HK youngsters thrilled to visit home-grown planes
A group of Hong Kong youngsters said they were excited to have a first-hand look at the home-grown C919 and ARJ21 aircraft. The two mainland-made aircraft are on static display at the Hong Kong International Airport and visited by youth groups and industry representatives as part of their landmark visit to the SAR. One girl, who on Thursday visited the cabin of the C919 aircraft, told RTHK's Hong Kong United programme it was her first time on a plane, and she was both nervous and excited.  Another girl said she was thrilled to sit in the pilot's seat and grab hold of the control stick.  She also described the cabin design as "beautiful". Others who went on board said they wanted to learn more about the domestically produced planes and hope to have the opportunity to fly on one in future. A mainland aviation specialist said the C919's range of up to 5,555 kilometres and the ARJ21's range of up to 3,700 kilometres mean they could cover routes from Hong Kong to much of Asia. "If you draw a circle from Hong Kong, 3,700 kilometres cover major cities of China, as well as East and Southeast Asia, like Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, Bangkok. And for the C919, 5,555 kilometres, you can cover cities in South Asia like New Delhi, Bombay, Maldives or Sri Lanka's Colombo, and even some cities in Central Asia," Jason Li told RTHK. "Currently, China Eastern Airlines flies the C919 between Shanghai and Chengdu, and various carriers fly the ARJ21 on multiple routes. For example, China Southern Airlines flies the ARJ21 between Guangzhou and Shantou, and TransNusa, an Indonesian carrier, flies the ARJ21 between Jakarta and Johor Bahru." There have so far been more than 100 orders for the C919, all of which are for domestic routes.  Li said international airlines haven’t acquired the model due to a lack of qualified pilots and technicians. "Aircraft is not like a vehicle. For example, if you can drive a BMW, you can drive a Mercedes. However, the aircraft is another story. So if you fly the Airbus or Boeing aircraft for decades, you still have to be trained, and be familiar with how to drive a Comac (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd.) in order to get certified by the administration or the regulations. “So that applies to both the pilots and the technicians. Because despite that most aircraft follow generally the same principle to fly in the sky, the detail or the technical implementations are different. For example, you may use parts from different suppliers or handled in different approaches or you use different designs. They are very detailed and the most important thing about safety is about this detail.” Writing on his blog, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung said he was pleased to share the honour of the nation’s aviation development with the people of Hong Kong. He also urged people to grasp the opportunity to take photos of the C919 flying over Victoria Harbour on Saturday.