soon as i find them in my laptop..

Thanks, I appreciate it.

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software

[neil@avon=tech=solutions.co.nz]

Mitch wrote:

> I'm based in Shanghai, have been here a couple of years, and as far as
> I know, there's just one place in China where u can go gliding. I never
> been there, it's about 3/400kms from Beijing but I cant find the link
> of the website at the moment.

I've had an email from the Aero Sports Federation of China who state
that there is Soaring at the Datong Aero Sports School. Datong is in
Shanxi Province and is about 260km W of Beijing. I have a contact phone
number but I'm told they don't speak much English. I'm hoping to get
an email and/or web address.

Having way too much time on my hands I used Google Earth (and
maps.google.com) to find pictures of gliders at an airfield ( 40°
2'22"N 113°23'30"E). http://tinyurl.com/gkmtx

There is another airfield about 8km east of this which might be Datong
airport (DAT)?

There are regular trains from Beijing to Datong.

--
Neil

[Mitch[_2_]]

Hi Neil,

yep, that's the place. They have some puchaz and the chinese built Yaks
as tow planes. I wonder how fast do they climb... ;)

I've been 2 yrs ago in NZ to fly, I stopped in Taupo and Omarama,
really really amazing!

Cheers
M

wrote:
> Mitch wrote:
>
> > I'm based in Shanghai, have been here a couple of years, and as far as
> > I know, there's just one place in China where u can go gliding. I never
> > been there, it's about 3/400kms from Beijing but I cant find the link
> > of the website at the moment.
>
> I've had an email from the Aero Sports Federation of China who state
> that there is Soaring at the Datong Aero Sports School. Datong is in
> Shanxi Province and is about 260km W of Beijing. I have a contact phone
> number but I'm told they don't speak much English. I'm hoping to get
> an email and/or web address.
>
> Having way too much time on my hands I used Google Earth (and
> maps.google.com) to find pictures of gliders at an airfield ( 40°
> 2'22"N 113°23'30"E). http://tinyurl.com/gkmtx
>
> There is another airfield about 8km east of this which might be Datong
> airport (DAT)?
>
> There are regular trains from Beijing to Datong.
>
> --
> Neil

[Gerhard Wesp[_7_]]

> wrote:
> 2'22"N 113?23'30"E). http://tinyurl.com/gkmtx

Nice :)

Anybody with computer vision expertise out there? We definitely need an
aircraft feature detector, parametrizable for gliders and have that
running on all Google data to detect all those hidden glider sites!

Regards
-Gerhard
--
Gerhard Wesp / Holderenweg 2 / CH-8134 Adliswil
+41 (0)76 505 1149 (mobile) / +41 (0)44 668 1878 (office)
+41 (0)44 668 1818 (fax)
http://gwesp.tx0.org/

[Michael Ash]

> wrote:
> Mitch wrote:
>
>> I'm based in Shanghai, have been here a couple of years, and as far as
>> I know, there's just one place in China where u can go gliding. I never
>> been there, it's about 3/400kms from Beijing but I cant find the link
>> of the website at the moment.
>
> I've had an email from the Aero Sports Federation of China who state
> that there is Soaring at the Datong Aero Sports School. Datong is in
> Shanxi Province and is about 260km W of Beijing. I have a contact phone
> number but I'm told they don't speak much English. I'm hoping to get
> an email and/or web address.

Nice! Can you give me the phone number? My wife is Chinese so I can get
her to be the intermediary over the phone. Feel free to e-mail it to me
(mike at mikeash.com) if you don't want to post it publicly.

260km is not far at all! That's only about twice as far as I am from my
regular US glider operation.

> Having way too much time on my hands I used Google Earth (and
> maps.google.com) to find pictures of gliders at an airfield ( 40?
> 2'22"N 113?23'30"E). http://tinyurl.com/gkmtx

Cool find. I wish my airport were available so clearly; at maximum zoom
you can just barely make out the *runway*.

> There is another airfield about 8km east of this which might be Datong
> airport (DAT)?
>
> There are regular trains from Beijing to Datong.

This is all great information. Thanks a lot.

I searched around a little bit and the only mention I could find on the
internet (searching in English) was a brief mention on this page:

http://www.changjiangunlimited.com/Jim%20Mayday%202004.htm

According to that, they have almost 20 ships, so it sounds pretty sizable.
That's about all the information it has, though.

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software

[Michael Ash]

> wrote:
>
> I've had an email from the Aero Sports Federation of China who state
> that there is Soaring at the Datong Aero Sports School. Datong is in
> Shanxi Province and is about 260km W of Beijing. I have a contact phone
> number but I'm told they don't speak much English. I'm hoping to get
> an email and/or web address.

