Civil Aviation Flight University of China (CAFUC), founded in 1956, is a university directly under the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), and co-administrated by Sichuan Province.
CAFUC is one of China’s leading universities dedicated to the full-process training of high-qualitycivil aviation specialists. It is committed to cultivating innovative professionals in civil aviation flight, engineering and operation management. After more than 70 years of unremitting efforts, CAFUC has become a multidisciplinary university with unique strengths in science, engineering, literature, management, law, arts, education, economics and interdisciplinary studies, with a primary focus on cultivating civil aviation pilots, professionals in engineering technology and civil aviation operation management.
HISTORY
CAFUC grew out of No. 14 Civil Aviation School of Chinese People's Liberation Army, which devoted itself to cultivating civil aviation pilots to meet the needs of the country. The school was established with the approval of Premier Zhou En-lai, with its first military and political leadership appointed by late Chairman Mao Zedong in 1956. CAFUC history represents the evolution of higher education in civil aviation in the People's Republic of China.
CAMPUS
CAFUC is headquartered in Guanghan, Sichuan Province.It consists of two campuses--Guanghan and Tianfu, five flight training airports in Sichuan and Henan Province, covering an area of 1,267 hectares.
CAFUC has established five Flight Colleges in Xinjin, Guanghan, Mianyang and Suining in Sichuan, and Luoyang in Henan. It also manages and operates five general and transport aviation airports.
CAFUC has established three training bases in Zigong of Sichuan, Yongchuan of Chongqing and Ruicheng of Shanxi, and Beidahuang Training Base and Wuzhou Training Base jointly with Beidahuang General Aviation and AVIC Flight Academic respectively. The north-south training network expands over six provinces and cities.
FLIGHT EDUCATION
In China’s civil aviation industry, 70% of pilots, 80% of captains, and 90% of merit pilots in the entire industry began their careers here. Known as the "Cradle of Chinese Civil Aviation Pilots," the university has become a prestigious higher education institution worldwide for cultivating professional pilots in civil aviation, boasting the largest scale, strongest capabilities, best safety records, and exceptional quality.
The Flight Technology major is among the first batch of "national first-class undergraduate major construction sites" in China.
It is a globally leading pilot training institution that provides a comprehensive solution, covering everything from initial pilot training to large aircraft type training.
CAFUC has nearly 500 flight instructors, including 12 professor-level senior pilots and 74 first-grade pilots, each with an average of more than 5,200 flight hours.
CAFUC owns nearly 400 primary, intermediate and high-performance trainer aircraft of 16 types, 59 full flight simulators and flight training devices from Airbus, Boeing, etc.. It has more than 500 aero-engines of various types, including turbofan engines, turboprop engines, turboprop engines, and reciprocating piston engines.
The university records nearly 500,000 flight training hours annually, accounting for approximately one third of China’s total general aviation flight hours.
CAFUC has created and kept the world's best safety record in general aviation. In addition, CAFUC has achieved a continuous safe flight record of over 3.5 million hours and 5.6 million flight sorties, and has been awarded the CAAC Five-Star Award for Flight Training Safety twice.
FACULTY
CAFUC has nearly 2000 full-time teachers, among whom over 600 are "dual-qualified teachers" and nearly 700 are professor-level senior pilots, professors and researchers. Nearly 70% young and middle-aged teachers have doctoral or master's degrees.
Among them are nationally recruited experts, chief scientists of key national research and development programs, recipients of the Special Government Allowance of the State Council, the Hero Captain of China's Civil Aviation Industry, and the nation’s Model Teacher. The faculty members also include merit pilots in China’s civil aviation industry, leading professional in the technology innovation of China’s civil aviation Industry, members of ICAO panels, recruited experts in China’s civil aviation industry, and young sci-tech experts of the Ministry of Transport, professional and renowned teachers of "Tianfu-Emei Plan", "Tianfu Scholar Plan" and "Tianfu Qingcheng Plan" in Sichuan Province, etc.
We take pride in our highly esteemed team of civil aviation professionals, who possess expertise in flight technology, air traffic management, aviation engineering, airport operation management, and other related fields, both domestically and internationally.
DISCIPLINES AND MAJORS
CAFUC has 20 colleges and teaching units, 40 undergraduate programs and 20 master's degree programs.
Flight Technology, Computer Science and Technology, Information and Computing Science, English, Transportation, Electronic Information Engineering, etc. are approved as First-Class Undergraduate Major Construction Sites.
Aircraft Power Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Automation, Business Administration, etc. are approved as First-Class Undergraduate Major Construction Sites.
Transportation Engineering, Safety Science and Engineering, Aerospace Science and Technology are approved as Disciplines of the Gongga Program for Double First-Class Initiative in Sichuan Province, Advantageous and Characteristic Discipline Construction Sites in Sichuan Province.
CAFUC has 30,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,500 full-time graduate students, including 10,000 students majoring in flight technology.
