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A job in the clouds
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Winton Dong
Standard service
THE day I went to the CITIC Heliport in Nanshan District for an interview, I came across British pilot Massingberd Mundy. Being an international license holder, he has been working here for more than two years.
Experienced as he was, the British pilot carefully negotiated with his Chinese partner and made a thorough check of the helicopter before taking off.
"To ensure safety, our customers have set high standards for us pilots. For every flight, two pilots will be sent, of which at least one should possess international flying license," said Wang Hongyun, party secretary of the flying division of CITIC Heliport Co Ltd.
As the head of the flying division, Wang repeatedly promised he would arrange for us reporters to have personal interviews on an oil platform. But I was repeatedly refused by representatives from oil companies because of overloading concerns.
Despite this hitch, I was deeply impressed by the strictness of those foreign oil producers.
In order to maintain the kind of flight safety record demanded by its customers, the heliport has in recent years recruited 16 international license holders from abroad, most of them from Britain and other European nations.
According to Wang, the heliport now serves all the foreign-funded oil companies in Shekou including Amoco, ARCO, Statoil, Santa Fe, Phillips China Inc and others.
On December 18 last year, Xu Zhigang, an employee working on the XJ302 oil platform in the South China Sea, was severely injured in an accident. After receiving the emergency call from PhillipsChina Inc, owner of the oil platform, a helicopter belonging to the port which was headed to another platform, was ordered to change course immediately and flew to the platform to rescue the injured worker.
Close co-operation not only enhances the image of the heliport, but brings about considerable profits for those oil companies.
George Storaker, former president of Phillips China Inc, said his company has benefited greatly from the heliport. Storaker added that Phillips China Inc has produced 120 million barrels of oil from its South China Sea operation since it began in 1995.
Hard work pays more
TO keep abreast of international practice and the surging demands of the oil companies, most young pilots working at the heliport are well educated and can speak fluent English.
One of the pilots, 27-year-old Hao Ming, is an excellent example. He graduated from the Naval Flying Academy five years ago, and in order to improve his oral English, Hao takes every opportunity to talk with the foreign pilots.
According to Hao, pilots' hearing diminishes as they age, due to the terrible racket helicopters kick up. Most pilots who are over 50 can only hear voices if they are shouted in their ears.
Hao reflected that most people envy the high salary earned by helicopter pilots, but seldom think of the sacrifices the pilots have to make for their career, not to mention the heavy responsibility they must bear.
"Our major task is to airlift employees of oil companies to drilling platforms. Since so many lives are in our hands, we should be very careful," Hao said.
Besides serving those commercial purposes, the heliport also makes notable contributions to the city's economic construction by engaging in marine rescue, fire fighting, escort, aerial photography and other tasks.
"Every time senior leaders from the Central Government visit the city, we escort them from above," Hao said proudly.
According to Hao, the nearest oil platform is ninety minutes' flight time away, and the small cabin of a helicopter can get very hot and uncomfortable, especially on blazing summer days, as they do not have air conditioning or even fans.
Another pilot in the heliport who cannot be neglected is Tang Huiliang. In the winter of 1991 when Tang was working on a search-and-rescue helicopter, he was once sent to the rescue of a sea accident in the South China Sea. Struggling against raging 6.4-metre waves, Tang personally saved 17 lives, thus setting an international record. A film was later made to dramatize his remarkable feat.
Tang was later sent to Britain to pursue an international mechanical engineering licence. At that time, he spoke no English. Perseverant as he was, Tang overcome language barriers and successfully got the licence in only three months.
As the interview neared its end, the young pilot Hao told me that he is expected to be sent abroad for an international license this year. We sincerely hope that, after getting the license, his career in the clouds will be soaring and safe.
CITIC Helicopter
THERE are few cities in the country which boast helicopter services but Shenzhen is one of them, having built its own heliport way back in 1983.
In that year, CAAC announced its plan for the separation of helicopter services from airlines, thus allowing Shenzhen's heliport to come into being. The decisive move also set the stage for the reform of China's civil airline industry.
Originally, the company mainly served military purposes for air, naval or land forces, but it gradually turned to civilian uses.
With its professional service, the city's heliport not only serves big oil companies operating in the South China Sea, but has spread its field of operations to Bohai Bay and other offshore areas.
It is estimated that the heliport now handles about 60 per cent of the country's helicopter flying business. Helicopters carrying personnel or goods lift off every day from the heliport to the oil drilling platforms scattered offshore.
According to Wang, the helicopter service not only brings convenience to offshore oil producers but also provides many opportunities for the host city to enhance its international image.
In view of its sound development, the heliport was listed on the stock exchange last year and main shareholders of the company include CITIC Group, the Guangdong Provincial Government, the Shenzhen Municipal Government and other concerned departments.
Wang Hongyun, party secretary of the flying division of CITIC Offshore Helicopter (Shenzhen) Co Ltd, is very confident of the company's prospects.
"With the public listing of our company, a new door will be open for us to make still more progress in the near future," he said.
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