Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-09-15
Unlike most people in their 70s, Jin Shaozhi, a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, is keen on flying with self-made airplanes.
 |
| Jin Shaozhi flying the White Swan in Zhejiang. (Internet Photo) |
Unlike most people in their 70s, Jin Shaozhi, a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, is keen on flying with self-made airplanes.
Jin has
invested over US$30,000 and countless time training to assemble and pilot
planes over the last eight years. His latest work, the White Swan, can fly at
an altitude of 1000 meters, according to media in Hangzhou.
Jin was a
doctor before he retired several years ago. His penchant for planes started 30
years ago as a part-time model airplane trainer. The team he led won medlas at
national amateur model airplane competitions.
"To a
fan of model airplanes, the biggest dream is to actually fly a plane in the
sky," said Jin, who finally had all the time in the world to immerse
himself in the making and flying of airplanes after he retired.
Jin has
received flight trainings in various models. He has bought two sets of Bee 3C
model planes, one in 2007 and another in 2010. Bee 3C is mainly used for
agricultural purposes.
Later, he
started making his own planes from scratch. "If you know about model
airplanes, it is not hard to make a real plane that can fly," he said.
"All you have to do is just multiply the specifications of model planes by
six and assemble the parts according to the drawing."
Jin now
owns a self-assembled, US$16,000 gyroplane that he named the White Swan.
"Most of the parts are from hardware stores except for the engine, which
is a second-hand item purchased from overseas," said Jin. Theoretically
White Swan can fly at an altitude of 1,000 meters. To ensure safety, however, Jin
flies just around 500 meters.
According
to Jin, only few out of the many people capable of making planes end up flying
their own. There are only four in Zhejiang, and he is one of them.
A major
challenge for amateur flyers is to find a proper site to practice flying.
According to the aviation administration of China, private planes are not
permitted to fly without approval, so pilots are often banned from flying.
"We
would go to remote places, such as newly-paved roads not yet opened to the
public, for test flights," said Jin.
Jin has had
two accidents and was summoned to the Civil Aviation Administration of China
for questioning. One happened in 2008, when his first Bee 3C broke down during
a test flight and hit a small hill when landing. Fortunately, Jin was
unharmed.
On the
other test flight, he broke his leg. Nevertheless, his passion for flying has
never diminished.
No comments:
Post a Comment