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Chinese President Xi Jinping has honoured a veteran naval test pilot with a first-class merit award for defence science and technology.
The pilot, Yang Yong, who had previously been awarded seven second- and third-class merit awards, has been testing planes launched from the country’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian.
Yang featured in a documentary that aired this week on state broadcaster CCTV and described a life-threatening incident in which his plane lost pressure at an altitude of 10,000 metres (33,000 feet) following a leak in the cabin.
“If the aircraft does not descend, the cabin pressure will completely dissipate. If the pilot becomes incapacitated, the aircraft will lose control and [the situation will] become uncontrollable,” Yang said.
But he was not able to make an immediate descent because a civilian flight path lay directly below him, forcing him to maintain his course for 13 minutes before he could land.
“My physical sensations were getting worse, but unless instructed otherwise, we had to maintain our current altitude,” he said. “As I descended, my physical sensations gradually returned, including my hearing.”
He took part in test flights for the KJ-600, China’s first fixed-wing, carrier-based early warning aircraft, a programme in which many of his fellow aviators also encountered challenges.
The KJ-600 is engineered for catapult-assisted take-offs and arrested landings using the electromagnetic systems aboard the Fujian.
The aircraft successfully completed such trials on the carrier alongside J-15T fighters and fifth-generation J-35 stealth jets last September.
Yang spoke of the challenges he faced flying KJ-600s, adding: “We could not simply copy and paste our experience from flying fighter jets.”
“The early warning aircraft is huge, and the launch force must be surgically precise. In just a few seconds, the speed jumps from zero to hundreds of kilometres an hour, and the pilot is slammed into his seat,” he explained.
“When we completed the catapult launch on the ship, the initial reaction rate to handle the control stick was nearly one second. Towards the end, our data showed that the reaction time had to be only a fraction of a second.
“If comrades in the military encounter problems after launching, being able to regain control even a fraction of a second earlier can save the aircraft in critical moments.”
But he said landing on the carrier was more challenging than taking off.
“Early warning aircraft experience extremely high wind resistance and turbulent airflows can cause them to sway. The first carrier test encountered strong winds at sea, making it very hard to maintain a precise trajectory,” Yang told CCTV.


“The early warning aircraft’s slow speed and weak acceleration meant that improper handling could have serious consequences. The strong winds during the first test helped our overall test and I became more confident.”
Another instalment in the series, which aired on Saturday, the 99th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army, interviewed a pilot based on the Shandong aircraft carrier.
Wang Zhongyuan told CCTV about an incident in which he confronted a plane from an unnamed foreign country somewhere in the western Pacific.
He said he got the sense the other pilot was testing whether China’s carrier-based forces could hold their own in high-intensity situations.
“After several rounds of aerial manoeuvring, I successfully locked onto the opponent,” Wang said. “Whether in fighting spirit or aircraft control, in this close-quarters arena, I prevailed.”
Wang said he got the sense that to the other pilot it was “just a job” while he “just wanted to fight”.


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Military

PLA Navy flier Yang Yong tells state broadcaster he was forced to stay at altitude for several minutes despite the extreme danger he faced


PLA Navy flier Yang Yong tells state broadcaster he was forced to stay at altitude for several minutes despite the extreme danger he faced.


Xi Jinping

CCTV

Chinese test pilot who landed plane safely after cabin leak given first-class merit award

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}PLA Navy flier Yang Yong tells state broadcaster he was forced to stay at altitude for several minutes despite the extreme danger he faced

PLA Navy flier Yang Yong tells state broadcaster he was forced to stay at altitude for several minutes despite the extreme danger he faced