On August 20, the 85-year-old Wang Deshun broke through many "checkpoints" and completed all the flight subjects at Mujiayu Airport in Miyun in only 3 months, successfully obtained his flight license, and realized his blue sky dream. He not only broke the record of the oldest age of china's flight cadets, but also broke people's inherent impression of "old people".
At the age of 85, he learned to fly first and passed the medical examination
"107F, 20 ready, request to take off."
"Runway 107F, 20 can take off."
With the command of the tower, Wang Deshun, who was piloting the SW100 light aircraft, released the brakes and pushed the throttle, and the aircraft gradually accelerated along the runway under his control, and when the instrument indicated that the gliding speed had reached the conditions for take-off, he pulled the operating lever, and the aircraft rushed to the sky with its head held high.
As the heights continued to rise, the people and buildings on the ground shrank like pulling lenses. Under the instructions of the instructor, Wang Deshun completed the flight actions such as climbing, turning, and descending in the air. He had the joystick in his hands, the plane was "obedient" to the extreme, and he felt a freedom he had never felt on the ground.
"At such an old age, is it safe to fly an airplane?" Knowing that Wang Deshun wants to learn to fly an airplane, many people have questioned it.
"Although there is no maximum age limit for applying for a private flight license, there are very strict requirements for physical fitness, and a formal medical examination certificate is required." For Wang Deshun, who is 85 years old, passing the physical examination can be described as a twist and turn.
When Wang Deshun came to the aviation personnel physical examination and appraisal center for physical examination, one of them was to sit on a rotating chair and continue to rotate, and after stopping, he needed to stand up and walk in a straight line, and he also had to immediately distinguish between east, west, south, and north, and say his ID card number. Wang Deshun answered all the questions clearly and successfully passed the second-class physical examination based on the pilot.
However, at the chief physician's signature, he encountered the first problem. "How old are you?" The doctor looked at the medical examination form and looked at the white-haired old man in front of him in disbelief.
"85 years old."
"85 years old, what are you flying?" Does your family agree? ”
"I wanted to fly a plane, and my family agreed."
Such an old man is still the first one to do a physical examination for aviation personnel. The doctor was still a little worried and hesitant about Wang Deshun's physical condition, and did not immediately sign the physical examination pass, but asked him to do another tablet test. In order to successfully pass the test, Wang Deshun soaked in the gym every day to train, and finally successfully got the doctor's signature.
Next, the medical examination report was sent to the Civil Aviation Authority for review. The staff of the Civil Aviation Administration was also surprised by Wang Deshun's age, and for safety reasons, he was asked to increase urine tests, echocardiography and nuclide tests.
Lying on the examination bed, the doctor asked Wang Deshun: "How does your heart feel?" "Nothing uncomfortable, I came here for a driver's license." The doctor smiled and asked, "You're so old, do you still want to drive?" ”
"I'm not going to drive, I'm going to fly." Wang Deshun's answer surprised the doctor even more: "Is it really fake?" Don't say you're 85 years old, many young people will find out what's wrong with this test. ”
However, a few days later, Wang Deshun's heart test report came out, and the results showed that "no abnormalities were seen." He handed the test report to the Civil Aviation Administration and finally obtained a medical examination certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Administration.
After one inspection after another, Wang Deshun finally became a flight cadet of a general aviation company in Miyun with good physical fitness.
"Retreat" 80 days of hard learning to fly
After passing the medical examination, greater challenges are yet to come. In the face of a thick stack of professional books such as engine principles, aerodynamics, aircraft structure, meteorology, Chinese and English tower dialogues, Wang Deshun sighed: "This is too difficult! I hadn't touched this knowledge at all before. ”
However, only 60 points in theoretical knowledge can be qualified for boarding operations. In order to break through this barrier, Wang Deshun became the only "residential student" in the Flight Academy. In addition to eating and sleeping, he spends the rest of his day reading books, and even memorizes words while walking.
As I get older, my memory is not as good as before. But compared with those young students, Wang Deshun has a more serious learning attitude. With the spirit of not accepting defeat, after 30 days of closed study, he passed the theoretical examination with an excellent score of 82 points.
