Low-altitude economy, as a typical representative of new productive forces, has been included by the state as a strategic emerging industry and listed in the comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network plan. The industry estimates that the market size of the low-altitude economy will develop from the current more than 500 billion yuan to 2 trillion yuan by 2030.
Interviews in various places in Hunan indicate that the drone industry is showing a rapid increase in social stock and a rapid development trend in applications. There have also been breakthroughs of varying degrees in the localization and application of light sport aircraft, the development of new cutting-edge aircraft, and the expansion of general aviation services. Industry insiders suggest that by adapting to local conditions and opening up scenarios, science and innovation, and mechanisms, the low-altitude economy can "soar."
"Industrial drones" have emerged as a new force. The industry generally divides drones into "industrial drones" and "consumer drones." In Hunan, a province that is a pioneer in low-altitude opening pilot demonstration, the reporter feels the power of "agricultural drones."
After the rush to harvest and plant, various agricultural activities in rural Hunan are still heavy, but the scene of farmers working "facing the yellow soil and facing the sky" is no longer the same as before. The reporter saw in Dingcheng District, Linli County, Li County, Huarong County, and Miluo City of Changde City, Hunan Province, that drones capable of carrying about 50 kilograms of fertilizer or pesticides shuttled through the fields, "working hard." The "visibility" of low-altitude flying objects in rural areas is higher than in cities, and the "flight routes" are also busier.
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The person in charge of the agricultural social service organization that has developed with the support of the supply and marketing cooperatives at all levels in Hunan Province introduced that the history of relying on human and animal power for agricultural production has "turned the page." Nowadays, ground agricultural tasks rely on "iron oxen" such as rotary tillers, rice transplanters, harvesters, and tractors, while tasks such as fertilizing, spraying pesticides, sowing, soil testing, and pest and disease observation are handed over to "flying oxen" - drones.
The reporter saw that the "new farmers" in Hunan only need to open mobile phone applications, input data to plan the height, density, radius, route of the operation... click the start icon, and the agricultural drone will immediately take off. The agricultural tasks that used to take a whole day to complete by manual labor can be completed by a "flier" operating a "flying ox" in just tens of minutes.
Zhou Xiaoli, Secretary of the Party Group and Director of the Board of Directors of the Hunan Supply and Marketing Cooperative, introduced that the "Agricultural Social Service Alliance" established by the Hunan Supply and Marketing Cooperative has many "Plant Protection Flying Defense Brigades." Some "Plant Protection Flying Defense Brigades" have more than 100 agricultural drones, and the area of flying defense can reach more than 1 million mu per year. The situation of agricultural social service organizations planting hundreds of mu or thousands of mu of land is becoming more and more common.
Due to the increasingly widespread application of "flying oxen" in rural areas, many "masters" who plant crops are also "fliers" who operate agricultural drones and are also "good hands" at repairing and maintaining drones. Compared with manual labor, "flying oxen" not only save a lot of time and effort but also significantly reduce costs and increase efficiency and reduce agricultural pollution. The flying defense service guarantee of the "Agricultural Social Service Alliance" under the Hunan Supply and Marketing Cooperative not only covers Hunan but also extends its business to other provinces."The term 'industrial drone' should more accurately be called 'industrial drone' or 'commercial drone,'" some industry insiders say. With the advancement of efficient agriculture and the development of smart agriculture, the social ownership of drones in China's agricultural sector has exceeded 200,000 units. "The low-altitude economy, once imagined as 'high-end,' has emerged in the 'down-to-earth' agricultural field, which many people did not expect."
Compared to the agricultural field, the number of drones used in fields such as aerial photography, serving power line inspection, emergency rescue, forest fire prevention, and even cultural tourism and wedding events is also very large. In addition, Chinese drones have become the main export products, with significant influence in the global market.
Some industry insiders believe that drones have ushered in China's "low-altitude economy's first year" in 2024. With a large influx of capital, the scale of drone product production continues to expand, and technological upgrades are happening at an unprecedented rate, giving rise to a group of backbone enterprises such as DJI, XPeng Huitian, and XAG Technology, driving related supporting industries such as aviation materials, avionics, batteries, and flight control.
