Three female pilots shared their encouraging stories at a salon during the World Fly-in Expo (WFE) held in Wuhan on Nov 4.
Liang Hong holds a private pilot license issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. She travelled around the world with her husband, Zhang Xinyu, and at the salon recalled her memories of flying across continents and oceans.
The couple, the stars of online travel show On the Road, spent five months flying 60,000 kilometers in a Y-12－a twin-engine turboprop utility aircraft.
Starting from Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang province in January this year, the couple travelled across five continents, 23 countries, and three oceans, encountering some of the world's most breathtaking scenery.
Liang was copilot and responsible for communicating with ground control.
To prepare, Liang completed a six-month training course to learn about night flying, plane maintenance and how to handle complex weather conditions.
Liang said that only about 300 people are thought to have completed a round-the-world flight, and that she and her husband were the first to do it in a Chinese-made plane. She is also the first female to have piloted a Y-12 over such distances.
In 2013, they began recording On the Road to document their adventures, which became popular with viewers on video-streaming websites in China.
At the salon, Fu Wenyu shared her inspiring story with the audience.
"I had never seen a real airplane before 23, and I never dreamed of becoming a pilot in my life before," said Fu during the event.
Born in a village in east China's Fujian province, Fu becomes the first female Chinese aircraft commander in the United States.
After college, she had a good job in China, but chose to study in the United States and became a flight attendant with Northwest Airlines.
She said that she was astonished when she saw a female pilot in the cabin during a flight and only then did the idea that pilots are not all male cross her mind.
After that, Fu studied for years and got her pilot license, growing into an experienced aviation coach and commercial flight commander.
Fu has turned out to be a legendary figure and a role model for many young women.
She said that women should hold their dreams in their heart and know that females can be pilots too.
Chen Jingxian, a lawyer, also told the audience about her experience of traveling around the world in her airplane in four months aross 26 counties and 40,000 kilometers.
The salon was one of the WFE events featuring aviation culture and promoting it to the public.
