FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1987
11
NEW AIRCRAFT FOR RHKAAF
THE ROYAL HONG KONG AUXILIARY AIR FORCE WILL RECEIVE AN ADDED BOOST TO ITS SEARCH AND RESCUE CAPABILITY WITH THE ARRIVAL TOMORROW (SATURDAY) OF ITS LATEST FIXED WING AIRCRAFT, A BEECH SUPER KING AIR TWIN TURBO PROP.
THE AIRCRAFT IS BEING FERRIED TO HONG KONG BY THE CHIEF STAFF OFFICER, RHKAAF, SQUADRON LEADER JOHN SHAWCROSS, AND SENIOR FIXED WING PILOT, FLIGHT LIEUTENANT NIGEL ASHLEY. THEY ARE ACCOMPANIED BY FLIGHT SERGEANT MARTIN CHAN WHO IS SUPERVISING THE ENGINEERING SIDE OF THE LONG DELIVERY FLIGHT FROM WICHITA IN THE UNITED STATES.
THE ART DAY AND
THE AIRCRAFT IS EQUIPPED WITH THE LATEST STATE OF ELECTRONIC FLIGHT INFORMATION AND NAVIGATION SYSTEMS AND HAS NIGHT SEARCH CAPABILITY, BEING FITTED WITH FORWARD LOOKING INFRARED (FLIR) NIGHT IMAGING UNIT.
BEING PRESSURISED, THE AIRCRAFT IS ABLE TO FLY TO THE SCENE OF A SEARCH AT HIGH LEVEL AND, EQUIPPED WITH TURBO PROPER ENGINES, AT A MUCH HIGHER SPEED THAN THE UNPRESSURISED PISTON-ENGINED AIRCRAFT WHICH CONSTITUTE THE PRESENT FIXED WING FLEET.
SIX PILOTS HAVE ALREADY UNDERGONE TRAINING COURSES IN THE
OF THE UNITED STATES, AS HAVE MANY
UNIT'S ENGINEERS WHO WILL BE TASKED WITH MAINTAINING THIS LATEST ADDITION TO THE FLEET TO THE USUAL HIGH STANDARDS WHICH HAVE ENABLED THE ROYAL HONG KONG AUXILIARY AIR FORCE TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE SEARCH AND RESCUE AVAILABILITY TO SHIPPING AND AIRCRAFT IN THE HONG KONG AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY.
THE FLIGHT FROM THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN ROUTED VIA HAWAII, MIDWAY ISLAND, WAKE ISLAND, GUAM AND JAPAN.
A SECOND SUPER KING AIR HAS BEEN ORDERED FOR DELIVERY IN AUGUST 1988.
ACCORD REACHED ON QUOTA LEVEL ADJUSTMENT
THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF TRADE, MR JOSEPH WONG, SAID TODAY (FRIDAY) THAT HONG KONG HAS REACHED AN AGREEMENT WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY ON ADJUSTMENTS TO THE QUOTA LEVELS OF 16 CATEGORIES RESTRAINED UNDER THE CURRENT HONG KONG/EEC BILATERAL TEXTILES AGREEMENT ARISING FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF THE HARMONIZED COMMODITY DESCRIPTION AND CODING SYSTEM (HARMONIZED SYSTEM) IN 1988.
ANTICIPATED
THE INTRODUCTION OF THE HARMONIZED SYSTEM HAD BEEN IN THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE CURRENT BILATERAL AGREEMENT LAST YEAR.
/AS
A
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