Government Flying Service (Hong Kong)

The Government Flying Service (GFS) is a disciplined unit of the Government

Government of Hong Kong

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, commonly the Hong Kong Government, is led by the Chief Executive as Head of the Government, who is also the head of the Hong Kong SAR...

of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. It was established on 1 April 1993, when Hong Kong was under British rule

Colonial Hong Kong

In the 19th century the British, Dutch, French, Indians and Americans saw Imperial China as the world's largest untapped market. In 1840 the British Empire launched their first and one of the most aggressive expeditionary forces to claim the territory that would later be known as Hong Kong.In a few...

. It then took over all the non-military operations of the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force

Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force

The Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force was an auxiliary unit of the United Kingdom Royal Air Force, based in Hong Kong. In preparation for the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, the unit was disbanded on 1 April 1993.Although technically an armed...

(RHKAAF), which was an auxiliary unit of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

. After Hong Kong was handed over

Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong

The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, referred to as ‘the Return’ or ‘the Reunification’ by the Chinese and ‘the Handover’ by others, took place on 1 July 1997...

to the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

in 1997, the GFS remains as a government unit of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)

Special administrative region (People's Republic of China)

A special administrative region is a provincial-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China, for which creation is provided by Article 31 of the 1982 Constitution of the People's Republic of China Article 31 reads "The state may establish special administrative regions when...

, and is responsible for search and rescue

Search and rescue

Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...

(SAR), air ambulance

Air ambulance

An air ambulance is an aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot reach the scene easily or quickly enough, or the patient needs to be transported over a distance or terrain that makes air transportation the most practical transport....

, firefighting and police

Police

The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

operations.

The service operates from the southwestern end of Hong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport , being built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport.The airport opened for commercial...

at Chek Lap Kok

Chek Lap Kok

Chek Lap Kok was an island in the western waters of Hong Kong. Together with the smaller Lam Chau, it was leveled and merged via land reclamation into the platform for the current Hong Kong International Airport, which opened for commercial operations in 1998...

. Before the opening of the Chek Lap Kok airport in 1998, it operated from the old Kai Tak Airport

Kai Tak Airport

Kai Tak Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. It was officially known as the Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, when it was closed and replaced by the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, 30 km to the west...

(i.e. the former Hong Kong International Airport). GFS patrols a 400 nautical miles (740.8 km) radius of Hong Kong's Maritime Search and Rescue Region, as well as the Hong Kong Flight Information Region (FIR), which covers most of the South China Sea

South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...

basin.

In 2007, the former dispersal in the old Kai Tak Airport was re-opened as a sub-base, providing refueling and other supporting services for GFS's helicopters. The helipad is located near the foot of Cheung Ying Street.

Operations

GFS is broken down to operational sections:

Operations Section - day-to-day core functions (i.e. Search and Rescue)
Training and Standards Section - professional standards and development
Engineering Section - maintenance of GFS equipment
Quality Section - compliance to operational standards
Administration Section - administration, human resources, finance, supplies, etc...

Helicopters can land on 5 highways in Hong Kong to attend to road related recovery operations. For long-range search and rescue operations, the GFS initially uses fixed wing aircraft which then guides helicopters to the location.

Air ambulance service response time (type A+/A) - 20miutes (within island zone) / 30minutes (outside island zone)
Search and rescue callout time 0700-2159 -(within 50nm/92.5km of GFS HQ) - 1hr / 1hr 40m (with additional/speicalise equipment)
Search and rescue callout time 2200-0659 -(within 50nm/92.5km of GFS HQ) - 2hr
For SARs outside 50nm / 92.5km - add 30mins per 50nm
Fixed Winged Aircraft 0700-2159 - (within 50nm/92.5km of GFS)- 50m, (between 50nm/92.5km to 100nm/185km of GFS)- 1hr 5m, (beyond 100nm/185km of GFS)- add 15m per 50nm.

Fleet

The fleet currently comprises:

Builder	Model	Type	Number	Dates	Details
British Aerospace British Aerospace British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...	Jetstream 41	search and rescue/maritime surveillance aircraft (converted regional jet)	2 (B-HRS and B-HRT)	1999?-	Long range/offshore SAR missions, aerial survey and surveillance
Eurocopter /	AS 332L2 Super Puma Eurocopter Super Puma The Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-size utility helicopter marketed for both civil and military use. Originally designed and built by Aérospatiale, it is an enlarged and re-engined version of the original Aérospatiale Puma...	inshore/offshore search and rescue helicopter (medium lift utility helicopter); aerial fire fighting apparatus	3 (B-HRL, B-HRM and B-HRN)	2002-	replaced the Sikorsky S-70A Black Hawk Sikorsky S-70 The Sikorsky S-70 is a medium transport/utility helicopter family manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. It was developed for the U.S. Army in the 1970s, winning a competition to be designated the UH-60 Blackhawk and spawning a large family in U.S. military service...
Eurocopter /	EC 155 B1 Eurocopter EC 155 The Eurocopter EC155 is a long-range medium-lift passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter from the Dauphin family for civil aviation use. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 13 passengers along with 1 or 2 crew, depending on customer configuration...	aeromedical services, inshore search and rescue, VIP and government personnel transfer (medium utility transport helicopter	4 (B-HRU, B-HRV, B-HRW, B-HRY)	2002-	A fifth one, B-HRX, crashed at Pak Kung Au Pak Kung Au (Islands) Pak Kung Au , also known as Tung Chung Gap, Tung Chung Au , is a mountain pass along Tung Chung Road on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.... during a mission in 2003.
Moravan	ZLIN Z242L	fixed wing trainer	1 (B-HRA)	2009	succeeded the role of the Slingsby Aviation Slingsby Aviation Slingsby Aviation is a British aircraft company based in Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, England. The Slingsby business was founded on the building and design of gliders and sailplanes. From the early 1930s to about 1970 it built over 50% of all British club gliders and had success at national and... T-67M-200 Firefly

Paint scheme for Jetstream and Super Puma is white and Safety orange

Safety orange

Safety orange is a hue. Its deeper, more saturated shade is known as international orange...

, two tone grey for the EC 155 and some of the Super Puma to support police operations (tactical troops transport).

GFS ordered two Bombardier Challenger 605 in October 2011.

Retired fleet

The fleet has previously included:

Builder	Model	Type	Number	Dates	Details
Beechcraft Beechcraft Beechcraft is an American manufacturer of general aviation and military aircraft, ranging from light single engine aircraft to business jets and light military transports. Previously a division of Raytheon, it has been a brand of Hawker Beechcraft since 2006....	Super King Air Beechcraft Super King Air The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation . The King Air line comprises a number of model series that fall into two families: the Model 90 series, Model 100 series , Model 200 series and Model 300 series...	maritime surveillance aircraft; VIP aircraft (converted turboprop airliner)	2	1993–1999	from RHKAAF; replaced by BAe Jetstream 41
Sikorsky Aircraft Sikorsky Aircraft The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. Its parent company is United Technologies Corporation.-History:...	S-70A Black Hawk Sikorsky S-70 The Sikorsky S-70 is a medium transport/utility helicopter family manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. It was developed for the U.S. Army in the 1970s, winning a competition to be designated the UH-60 Blackhawk and spawning a large family in U.S. military service...	medium lift utility helicopters	3 (B-HZJ, B-HZI, and B-HZK)	1993–2002	from RHKAAF; used for search and rescue and by the Hong Kong Police Force Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force is the largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. It is the world's second, and Asia's first, police agency to operate with a modern policing system. It was formed on 1 May 1844, with a strength of 32 officers... ; replaced by Super Puma AS332 L2 Eurocopter Super Puma The Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-size utility helicopter marketed for both civil and military use. Originally designed and built by Aérospatiale, it is an enlarged and re-engined version of the original Aérospatiale Puma... ; S-70 sold back to the United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Sikorsky Aircraft Sikorsky Aircraft The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. Its parent company is United Technologies Corporation.-History:...	S-76 Spirit Sikorsky S-76 The Sikorsky S-76 is an American medium-size commercial utility helicopter. The S-76 is powered by two turboshaft engines, which drive both the main and tail rotors, each with four blades...	medium utility helicopter	6	1993–2002	from RHKAAF; used by the Government of Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... and VIP service; replaced by EC 155 B1 Eurocopter EC 155 The Eurocopter EC155 is a long-range medium-lift passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter from the Dauphin family for civil aviation use. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 13 passengers along with 1 or 2 crew, depending on customer configuration...
Slingsby Aviation Slingsby Aviation Slingsby Aviation is a British aircraft company based in Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, England. The Slingsby business was founded on the building and design of gliders and sailplanes. From the early 1930s to about 1970 it built over 50% of all British club gliders and had success at national and...	T-67M-200 Firefly Slingsby T-67 Firefly The Slingsby T67 Firefly, originally produced as the Fournier RF-6, is a two-seat aerobatic training aircraft, built by Slingsby Aviation in Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire, England...	fixed wing trainer	4	1993–1996	from RHKAAF

Prior to 2002, the fleet colours consisted of:

white and Safety orange
Safety orange
Safety orange is a hue. Its deeper, more saturated shade is known as international orange...
blue, white and red - mostly the S-76 and were the colours of the RHKAAF and similar to the scheme used by the Her Majesty's Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating air-sea rescue.HM Coastguard is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civilian maritime Search and Rescue within the UK...
night black and sea grey - mostly the S-70A

Equipment and Gear

GFS pilots and crew are unarmed, as the services is a non-military agency. Standard equipment for GFS personnel is:

Flight suit
Flight suit
A flight suit is a full body garment, worn while flying aircraft such as military airplanes, gliders and helicopters. These suits are generally made to keep the wearer warm, as well as being practical , and durable . Its appearance is usually similar to a jumpsuit. A military flight suit may also...

or jumpsuit
Jumpsuit
Jumpsuit originally referred to the utilitarian one-piece garments used by parachuters/skydivers, but has come to be used as a common term for any one-piece garment with sleeves and legs.-Use:...
Special Operations Vests (SOVs) - consists of a small oxygen tank (3 minutes of oxygen), life jacket, small suvival/first aid kit.
Helicopter helmet
Walkie-talkie
Walkie-talkie
A walkie-talkie is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald L. Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, and engineering teams at Motorola...
gloves

As the GFS is not a police or para-military unit, they are unarmed. Armed officers of the Hong Kong Police Force

Hong Kong Police Force

The Hong Kong Police Force is the largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. It is the world's second, and Asia's first, police agency to operate with a modern policing system. It was formed on 1 May 1844, with a strength of 32 officers...

fly with the GFS on occasion.

Personnel

GFS employs 238 personnel:

178 commissioned/disciplined personnel
60 civilian personnel

Most of the pilots in the GFS were localised prior to the handover in 1997, as former RAF

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

and other British

United Kingdom

military personnel departed Hong Kong

Hong Kong

.

The GFS is led by a controller, who reports to the Secretary for Security. The current controller is Captain Michael CP Chan.

Other senior officers of the GFS are:

Departmental Secretary
Chief Pilot (Operations)
Chief Pilot (Training and Standards)
Chief Aircraft Engineer
Flight Operations Manager
Manager (Quality Assurance)
Manager (Quality & Flight Safety)
Manager (Aircrewman Officer)

Rank

Prior to the creation of the GFS, the ranks within the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force

Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force

were the same as the RAF. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the transition to local staff in the RHKAAF in preparation for the civil transfer to the GFS role. For details and insignia of the ranking, see http://www.gfs.gov.hk/eng/insignia.htm

Ranking of personnel of the GFS are civilian aviation roles and are as follows:

1 Bauhinia and 1 Laurel Wreath with Crossed Feather
- Controller
  Air traffic controller
  Air traffic controllers are the people who expedite and maintain a safe and orderly flow of air traffic in the global air traffic control system. The position of the air traffic controller is one that requires highly specialized skills...
1 Bauhinia and 2 Pips
- Chief Pilot
- Chief Aircraft Engineer
1 Bauhinia and 1 Pip
- Senior Pilot
  Aviator
  An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
- Senior Aircraft Engineer
  Second Officer (civil aviation)
  A Second Officer usually refers to the third in the line of command for a flight crew on a commercial or non-military aircraft. Usually the Second Officer is a flight engineer who is also a licensed pilot. A Second Officer on some airlines is part of a relief crew. Rarely, such relief pilots are...
- Senior Aircrewman Officer
  Third Officer (civil aviation)
  Third Officer is a lesser used civil aviation rank. It was primarily used by Pan American World Airways, particularly on its "Clippers" during the infancy of extended range airline routes...
1 Bauhinia
- Pilot I
- Aircraft Engineer
  Flight engineer
  Flight engineers work in three types of aircraft: fixed-wing , rotary wing , and space flight .As airplanes became even larger requiring more engines and complex systems to operate, the workload on the two pilots became excessive during certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs...
- Aircrewman Officer
  Third Officer (civil aviation)
  Third Officer is a lesser used civil aviation rank. It was primarily used by Pan American World Airways, particularly on its "Clippers" during the infancy of extended range airline routes...
  
  I
3 Pips
- Pilot I
- Aircraft Engineer
  Flight engineer
  Flight engineers work in three types of aircraft: fixed-wing , rotary wing , and space flight .As airplanes became even larger requiring more engines and complex systems to operate, the workload on the two pilots became excessive during certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs...
- Aircrewman Officer
  Third Officer (civil aviation)
  Third Officer is a lesser used civil aviation rank. It was primarily used by Pan American World Airways, particularly on its "Clippers" during the infancy of extended range airline routes...
  
  I
2 Pips and 1 Bar
- Pilot
  Aviator
  An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
  
  II
- Aircraft Engineer
  Flight engineer
  Flight engineers work in three types of aircraft: fixed-wing , rotary wing , and space flight .As airplanes became even larger requiring more engines and complex systems to operate, the workload on the two pilots became excessive during certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs...
- Aircrewman Officer
  Third Officer (civil aviation)
  Third Officer is a lesser used civil aviation rank. It was primarily used by Pan American World Airways, particularly on its "Clippers" during the infancy of extended range airline routes...
  