My wife found their web site:

http://www.dthk.com.cn/

It's entirely in Chinese (with a Japanese translation, no English), but
there are phone numbers and an e-mail address at the bottom. I just had
her write an e-mail for me in Chinese asking for more information, and
we'll see what they have to say.

There is another site in Anyang, Henan:

http://www.ayhx.com/

Again, entirely in Chinese, and no e-mail address in sight, but there's a
phone number. It's a bit farther from Beijing but it looks like a decent
possibility.

It's interesting to see the contrast. My little club in the US owns a
grand total of three ships, plus some member-owned ones. These operations
have a large number of gliders and also carry out almost every other
sport-like aviation activity you can think of. On the other hand, there's
apparentlny only a handful of them in the entire country.

As always, I'll post back when I know more.

--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software

[neil@avon=tech=solutions.co.nz]

> > I've had an email from the Aero Sports Federation of China who state
> > that there is Soaring at the Datong Aero Sports School. Datong is in
> > Shanxi Province and is about 260km W of Beijing. I have a contact phone
> > number but I'm told they don't speak much English. I'm hoping to get
> > an email and/or web address.

E-mail:
http://www.datong-flight-base.com
Tel:0352-6015396 (when I translated with Babelfish it suggested this
was the fax number)

>
> Nice! Can you give me the phone number? My wife is Chinese so I can get
> her to be the intermediary over the phone. Feel free to e-mail it to me
> (mike at mikeash.com) if you don't want to post it publicly.
>

I delayed posting the info as I asked the ASFC for permission to put
the details on the NG and they have responded with their
website/contact details above.

I'll be contacting Datong soon to enquire about flying there using one
of our local contacts (and trying to get prices for local pilots as
well as the "waiguoren price" ;) As I'm here until July/August 2007 I
hope to make a few trips there.

I look forward to hearing about your experiences in Datong. The
question of Gliding in China has been posted in this NG a few times
over the last year with few answers and if you get time it would be
good to "file a report" here or on your website for future reference.

Safe Flying!
--
Neil

[neil@avon=tech=solutions.co.nz]

> There is another site in Anyang, Henan:
>
> http://www.ayhx.com/
>
> Again, entirely in Chinese, and no e-mail address in sight, but there's a
> phone number. It's a bit farther from Beijing but it looks like a decent
> possibility.

I spy, with my Google Maps eye: http://tinyurl.com/j6awc (36° 8' N,
114° 20' 30"E)

Their site has a 16minute WMV (129MB) showing the scope of their
facilities and activities and includes a couple of shots of some glider
aerobatics. It looks like they have a Grob G103 Twin Astir and a
Jantar 2 and use aerotow launching. There is a snapshot of a launch
grid with a German ASH25(?) ID:X3 and two other gliders (one possibly
from Switzerland). Does anyone have any comments about flying from
Anyang?

--
Neil

[[email protected]]

www.ayhx.com
0087-63931780
zhao hang
scam
they Invite people and cheat with people.
Its a same company named Kunming Bei Zhao Trade Company LTD.

[son_of_flubber]

On Friday, March 27, 2015 at 2:35:26 PM UTC-4, wrote:
> www.ayhx.com
> 0087-63931780
> zhao hang
> scam
> they Invite people and cheat with people.
> Its a same company named Kunming Bei Zhao Trade Company LTD.

Scam sites are dangerous links to click on. Site is probably virus infected.

[[email protected]]

Many years ago, I spent more than a year in the far east including China. A few years ago, I was asked to translate my popular glider flight training manual into Chinese. It is a big effort, but the project is nearly finished.

Now the problem is how to produce it without the whole project being stolen and the book simply copied.

Frankly, I believe it is impossible. The answer is probably to sell the rights to somebody in China and let them do as they like in their language.

Tom Knauff

[SoaringXCellence]

On Monday, March 30, 2015 at 5:40:21 AM UTC-7, wrote:
> Many years ago, I spent more than a year in the far east including China. A few years ago, I was asked to translate my popular glider flight training manual into Chinese. It is a big effort, but the project is nearly finished.
>
> Now the problem is how to produce it without the whole project being stolen and the book simply copied.
>
> Frankly, I believe it is impossible. The answer is probably to sell the rights to somebody in China and let them do as they like in their language.
>
> Tom Knauff

I've been to China three times in the last 5 years, selecting students to come do flight training in the USA. On each trip I've tried to get some interest, anywhere, for soaring in China. The CAAC doesn't seem to have any interest, and the flight universities are too restricted to get anything like that going. I have talked with a couple training groups at the airlines and they are interested in maybe seeing if gliding might be a good introduction/selection tool for their recruitment. No one has followed through or contacted me for more details.

[MrBeefa69]

Interestingly I was contacted by someone yesterday from China who has set up an operation at Beijing with the option of soaring over the Great Wall.

www.flying-tigers.com.cn

Some lovely new gliders to go along with it.