At present, some new forces in China's drone field, such as "electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft," "multi-functional unmanned transport aircraft," "high-rise building fire-fighting tethered drone systems," "smart logistics drones," and "emergency rescue drones," have taken their first flight, and some are under development. Experts believe that China has advantages in many aspects of the drone field to join the world's first echelon or even "lead." Thanks to the continuous enrichment of application scenarios, China's drone industry may grow into the first trillion-level industry of the "low-altitude economy."
General aviation enters the "take-off runway"
In the field of general aviation "manned aircraft," the promising prospects are becoming increasingly clear.
In Hunan, one of the earliest provinces in China to achieve low-altitude opening, the industrial hub of Zhuzhou relies on the foundation of small and medium-sized aero-engines, Beidou navigation, and advanced rail transit equipment to vigorously develop the general aviation industry as a new growth point.
Along the Aviation Avenue in Lusong District, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, heading to Lusong General Airport, you can see many general aviation enterprises along the way, and occasionally fixed-wing light aircraft and helicopters fly across the sky.
Wang Qiang, the district chief of Lusong District, introduced that Lusong General Airport is the first A1-class general airport in Hunan Province. In recent years, Zhuzhou has leveraged the manufacturing advantages of small and medium-sized aero-engines to develop 45 enterprises engaged in R&D, manufacturing, operation, and supporting of general aviation engines, aircraft manufacturing, and operation around the airport, which has become one of China's main general aviation industry bases.
Inside the factory of Shanhe Xinghang Industrial Co., Ltd. near Lusong Airport, there are many "Aurora" fixed-wing two-seat single-engine light sport aircraft parked, some are being assembled on the production line, and some have come off the line and are undergoing factory inspection. It is reported that "Aurora" is the first national brand light sport aircraft in China to pass the civil aviation airworthiness certification of China, and has gradually opened up the market in recent years, with a total flight time of more than 100,000 hours.In a corner of the Lusong General Airport, in the hangar of Hunan Xiangwei General Aviation Co., Ltd., several helicopters are parked. The company operates a variety of services including charter flights, pilot training, emergency rescue, aerial advertising, and tourism. "The tasks performed by helicopters include rescuing trapped people from floods, delivering supplies to 'isolated villages' surrounded by floodwaters, and participating in the extinguishing of major forest fires on multiple occasions," said a staff member of Xiangwei General Aviation.
Buying airplanes and "learning to fly" has transitioned from being a privilege of the "ultra-wealthy" to becoming accessible to some high-income groups.
A "light sport aircraft owner" introduced that the price of the aircraft he bought was over 1.1 million yuan, using 95-octane gasoline, with a full tank range of 1,200 kilometers, and a fuel consumption of more than 8 liters per hundred kilometers. The flying experience is "overwhelmingly exciting."
As the air traffic controller at Hengdong Dap airport issued the landing command, a light sport aircraft smoothly landed on the runway. Xiao Hongguo, a "post-70s" from Guangdong, successfully passed the flight assessment and is about to obtain a sport pilot license (SPL). From a flight "novice" to independently flying an aircraft, Xiao Hongguo only took a few months.
"Learning to fly an airplane is not complicated, and the entry threshold is similar to obtaining a driver's license. Our students include not only entrepreneurs but also salaried workers and even college students," said Zhao Guoliang, a flight instructor at Dap Airport, who has "flown with" more than 20 students. He introduced that in recent years, the country has lowered the threshold for "learning to fly". People who meet the conditions of having at least a junior high school education and no criminal record within five years can "learn to fly", and those with a valid motor vehicle driver's license are exempt from physical examination.
It is understood that applicants spend about 100,000 yuan, participate in more than 30 hours of training, and can obtain a sport aircraft driver's license after passing the exam; spending about 150,000 yuan can also learn and take the private aircraft driver's license. At present, the vast majority of general aviation flight hours in our country come from driver's license training. With the increasing number of "flying people", aircraft rental business with prices of around 2,000 yuan per hour or even lower is continuously increasing.
