On 28 August, following a departure ceremony at HAECO Hong Kong, local pilot, Captain Hank Cheng, embarked on his “Inspiration” three-month, round-the-world journey to promote the Spirit of Hong Kong. Guests of Honour at the ceremony included Mr CY Leung, Chief Executive of the HKSAR Government, Professor Anthony Cheung, Secretary for Transport and Housing, Simon Li, Director-General of Civil Aviation, as well as senior HAECO and Cathay Pacific management. “Inspiration”, the first homebuilt aircraft to fly under the Hong Kong registry, took off early in the morning of the same day and will make stops at around 50 airports across 25 countries.
HAECO Hong Kong has provided aircraft engineering support throughout the eight-year “Inspiration” project - a pioneering collaboration between local secondary school students, pilots and aircraft engineers to make Hank’s “impossible” childhood dream of building his own aircraft and flying it around the world come true.