More female pilots are joining the newly established Chinese Army Air Assault Brigade.
Chinese media reports that, more female pilots are receiving training to fly Z-20 and Z-10 helicopters in south-west China.
There are two key points in the report. One is there are roughly a dozen new generation female pilots receiving helicopter flight training.
The other one is the female pilots are going to fly the latest generation Chinese helicopters, like Z-20 mid-size utility helicopters. And some might fly Z-10 and Z-19 attack helicopters.
The reporter interviewed some female pilots, and they expressed the excitement and challenge of learning the latest helicopters.
Z-20 is a multi-purpose helicopter similar to UH-60, it is featured in the report, and two female pilots are flying it in the video. When these new pilots are on the ground, they are learning from supervisors of the unit.
It is worth noting this is a new air assault brigade of Chinese Army, clearly it is following what American Army have done in decades, equipped the elite force with large amount of helicopters, like Z-20 and Z-10, so they can maneuver fast across the battle field, and place their firepower and manpower at the exact key point on the battle field.
And in this case, woman-power as well, not just man.
The report mentioned a few new female pilots are exceling in the ranks. Considering it is quite physically challenging to fly a fighter jet, like J-10 or J-20, helicopters might be really good for Chinese female pilots to start their career.
The report also indicates that, these new female pilots all received 4 years of military training already, that means they did not start the Army career as pilots. Not a surprise as most people in China don’t have a chance to study flying, so new pilots are quite often selected from existing personnel already in the Army.
It is quite clear Chinese Army is trying to maximize the pool of pilots, no doubt more female pilots will be joining helicopter units soon.
Photo and video: Wiki common, China Army weibo, China Daily, CCTV weibo.
