Yesterday morning, a real airplane made its appearance on the campus of NO.1 Middle School Affiliated to Central China Normal University (HSY), which caused a sensation among students. As students gathered to admire the spectacle on campus, they wondered where the aircraft had come from. As a matter of fact, it is a retired attack aircraft donated by Guangzhou Selection Center of Air Force Recruitment Bureau for teaching purpose.

This year, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force has started recruiting student pilots at 16 schools in 11 provinces. HSY is proud to become one of them. According to Zhou Pengcheng, principal of the school, 35 boy students have been selected to form an aeronautical class, which is the first one in HSY history.

Zhou Bin, head teacher of the aeronautical class, told the reporter that the plane was a single-seat twin-engine strike aircraft produced by Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Plant in 1956. “It is a retired air force plane, not a scrapped one. The weapon system of the plane is still alive. It can directly lift-off if refueled,” Zhou explained.

The public display of an air force plane on campus is undoubtedly a thrill for HSY students. Among them those from the aeronautical class are especially inspired. “I’m so excited to see a real warplane for the first time in my life. I’d like to experience flying in the sky and become an excellent pilot in the future,” said Yu Jiahao, a student from the aeronautical class.