Wednesday 2 July 2008
From Paddy Fields to Jumbo Jets in China
by Stewart John
For the July 2008 meeting we were honoured to have as our speaker Stewart John (left) He is past President of the Royal Aeronautical Society and has over 50 years in civil aviation having joined BOAC (now Britain Airways) in 1955 as an engineering student. After qualifying he was seconded to Kuwait Airways and Malaysia-Singapore Airlines for seven years before returning to BOAC to take up various senior management appointments in London.
In 1977 he joined Cathay Pacific Airways (aircraft left) in Hong Kong as Engineering Director where he remained as a main board director until retirement in 1993. For 14 of these years he was deputy chairman of the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company, a founder member of Taiko Aircraft Engineering Company in Xiamen China (see map indicated by red ellipse) and remains a director and board member of TAECO.
Since retirement Stewart has been on boards of Rolls-Royce Aerospace, British Aerospace Aviation Services and British Midland Airways. Stewart is still on board of TAECO, Brooklands Museum, Green Dragon Gas in China and is on the advisory board of Kingfisher Airlines of India. He is past president of the International Federation of Airworthiness and of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Whilst Stewart has a wide range of experiences in the aircraft world, in this presentation he covered the history of a very small part of the industry, with the background covering the political and economic decisions made to move away from the Hong Kong home base of Cathy Pacific part of the UK Swire's empire which is very extensive. (see chart at bottom, owners of Cathy Pacific)
The new proposed Airport (details below) required the purchase of very expensive acreage on the island and construction of equally large hangars and indeed the professional workforce was not available in Hong Kong, hence following a two year search the city of Xiamen was chosen, this is about one hours flight away or about five hours by road (see map). Land was offered at a very low cost with the understanding this would be a fully Chinese site with little management from overseas staff to provide the major aircraft services required by the various registration boards of the major airlines of the world.
The mayor of the region was so keen to bring into the area both skilled work but also American dollars that he offered the space that had been a duck farm and paddy fields, hence the title of this talk, Stewart was rather alarmed that this area was 20 feet below the adjacent runway, but was assured by the Mayor that a local mountain could be used as an infill, this was indeed achieved by use of the Chinese military with vast numbers of men and machines!
Stewart used a PowerPoint presentation and covered a vast amount of details, only a few of the photos are reproduced here with some of the text, naturally such a report hardly does justice to such an interesting presentation.
A good indication of the quality of the talk is the number and variety of questions asked and these were indeed many and each answered with precise details, a typical example being who are the Swire Group's? (Answer is here). The vote of thanks by David Smart echoed the above comments and this was supported by warm and generous applause.
Thank you Stewart.
Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport, due to the fact that it was built on the islands of Chek Lap Kok and Lam Chau by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from the old Hong Kong Airport (Kai Tak).
The airport opened for commercial operations in 1998, replacing Kai Tak Airport, and is an important regional trans-shipment centre, passenger hub and gateway for destinations in China, East Asia and Southeast Asia.
Construction of the new airport was only part of the Airport Core Programme, which also involved construction of new road and rail links to the airport, with associated bridges and tunnels, and major land reclamation projects on both Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon.
Opened on 6 July 1998 it took six years and US $20 billion to build the architects were Foster and Partners. Cathay Pacific was the first flight to land at the airport, it is the primary hub for Cathay Pacific.
Construction of the new airport was only part of the Airport Core Programme, which also involved construction of new road and rail links to the airport, with associated bridges and tunnels, and major land reclamation projects on both Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon.
Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company located at the International Airport of Hong Kong
Two hangars (shown above) which can accommodate six wide body aircraft
Comprehensive maintenance capability on Airbus A320, A330, A340, B747, B757, B767 and B777
An off-site Avionic & Component workshop of HAECO / TAECO
Located in a district of Hong Kong
Handles over 40,000 components annually
Average TRT for Avionic component is 9 days
Average TRT for Fuel, Pneumatic, Hydraulic, Mechanical and Safety Equipment is 14 days
Hong Kong Aero Engine Services Limited ( HAESL )
A joint venture between
HAECO (45%)
Rolls-Royce (45%)
Singapore Airlines Engineering (10%)
Night time Xiamen in China
Day time Xiamen in China
HAESL’s capabilities located in Xiamen of China
Provides full overhaul of Engines, and repair of Component, Accessories & Piece Parts
HAESL’s capabilities include RB211-524/535 and Trent 700/800 engines
Aviation hub in Southeast China, with international flights to Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Philippine and Thailand
Direct highway links to Hong Kong
One of the first four Special Economic Zones, this was an important factor
Total investment U S Dollars 250 million
Hangar Square: 76,000 square metres (excluding Hangar 6)
Apron Square: 126,000 square metres (excluding Hangar 6)
Total 5 Hangars (10 wide body bays and 4 narrow body bays) in operation
The 6th Hangar scheduled to start operation in early 2009
Each bay equipped with full standing docks
Additional Mobile Tail Enclosure
Major Heavy Maintenance Capability
B737, B747, B757, B767 and B777
A330, A340
MD11
Structural Modifications
Cabin Refurbishment
Avionics Upgrade
Strip and repaint
Technical support and release services:
Transit & overnight servicing
Full technical log certification & aircraft release
Defect rectification
Current Parts Manufacturing Capabilities
Structure parts (including Machine parts & Sheet metal parts) fabrication
Multi-beam assembly for B747 freighter conversion
Cargo Conversion side cargo door and door surround assembly
Electrical wire and wire bundle fabrication
Non Destructive Testing
Tooling Calibration & Chemical, Mechanical Test Lab
This an in-house manufacture of a cargo conversion floor panel.
Approved Maintenance Training Organization under HKAR-147, CCAR-147 and EASA Part-147
In-house technical training including:
Skills training
License and aircraft type training
Language training
Human Factor training
Non-Technical and management training
New training center under construction and expected to start operation at the end of 2008
TAECO Village shown above (Taiko Aircraft Engineering Company in Xiamen China, see map above)
Has 1800 apartments for our employees which can accommodate 6,000 + inhabitants with communal facilities such as swimming pool, basketball courts, super market, etc.
Our Mission is to provide the highest quality and safety standards in civil aircraft maintenance and engineering services
Photographs on this page are copyright of Stewart John © with thanks.
The Swire Group's privately owned parent company is John Swire & Sons Limited. The Swire Group, started by John Swire (1793-1847), had its beginnings as a modest Liverpool import-export company started in the early years of the 19th century. In 1861, John Swire & Sons Limited began to trade with China.
The Swire Group's core businesses in Hong Kong are held by the publicly-quoted Swire Pacific Limited. The Group's core businesses are grouped into: property, aviation, beverages, marine services, and trading & industrial. Swire Pacific is the largest shareholder of Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's largest airline. The airline covers more than 90 destinations in the world.
Swire Properties is one of the largest property developers in Hong Kong. The company owns and manages several renowned shopping malls.
The China Navigation Co. Ltd. is the deep-sea shipping arm of John Swire & Sons Ltd.
Swire Pacific Offshore Holdings Limited (SPO) is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Swire Pacific and plays a major role in supporting the offshore oil and gas industry worldwide. Swire Pacific Offshore has one of the largest and most modern offshore energy support fleets in the world.
Swire is an anchor bottler in the Coca-Cola System. It is the bottler of Coca-Cola and its related products in Hong Kong, Taiwan and most of mainland China, as well as parts of 10 states in the United States, mainly the mountain west region. This territory represents a population of 400 million people.
Taikoo (太古) is the Chinese name of Swire. It is also the brand name of its business
"The Club accepts no responsibility for any statement, views, opinions of whatsoever nature expressed or given above which is just a summary of a talk given to the Club and does not necessarily reflect those of the Club or its members."
