Training process for female Chinese military pilots

Chinese female pilots must undergo a long, rigorous training process to carry the honor of being a "national asset".

A female pilot flies a Chinese JH-7 bomber. Photo: Chinese Air Force.

Yu Xu, China's first female fighter pilot, died during a training flight on November 12, a major loss for the country's air force, according to People's Daily.

The 30-year-old military pilot, born in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, is a member of the 1/8 aerobatic team of the Chinese air force. She is one of the few female pilots who can fly domestically produced fighter jets.
Before becoming pilots, Du and 15 other female teammates had to undergo rigorous training, considered by Chinese media to be "one in ten thousand" to become "national assets".

One out of ten thousand

China began recruiting female military pilots in 2005. By 2009, about 200,000 candidates from 12 provinces had come to Beijing to audition for its aerobatic team. Yu Xu was one of 35 women recruited as pilot cadets in this batch.

Female Chinese fighter pilots undergo rigorous physical training. Photo: Chinese Air Force.

Normally, female pilot students will enroll at the Chinese Air Force University or Pilot Academy. The day they enroll is the day their military age begins, and their families also enjoy policies for relatives of military personnel.

Despite being exempted from all tuition fees, Chinese female pilot students have to undergo very rigorous training. Due to the nature of flying fighter jets, they have to constantly practice and learn new fighter jets and adapt to weapon systems.

Every day, female pilot trainees must participate in training for at least 5 hours. Due to gender characteristics, female pilots' upper body and neck muscles are weaker than male pilots, while the maximum pressure when accelerating the plane can reach up to 9G, so female pilots must train very hard to graduate.

Every day they wake up at 4-5am, take off at 6-7am, study theory at noon, review in the evening, the level of muscle and brain consumption is quite large. Each time they fly, they can have to endure 5G of pressure, the pressure equivalent to 5 times their body weight.

"Without a strong spirit, you will never pass the exercises," said Ha Hieu Le, a female pilot who performed at Tiananmen Square in 2010. Ha is a female pilot who set a record of flying for more than 4.5 hours without side effects, a challenge that many of her male colleagues have not been able to overcome.

Yu Xu's class had only 16 people graduating after 4 years of training to become China's first female fighter pilots. Yu is also one of 4 Chinese female pilots who can fly third-generation fighters.

The salary of a newly graduated military pilot is said to be around 4,000 yuan (over 583 USD) per month. In addition, pilots also receive allowances based on flying hours. The income of military pilots is higher than other branches of the military, which is the dream of many soldiers, according to QQ.com.

'Use gold to cover'

Because the training process is so rigorous and expensive, the Chinese consider each pilot a valuable "national asset" to be "covered with gold".

Female military pilots like Yu Xu are considered even more valuable assets. During training, they receive the best possible diet in the military, and are given a month of recuperation each year. Singles are provided with fully furnished housing, and if they marry, their husbands can immediately join the army and have priority in job and housing arrangements.

Pilots of J-10, J-11, and J-11B fighter jets like Yu receive an allowance of 900 yuan per flight hour. With other benefits, the total annual income of a Chinese fighter pilot is 110,000-300,000 yuan ($16,146-$44,036).

The loss of a valuable female pilot like Yu Xu is considered a great shock to the Chinese air force. She is believed to have died after her J-10 collided with another aircraft during training. After parachuting out, she hit the other aircraft's wing and died.

China is one of the countries with the most female pilots. The country has trained 9 pilot courses with 545 female students, 328 of whom have graduated.

Currently, the Chinese Air Force has 52 female pilots, flying transport planes, fighter planes or flight instructors. Besides China, there are about 16 other countries that also use female pilots to fly military aircraft such as the US, UK, Germany, Spain, Israel...

According to VNE