RESEARCH INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT
In recent years, CAFUC has undertaken nearly 2,300 research projects, including national key research and development programs, National Natural Science Foundation of China projects, National Social Science Foundation of China projects, and provincial and ministerial-level or above research projects.
CAFUC has received 29 provincial and ministerial awards, five national-level scientific and technological achievement awards and more than 510 national invention patents and utility model patents.
Over 568 research papers were published in high-impact academic journals both domestically and internationally, and 36 influential academic monographs released in public in recent years. In addition, CAFUC has actively participated in the research, development, manufacturing, flight test, programming, certification of China’s domestically developed large passenger aircraft - ARJ21 and C919.
CAFUC plays a leading role in the development of civil aviation science and technology in such fields as flight technology and flight safety, aircraft fire prevention and rescue, aviation meteorology, aircraft maintenance engineering, general aviation, air traffic management, and flight test engineering.
CAFUC has one national-level project of the innovation zone for talent training modes, two national-level distinctive majors, three provincial-level distinctive majors, 64 national and provincial first-class courses, six emerging engineering research and practice projects of the Ministry of Education, three provincial and ministerial-level comprehensive reform projects for undergraduate majors, five excellence talent training programs, and six provincial-level high-level courses.
TEACHING RESOURCES
The university library comprises two sites, Guanghan Campus and Tianfu Campus. It has established six civil aviation-themed databases focusing on flight training and aviation safety. In addition, it has collaborated with COMAC to create a special collection room for China’s domestically developed commercial aircraft.
CAFUC has a world-class aviation engine maintenance training center, which is the world's largest LEAP series engine training center and one of the four CFM global training centers.
CAFUC has a world-class academy for civil aviation inspector training.
CAFUC has the largest and most comprehensive general aviation maintenance base in China, which is an authorized maintenance center for the world's leading general aviation aircraft manufacturers.
CAFUC has the "High Altitude Aviation Safety Laboratory," recognized as the world's highest altitude lab with first-class performance.
CAFUC has the most advanced 360-degree panoramic tower control system in the country, along with a comprehensive examination and training system authorized by CAAC. We provide technical support and training to uphold China's civil aviation standards and legislation.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Undertake research and development projects in areas such as "opening low altitude airspace," and projects commissioned by government entities, industry partners, and scientific and technological associations.
Conduct training tasks for civil aircraft test pilots,police aviation pilots, civil aviation inspectors, and various industry management professionals.
Contribute to local economic development, organize air transportation production and general aviation flight support, participate in major tasks such as earthquake relief, forest firefighting, and weather modification.
Make use of our role to drive the development of the general aviation industry by providing solutions from CAFUC and hosting major events such as Sichuan International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition and ICAO’s RPAS Symposium and Drone Enable Symposium.
Support the development of a strong aviation nation and deepen strategic cooperation with enterprises including COMAC and AVIC.
Actively undertake the responsibility of targeted poverty alleviation and poverty elimination.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES AND COOPERATION
CAFUC has established extensive communication and cooperation relationships with international and regional civil aviation organizations, including ICAO and IATA. It also collaborates with civil aviation institutions and flight academies in countries and regions such as the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, and with renowned aviation manufacturers like Boeing, Airbus, General Electric, and International Aero Engines (IAE).
CAFUC is the first full-time university in Asia selected as a member of ICAO’s Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAP) and also a member of ICAO’s TRAINAIR PLUS Programme (TPP), the first fully qualified ICAO TPP member certified by ICAO in Asia.
PROGRAM FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
CAFUC has long relied on its advantages to actively respond to the Belt and Road Initiative and proactively integrate into the construction of the "Air Silk Road". Relying on the nation-level "Lancang-Mekong Cooperation" and the CAAC "Belt and Road" platforms, it has strengthened university-enterprise cooperation, supported and aligned with the strategic planning of the "going global" of domestic aircraft and major national overseas infrastructure projects, and vigorously carried out international training and academic education for international students in China.
Since the early 1960s, CAFUC has started to enroll government-sponsored international students. It has cultivated more than 1,000 civil aviation professionals including pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, air traffic controllers, flight dispatchers and flight attendants for the Belt and Road countries, providing talent support and intellectual backing for their civil aviation development.
TIANFU CAMPUS
The newly-built Tianfu Campus is located on Futian Street in the Future Science and Technology City of the Eastern New District, Chengdu, Sichuan, approximately 5 kilometers from Chengdu Tianfu International Airport. With a total investment of around 10 billion yuan, the campus covers an area of 1441 mu (approximately 96 hectares) and includes 12 research laboratories, 6 industry-level training bases, and Civil Aviation High Altitude Medical Research Center. It is designed to accommodate 25,000 students on campus by 2030.
Based on the civil aviation industry and dedicated to the nation’s blue skies, CAFUC is forging ahead with unwavering resolve toward the goal of building a world-class flight university with Chinese characteristics in the new era of development.
