By Li Yun and Sun Luming
BEIJING, June 12 -- The Chinese PLA Navy has recently wrapped up the 15-hour-long real-equipment flight test for the fresh-college-graduate candidates in Qingyang, Gansu Province and Binzhou, Shandong Province, during the recent selection process of carrier-based aircraft pilots. This is the first time for the PLA Navy to apply real-equipment screening flight in recruitment of pilot cadets. And in the course of this event, China's first female carrier-based aircraft pilot will also be selected.
Real-equipment screening flight puts the candidates under long-time practical operation to screen out those with poor physical condition, spatial awareness and psychological quality at an early stage.
According to a naval pilot recruitment officer, all candidates of this year's test were fresh graduates majoring in science and engineering from key universities in China, who had earlier received the take-off and landing training for about 80 sorties in 15 hours.
This is the first time for the PLA Navy to select carrier-based aircraft pilot cadets directly from fresh college graduates, and also the first time to recruit female carrier-based pilot cadets. Their physical fitness in the aspects of understanding and memorizing, spatial awareness, balancing and state simulation shown in the real-equipment flight test will be comprehensively evaluated by the navy and civil aviation flight inspection experts, serving as the key reference to recruit the best examinee.
