It is with regret that again this year due to the logistical difficulties in hosting physical events that our AGM is being held virtually. I must apologise too for the disruptions to our events programme this year as a result of Covid 19 and thank our members for their ongoing support and patience during these difficult times.
I would like to use this opportunity to thank our committee for their ongoing support. Committee members generously volunteered their time to enthusiastically guide and support the society and ensure the membership has enjoyed an entertaining and educational series of events. A special thank you goes to Philippe Christol from Cathay Pacific who is stepping down from the committee this year. His dedication and support is highly appreciated.
Events summary
Despite a significantly reduced schedule of events over the past year due to Covid 19, the Society arranged three very successful virtual events over the course of the year.
In February 2021, Thomas Anderson, Boeing Director of Product Marketing for 787 presented to members the work of the “Confident Travel Initiative”, a highly topical overview of the global collaboration of making travel safe and healthy against the backdrop of the Covid 19 pandemic.
This event was followed in March by a lecture entitled “Piloting History – from the Spitfire to the Electric ACCEL”. Rolls Royce’s Phill O’Dell shared his vast piloting experience that ranged from flying the iconic World War 2 Battle of Britain aircraft, the Supermarine Spitfire to the latest cutting-edge technology of the ACCEL, electric aircraft.
In May, Air Hong Kong’s Gus Larard, spoke to a full house of members about his experience in the Royal Australian Air Force and his time with the US Navy, showcasing his passion for flying warbird legends at airshows across Australia and the USA.
Whilst we would of course prefer to be able to host physical events and be able to interact in person, moving events online proved to be manageable and allowed us to continue to engage with our membership. Importantly the high quality presentations delivered by our speakers served as excellent reminders as to the role the society plays in Hong Kong and the purpose of our lecture programmes. We intend to add another lecture event before the year end so please check our website for further details
The Society is here primarily to promote and advance the aerospace industry, raising awareness, helping people understand the industry and the opportunities its offer. The work of the Society provides the chance to share knowledge and experience, promote the highest professional standards and, as we saw demonstrated in all of the lectures this year, the passion people have for the work they undertake within our industry and why it matters to them.
Their enthusiasm provides inspiration to our membership and together, as a Society we celebrate our shared interest, dedication and commitment to aviation and to show how combining that passion for aviation with technology we can achieve something great in the world of aviation and aeronautics.
Membership Report
The Branch currently has 507 members, an increase of 155 since October 2020, comprising 363 full members and 144 student members. We received encouraging support from many members over the past 12 months with high level of membership renewals and new members joining.
We hope in 2022 we will be able to return to a full programme of events and hold as many of these events in an “in-person” format as possible.
Young Member activities have been completely halted due to the pandemic of COVID-19. Health and safety are our top priorities when we organise an event. We understand that young member might be pretty disappointed because of the missed of out two flagship events, and hence we are seriously considering to bring one of them back if not all.
It is a lot more likely to bring back Aviation Quiz as it only takes not more than three hours. Seeking some venues that fit our budget while upholding our health and safety protocol. We hope to meet our young member soon.
Holding AeroChallenge is a bit more challenging under current situation because it involves much interaction between participants and we would remain it a pause.
Despite the suspension of AeroChallenge, we are considering introducing a brand in young member activity called the Aerotube. It is a new platform where our young members can show off their creative skills and share their knowledge in aviation during the COVID situation. Participants are required to produce an informative video on something aviation related. It could be a topic designated by the committee or a topic that the participants are particularly passionate about. We will announce the detail of the competition once the formulation of the competition is ready to go.
Hope to see you all soon.