As a pilot province for low-altitude opening reform, Hunan has classified and designated low-altitude airspace, built a related collaborative operation mechanism, surveillance communication system, and introduced more than 10 policies around industrial development, market cultivation, and element protection. Since the reform pilot, the number of registered general aviation aircraft in Hunan Province, the number of operational general aviation enterprises, and the general aviation flight time have increased to more than 1 and 3 times before the pilot, respectively, and the low-altitude economy has begun to take off.
As an important infrastructure for the development of general aviation, the number of general aviation airports in our country is also increasing. Relevant data shows that as of 2023, there are about 450 general aviation airports nationwide, with a compound growth rate of about 16% from 2019 to 2023.
The increase in the number of general aviation airports has provided better and better "physical support" for the development of general aviation. At the same time, a series of software and hardware infrastructure required for low-altitude flight, such as air traffic control, communication, navigation, and surveillance, is also being continuously improved, and the operational support capacity of general aviation is also being continuously enhanced. According to statistics, the number of general aviation aircraft in our country exceeds 3,300, more than 20,000 flight licenses have been processed, and the industry has developed to nearly 700 enterprises.
Hengyang City in Hunan Province has 5 general aviation airports and more than 400 helicopter takeoff and landing points included in the plan. The local government has taken advantage of Dap Airport, which is the only general aviation airport in the province mainly for aviation sports, to hold national aviation model open competitions and other activities; a series of supporting policies have been formulated and introduced, scientifically planning and guiding various capital investments in the low-altitude economy. In just a few years, Hengyang City has established 7 flight service enterprises, with an annual passenger reception volume of about 6,000 people and an annual total revenue of about 50 million yuan.Solving Puzzles on the "Future Journey" to Low-Altitude Economy
During interviews, it was discovered that although the development of China's low-altitude economy is going well, the vast scope of the low-altitude economy has broken through the traditional boundaries of aviation management and technology in many areas. This presents both opportunities and challenges for all parties involved, and there are many new issues to be resolved on the journey to the "future course."
In China's drone sector, where the registration number exceeds 1.2 million, there are prominent issues in risk control and creation of application environments. For instance, drones in the agricultural field face the "machine-line contradiction"—the drones and the "net in the sky" formed by power lines, network cables, and broadcast lines in the fields and countryside pose safety threats to each other. Although drone obstacle avoidance functions are becoming more advanced, accidents are still inevitable when facing the "net in the sky." The "flying cow" has a large body and carries a lot of materials, and when flying near power facilities, the electromagnetic field around high-voltage lines interferes significantly with the drone's remote control signals, leading to drone control failures. If a drone touches, hits, or falls onto power distribution lines, it can cause property loss for the drone owner at best, and at worst, it may lead to large-scale power outages and serious personal injuries to workers.
In the field of manned general aviation, there are also some issues. Upon hearing that a city in central China had opened a direct flight tourist route to a scenic spot, the reporter went to interview with pleasure, only to find that the route had been suspended due to low income and high costs, making it difficult to continue operations. The reporter learned that some general aviation airports that have been built are barely getting by with income from takeoff and overnight fees, aviation fuel revenue, and venue rentals. Not only is it difficult to recover long-term infrastructure investment and pay financing interest, but it is also challenging to maintain daily operations. Some general aviation businesses struggle to achieve economic scale, with some far from releasing their production capacity and others having a large "name" but contributing little in tax revenue. There are also cases of general aviation club managers "running away," leading to the inability to refund prepaid tuition fees from "flying students" and the inability to settle club debts. On some idle goods online transfer platforms, there are many items for sale at a loss, ranging from light sport aircraft and small helicopters to training equipment and various equipment from general aviation service organizations...
Industry insiders introduce that there are still two deep-seated problems to be solved in the development of China's low-altitude economy. On the one hand, key technologies need to be broken through. At present, the localization rate of drones is relatively high, but there are still shortcomings in the development of some cutting-edge equipment such as "electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft" and key technologies of some large "industrial drones" such as chips and batteries. As application scenarios continue to expand and market scale continues to grow, the contradiction between existing technologies not being able to adapt well to market demand becomes increasingly prominent.
