A Long Journey Into The Future Of Chinese General Aviation
“It was just like flying in the U.S.,” Chelsea Welch said, “except that altitude is given in meters, but that wasn’t too hard to figure out.”

The piston-engine Baron twin and Bonanza single on display at the Beechcraft area of the static display did not arrive by magic or by freighter. The long trip from the factory in Wichita, Kansas, started a few weeks ago, and left the California coast on April 3.

Ferry pilots Chelsea “Abingdon” Welch and Jerry Clark took off from Tracy, California (KTCY) where oversize fuel tanks were installed. The Bonanza held a total of 268 gallons, the Baron about 400. That meant that Welch and Clark were taking off at approximately 30 percent above maximum gross weight.