Air training used to be a dream for many young people in Hong Kong for they once lived close to the former airport – Kai Tak. With the rapid development of aviation industry in Asia, the demand for commercial pilots has increased greatly. Air training for Scouts no longer aims at an airman badge on their sleeves only, but probably a life time career – becoming a real Pilot.
An informal summit meeting was held on 18 July 2012 between the air training leaders of Hong Kong and Taiwan, chaired by Hong Kong Air Scout Board and one of the Honourary Presidents of the Scout Association of Hong Kong, Mr. Norman Lo JP. Mr. Lo is the current Director-General of Civil Aviation of the Hong Kong SAR Government. He is also an Air Commodore of the Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps. Taiwanese delegation was led by Mr. Billy K. C. Chang, former Director-General of Taiwan Civil Aviation, Chairman of Aviation Education Foundation and a retired Air Force Major General.
There was much exchange of the experience in air training to youth members of the two NSOs discussing the possibility of cooperation between the two NSOs in future, including the exchange of Scouts for flight experience, and to prepare themselves to become pilots in the future. Presently, student pilot for fixed wing aircraft can only do their flying training on Sundays at the Hong Kong Shek Kong Airfield. The Air Force may close down the runway without prior notice for military reasons which restricts the training to a very limited number of flying hours per week, and to sometimes zero. In addition, it is comparatively more expansive to do flight training in Hong Kong.
Through the exchange program, it is hoped that it will solve these problems so that more Scouts are ready if there are better air training facilities and opportunities in Taiwan under Mr. Chang’s Aviation Education Foundation.
-- Alex Lam, APR Honourary Correspondent, Hong Kong
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