  II
- Chief Aircraft Technician
  Third Officer (civil aviation)
  Third Officer is a lesser used civil aviation rank. It was primarily used by Pan American World Airways, particularly on its "Clippers" during the infancy of extended range airline routes...
2 Pips
- Pilot II
- Chief Aircraft Technician
  Third Officer (civil aviation)
  Third Officer is a lesser used civil aviation rank. It was primarily used by Pan American World Airways, particularly on its "Clippers" during the infancy of extended range airline routes...
- Senior Aircraft Technician
  Third Officer (civil aviation)
  Third Officer is a lesser used civil aviation rank. It was primarily used by Pan American World Airways, particularly on its "Clippers" during the infancy of extended range airline routes...
- Aircrewman Officer
  Third Officer (civil aviation)
  Third Officer is a lesser used civil aviation rank. It was primarily used by Pan American World Airways, particularly on its "Clippers" during the infancy of extended range airline routes...
  
  III
1 Pip
- Cadet Pilot
- Senior Aircraft Technician
  Third Officer (civil aviation)
  Third Officer is a lesser used civil aviation rank. It was primarily used by Pan American World Airways, particularly on its "Clippers" during the infancy of extended range airline routes...
- Aircraft Technician
  Third Officer (civil aviation)
  Third Officer is a lesser used civil aviation rank. It was primarily used by Pan American World Airways, particularly on its "Clippers" during the infancy of extended range airline routes...
- Aircrewman Officer
  Third Officer (civil aviation)
  Third Officer is a lesser used civil aviation rank. It was primarily used by Pan American World Airways, particularly on its "Clippers" during the infancy of extended range airline routes...
  
  III

Pilot II and Cadet Pilot ranks were created in the 1990s for local pilots with less flying experience.

Crest

The current crest of the force was adopted in 1997, prior to which the Hong Kong Coat of Arms was used on GFS aircraft:

Bauhinia
Bauhinia
Bauhinia is a genus of more than 200 species of flowering plants in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers, Swiss-French botanists....
Crest with a Chinese dragon, propeller (borrowed from the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force
Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force
The Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force was an auxiliary unit of the United Kingdom Royal Air Force, based in Hong Kong. In preparation for the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, the unit was disbanded on 1 April 1993.Although technically an armed...

crest) and wording GFS
Motto contain the wording "政府飛行服務隊" with a pair of wings provides a bilingual logo to the agency that was lacking in the previous agency

GFS in the media

The service's official theme song, Wishing You Well So Much (多想你好), was sung by Andy Lau
Andy Lau
Andy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...

.
The TVB drama "Always Ready" was filmed inside GFS HQ and starred Ekin Cheng
Ekin Cheng
Ekin Cheng is a Hong Kong actor and Cantopop singer. Early in his career he used the name Dior as a first name. He has also been referred to as Noodle Cheng, after a popular noodle product with a similar name...

.

Incidents

August 26, 2003 - A Eurocopter EC 155
Eurocopter EC 155
The Eurocopter EC155 is a long-range medium-lift passenger transport helicopter developed by Eurocopter from the Dauphin family for civil aviation use. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 13 passengers along with 1 or 2 crew, depending on customer configuration...

B1 crashed on a hill in Tung Chung on Lantau Island killing two aircrew (Pilot Pang Fu-kwok and Airman Chan Man-tik).

December 27, 2010 - One of the GFS's Eurocopter Super Puma Mk II
Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma
The Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-size utility helicopter marketed for both civil and military use. Originally designed and built by Aérospatiale, it is an enlarged and re-engined version of the original Aérospatiale Puma...

helicopters (B-HRN) ditched in Shing Mun Reservoir
Shing Mun Reservoir
Shing Mun Reservoir is a reservoir in Hong Kong. It is located in Shing Mun, the area between Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin, in the New Territories.-History:Several hundreds years ago, the area around the reservoir was a dense forest with very few inhabitants...

after the loss of its number 2 engine. It was in the process of collecting water from the reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

to drop on a hill fire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...

. None of the three crew members
Crewman
Crewman is a generic term for a crew member of an aircraft, naval vessel, military unit, or team of professionals attempting to accomplish a goal. In some science fiction , Crewman is the lowest military rank on board a spacecraft.The term "Crewman" may also be related in the non-gender specific...

were injured. The Civil Aviation Department
Civil Aviation Department (Hong Kong)
The Civil Aviation Department is the Civil aviation authority of Hong Kong, headquartered in the Queensway Government Offices . The department is responsible for providing air traffic control services to all aircraft operating within the Hong Kong Flight Information Region. It reports to the...

said on Tuesday it had retrieved the flight data recorder
Flight data recorder
A flight data recorder is an electronic device employed to record any instructions sent to any electronic systems on an aircraft. It is a device used to record specific aircraft performance parameters...

. An official report is pending.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.