Sky's the limit for booming general aviation sector (4)

"China should have at least 3,000 airports for general aviation," said Jin Qiansheng, director of Xi'an Yanliang National Aviation Hi-tech Industry Base.

The lack of pilots is another key issue that needs to be addressed.

China's general aviation fleet increased to 1,154 aircraft in 2011, from 1,010 in 2010, but Chen Guangcheng, deputy director of the CAAC general aviation division's flight standards department, said earlier this year that only about 6,000 pilots are working in the industry, and more than half of them are studying or teaching in schools.

Industry experts said the general industry needs more than 10,000 pilots, and the demand will continue growing as the industry develops.

Gao Yuanyang said the new draft regulation from the CAAC is already complete and is expected to be released by the end of this year.

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