Perhaps you could take a moment to consider how many times this has been done before? As you can see in the photo, it says it's the first time. Therefore one might need to consider why has it never been done before? As you yourself asked "what's so hard about flying from Hong Kong to Beijing" except that it has never been done like this before! As you may know, the military controls low level airspace, and therefore China's General Aviation activity is nearly zero. Francis must have overcome huge resistance from the authorities to get flight path approvals for this attempt, and as you may know, getting bureaucrats to accept something new can be almost impossible! Just imagine how many single engine cessnas have flown out of CLK? One? Knowing the HKCAD, I call that an accomplishment! Even more so with the CAAC. This attempt (which I am sure will succeed) will pave the way for greater GA activities on the mainland, and that's good for all of us.
Until you step up and do something daring and unique, don't put others down for their accomplishments. I only have respect for aviation pioneers like Francis; people who lead the way, so others can follow easily and think nothing of it.
Last edited by Sicer; 9th Oct 2009 at 14:08.