Chinese female pilots make landmark solo flights
The first 10 female pilots of the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force recently completed their first solo flights, the PLA Ground Force announced last week.
The helicopter pilots were selected from high school graduates across the country in 2017 and will finish their training to join operational units in 2021, according to a statement by the PLA Ground Force.
The female pilots during their first solo flights at a Ground Force airport in Shanxi Province. The 10 students are the first batch of airwomen trained by the People's Liberation Army Ground Force.
Though the Chinese air force has enrolled female pilots since 1951, the 10 women are the first to be trained by the Ground Force to become aviators.
The service has had some female pilots in its aviation units, but they were former PLA Air Force pilots flying fixed-wing planes, according to media reports.
