CO129-539-11 Hong Kong Flying Club- proposed establishment of a Flying Training school at Kai Tak 8-4-1932 - 4-3-1933 — Page 65

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12. That at the present time many of the existing qualified pilots in

China have been trained either in American Schools or by American instructors.

It has been the experience of your Petitioner that it is most difficult, if not

impossible, to persuade an American trained student to approve the use of

British aircraft and equipment. Once the Government-assisted American

Flying School referred to in the preceding paragraphs is operating, and parti-

cularly if it is given a virtual monopoly in the field, the prospects of British

manufacturers for the sale of aircraft and equipment in China will prove most

doubtful.

13. That the following is a short history of negotiations by your

Petitioner with your Excellency's Government and résume of correspondence

from inception to date :-

(a) For reasons outlined above, your Petitioner approached the Hong Kong

Government as far back as September 1929 requesting permission

to establish a Flying Training School operating under British Air

Navigation Laws and involving training and a curriculum similar to

that obtaining in Training Schools in England. At the time the

original application was made the present airport at Kai Tak was

purely a Service Aerodrome, and was considerably smaller than the

completed airport existing today. For this reason application

was made to operate the Training School in the New Territories.

(b) After considerable discussion and correspondence, your Petitioner

was advised by Government that land in the New Territories could not

be made available for this purpose and that the possibility of using

Kai Tak Aerodrome was being considered.

(c) From that date to the present, your Petitioner has repeatedly applied to the Hong Kong Government for permission to operate a Flying Training School and in the course of these various applications,

several alternative schemes have been brought forward.

(d) The latest application by your Petitioner made since the Hong Kong

Flying Club was forced by financial reasons to suspend active instruc-

tion, was that your Petitioner should with such subsidy as your

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