Shanghai Hawker Pacific Business Aviation Service Center (SHPBASC), host facility for ABACE 2012, chocked up an “Aviation First in China” when it received approval from the CAAC, China’s airworthiness authority, last month for maintenance on the Dassault Falcon 900 series, which includes the 900DX, 900LX and 900EX EASy models. Coupled with SHPBASC’s previous approvals for the Falcon 7X and Falcon 2000EASy series in 2012, this latest approval makes the company “the first FAA Part 145 MRO for business aviation in mainland China to have approval to maintain all of the in-production models for any OEM.”

Explained Carey Matthews, general manager of SHPBASC, “Elsewhere, having the complete in-production line-up on the MRO certificate may not be such a monumental event. Here, however, it does signify the steady march of progress for business aviation in China and the continuing maturation of the country’s infrastructure.” [For more about SHPBASC, see page 10.]