Aviation industry needs new blood. We need action now. 

N: Hello, thank you for tuning in to 5Minutes with AOPA-China. This is Nick and Claire.

C: Several days ago, we had a lovely chatwith Tom, Mr. Xue Guohang, an entrepreneur. He is already over 80, with hiseyes blazing with passion.

N: His company, Triton Aerospace, is knownfor having designed and manufactured Skytrek, the first CAAC and FAA certifiedLSA in China. It is proud to say that Skytrek has been exported to Americaalready. A more ambitious future is on the way.

C: LSA is short for Light sport aircraft,but we could not understand it literally. This category of aircraft wasestablished about 15 years ago in US. As the population aging encroachedaviation industry, pilots from World War II, Vietnam War, Korean War and US AirForce are retiring, the of population joining the aviation circle isoutnumbered by the aging speed of those veterans.

N: There are so many aspects to consider,and that makes a good discussion topic with our friends in 5 PM aviation quiz.

C: Sure. Barriers stand in front of thepublic to enter aviation circle. Cost of training is one important factor,which covers aircraft, fuel, maintenance and amortization.

N: Next generations of aviation is a verybig task. In a courageous move which turned out be successful, theorganizations including EAA, AOPA, GAMA gathered together, deciding to have anew category of aircraft with simple structure, simple use, simple maintenanceand burning regular gasoline. They named it LSA.

C：Speaking of training,pilot training is not the only answer to aviation booming in China and the restof the world. It’s the aviation professionals such as air traffic controllers,maintenance staff, engineers and other back-stage staff working in offices thatmake the whole industry running smoothly. They all need proper training. Andtraining contains both training at school and training on the job.

Let’s hear what Thomas Xue say about thethe biggest challenge in his business.

(audio)I was extremely surprised thatChinese colleges, in general, the quality is really bad. The Chinese students Imet in US are very good. Why in China the quality is so bad.

N: As a fresh undergraduate fromuniversity, I have a say about this. Telling the truth, I spent cozy 4 years inthe university utopia. With great luck, I joined AOPA-China. I used to beproud to say I study aviation English. However, I felt like a layman whenI came here meeting big heads in the industry. You guys were talking aboutengines, air safety, NGAP, pilot skills; remarking on the latestaviation news; pondering various businesses with different companies. Despite they are not technicalwork, I knew little about the names you quoted, my mind just went blank. I didfeel a gap between university and the front-line of work.

C: Haha, you are still young. Now you must feeldifferent now. Needless to say, University education has something to do withit. We should have learned more but you can’t expect to learn everything fromcourses. As a Chinese saying goes, “Practice goes deeper than theoretic knowledge”. To practice whatyou’ve learned and be engaged in the business, you’ll have a more profoundunderstanding. It takes a lot for us to evolve.

Step by step, you will be ready.

N:Right, here is an opportunity to getclose to flight safety.

C: AsBAA is going to have a Safety Day onApril 12 in Beijing. The gurus in business aviation will be there discussingsafety issues based on their experience. Those are not what you can find in thebook~ Scan the QR code below to register.

N: You just can’t miss it.

That brings us to the end of today’s 5Minutes with AOPA-China. For more information about AsBAA safety day, please clickthe link or leave us comments if you have any question.

C: You can also find us on Wechat,Facebook, Twitter, Ximalaya and Apple podcast. Feel free to contact us. Rate uson apple podcast, that will let more people know about us. We can continue ourdiscussion at any time. See you till next Friday.

Words and Expressions:

1. LSA:轻型运动类飞机

2. EAA:实验类飞行器协会

3. GAMA:通用航空制造商协会

4. Skytrek:天恋

本期播客的灵感来源于与薛国航先生的一次聊天。

薛老是海卫科技的董事长，他的事迹在百度上可以轻松查到，这里便不再赘述。值得骄傲的是，薛老带领公司制造出了“天恋（Skytrek）”，中国第一架自主设计和生产，并获得CAAC和FAA认证的轻型运动类飞机。1月23日，“天恋”获得中国民航局颁发生产许可证，标志着该机型正式通过行业认证进入量产阶段。

轻型运动类飞机（LSA）相信大家已经不陌生了，我们在第35期谈论运动类飞行执照时便有所提及。LSA(Light sport aircraft)字面上看有点迷惑，让人以为它只是用于娱乐的飞行器。事实上，它是因飞行训练而生的。

全球人口老龄化也蔓延到了美国航空领域，大批二战、越南战争、朝鲜战争以及空军的飞行员逐渐退休，新加入的飞行员数量远小于退役的飞行员。怎样让更多的人加入到飞行员行列中呢？没有那么容易，因为当时学飞的成本很高，普通家庭根本负担不起。为了降低飞行成本，美国AOPA,EAA, GAMA这些民间组织花了数年时间设计生产出了一类新的飞机，称之为LSA。这类飞机小，结构简单，制造和维修成本低，可以燃烧普通汽油。如此一来，学飞成本大大降低，越来越多的人成为了飞行员。

为了行业的蓬勃发展，不仅是一线从业人员（如飞行员，空管，机务等）需要培训，幕后支持的工作人员也需要培训。而培训又分为大学在校期间的学习和工作之后的适岗培训。这就是一个很大的话题了，可以在Quiz群里细细讨论。

薛老谈到，公司发展遇到的最大挑战，便是员工的质量问题，即使这些员工都是中国名牌大学的毕业生。毕业不久的小编深有体会。大学过的太舒适，工作时才发现自己什么也没学到，行业知识更是一穷二白。大学教育固然脱不了干系，自身的努力也事关重要。古人说，“纸上得来终觉浅，绝知此事要躬行”，实践必不可少，所以在校生们要找机会去实习哦！

说到实践，AsBAA 4月12日将在北京举办Safety Day的活动，商业航空的领袖们齐聚一堂，解读法规，分享经验。这可是书本上没有的知识，不要错过！扫下方二维码了解更多讯息。