In the field of general aviation, the related "bottleneck" problems are even more serious. For example, some domestic general aviation aircraft require a large number of imported components, and some imported components such as aircraft engines are not only expensive but also have poor supply chain stability. Although there are self-developed results in some areas, further testing is needed, and market acceptance also requires a process. This situation has led to the fact that both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter general aviation flight costs in China are much higher than those in countries with more advanced general aviation development in the world. Coupled with high consumption and application prices, it seriously restricts the expansion of market scale and the improvement of operational benefits.
On the other hand, the application mechanism needs to be improved. With the advancement of China's low-altitude opening reforms and the introduction of the "Transportation Strong Country" strategy and the formulation of "Normal Aircraft Airworthiness Regulations," a series of "deregulation" and "loosening" policies and measures such as lowering the threshold for "flying students" have further improved the development environment of China's general aviation industry. However, there is still room for improvement in many aspects of "mechanism design" and implementation, such as setting up related approval processes and access standards, providing infrastructure support with central budget, civil aviation development funds, and special bonds, and building risk prevention and control and market-oriented guarantee mechanisms to stimulate investment and application (or consumption) enthusiasm.To "Soar", One Must "Accelerate"
Experts suggest that by opening up three levels of "acceleration" - scene expansion, sci-tech integration, and mechanism optimization - we can promote the "soaring" of China's low-altitude economy.
— Expanding application scenarios to make the low-altitude economy "grow".
In response to the weak general aviation infrastructure in China, the need for time to break through technical bottlenecks in both hardware and software, and the low proportion of flight time, strategic support for market entities to expand into emergency, medical, cultural tourism, and other application scenarios can be used to enlarge the market "pie" and the industry "volume". In the field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which has achieved leapfrog development and has a certain competitive advantage, strategic key support should be given, including the construction of financial insurance, information services, application support, and other supporting industries adapted to the development of the low-altitude economy. It is also necessary to use the "visible hand" to assist market mechanisms, promote the accelerated commercialization and industrialization of the low-altitude economy, and prioritize the development of UAVs as the leading industry of China's low-altitude economy.
— Promoting sci-tech integration to make the low-altitude economy "hot".
It is recommended to establish national laboratories in places with a good foundation for the low-altitude economy industry, such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, Zhuzhou, etc., to create common technology platforms and engineering research centers, and promote the deep integration of scientific and industrial innovation. For different application scenarios (such as UAVs delivering express in mountainous areas), detailed application rules should be formulated, and policies should be introduced to encourage better integration of the low-altitude economy with platform economy, artificial intelligence, and other industries. Encourage independent research and development of key components in the aviation manufacturing industry, accelerate the攻关 of core technologies, actively cultivate high-tech enterprises and "little giant" enterprises in the low-altitude economy field, support and cultivate more innovative scientific research talents. Learn from the development experience of new energy vehicles, support the research and development of cutting-edge technology and advanced equipment; leverage China's technical advantages in the fields of battery cells, motors, algorithms, Beidou, and 5G, and explore "changing lanes to overtake" in some relatively backward fields.
— Optimizing "mechanism design" to make the low-altitude economy "strong".
It is suggested to scientifically promote air traffic control reform and industrial development, implement new regulations and laws, and efficiently coordinate the airspace usage needs of various aviation flight activities. Clarify the safety supervision responsibilities of low-altitude flight, adhere to the principle of "safety, conservation, green, and practicality", and clarify the construction standards for simple Type A general airports and general aviation camps such as grassland, soil, and water. Use public funds to build intelligent low-altitude surveillance and communication networks, low-altitude visual charts, flight service systems, digital airspace management systems, and other software and hardware infrastructure to promote the "expansion, improvement, and intelligence" of general airports. Improve fiscal, financial, industrial, and regulatory supportive policies to support the development of the low-altitude economy itself and empower various industries; break through domain barriers to achieve interconnection of information systems, and achieve networked and high-speed transmission of perception detection and communication data.