71-year-old flies self-made planes in China

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-09-15

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.