Next, it entered the flight practice stage. The day before boarding, Wang Deshun was excited. But when he sat in the cockpit for the first time, facing the complex data on the dashboard and screen in front of him, and dozens of manipulation buttons, his brain was blindfolded. "These theories on the ground school clearly remember very clearly, and as soon as I got on the computer, my brain was blank and my hands were busy." Wang Deshun was full of thoughts about the flight theory and points in the book, nervous and sweaty, and soaked the back of the seat.
"It wasn't you who was flying the plane, it was the plane that was manipulating you." Remembering the scene at that time, Wang Deshun smiled and said that during the flight, the angle, speed, altitude, and heading of the aircraft need to be paid attention to at all times, and he has no intention of appreciating the scenery outside, let alone enjoying the pleasure of flying. Although the instructor can control the plane at the same time as learning to drive a car, he still grips the grappling rod so nervously that the coach "scolds" and says, "You want to break the handle of the airplane?" ”
After practicing for 4 lessons, Wang Deshun still did not find the feeling of flying, and could not even fly the plane along the yellow line on the runway, but turned around like a snake. He sent a "distress" text message to the dean: "I feel very difficult, I still can't control the plane. Please think of a way to save me, this old man, I can't give up halfway! ”
After the study of the coaching team, the coach changed the teaching method - first let Wang Deshun specialize in the project of walking the yellow line. Under the guidance of the coach, Wang Deshun finally practiced more and more, the corners became smaller and smaller, and after a day of training, he could finally make the plane go straight. "I found that flying an airplane is like driving a car, it is a skilled type of work, there is no too difficult skill, it needs to be practiced repeatedly."
The dean also sent a message encouraging him: "Excellent pilots need to go through thousands of hours of training, don't lose confidence, continue to refuel!" ”
Once, when Wang Deshun was flying the plane, due to the wrong angle of heading, the plane dives downward at a very fast speed, but he is completely unaware. Only to hear the instructor shout: "If you fly again, you will be stuck in the reservoir!" Immediately, with a snap, he took over the joystick and climbed the plane to the specified altitude as fast as he could. Wang Deshun's heart suddenly mentioned the throat eye, "I didn't realize the danger at that time..." "Where is the flight to 204!" The coach criticized him in a harsh tone he had never had before. In this way, after each flight training, Wang Deshun will summarize and reflect on the lessons learned and propose ways to improve the problem.
After 15 hours of flight training, Wang Deshun gradually mastered the method of controlling the aircraft and was able to control the lifting and descending of the aircraft at will. "It wasn't until then that I found the feeling of enjoying flying." Wang Deshun said that flying in the air is not a simple and fun thing, it requires enough courage, patience, care and concentration. A lot of things, from interest to doing well, require a lot of effort.
After 30 days of theoretical study and 50 days of flight training, Wang Deshun ushered in the final exam. With his outstanding performance, he completed all the subjects of the sports driver's license assessment.
When Wang Deshun, who was wearing a pilot's uniform, confidently stepped off the plane, the instructors and students in the audience gave him warm applause. In this challenge with himself, he once again reached the end of victory, as before.
I have been challenging myself all my life
When Wang Deshun was young, he worked as a conductor and a worker. Uneasy with the status quo, he studied while working and became a drama actor. At the age of 49 he became a "North Drifter", specializing in pantomime and creating the art of "living sculpture" at the age of 57.
"Live to be old, toss to old!" Wang Deshun can be said to have interpreted this sentence to the extreme, at the age of 65 he learned to ride a horse, learned to ride a motorcycle at the age of 78, went on the catwalk at the age of 79, learned to DJ at the age of 80, and drove an airplane at the age of 85 to complete the blue sky dream... Wang Deshun has always been on the road of challenging himself. He said that he likes to challenge by nature, but the basis of all this is that he has good physical fitness.
Despite being 85 years old, Wang Deshun still maintains a healthy figure, with a straight posture and a vigorous spirit, and the tight muscle lines of his arms and legs are very conspicuous. He started exercising at the age of 50, and that persistence was 35 years. Every day from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., it is Wang Deshun's "thunder and thunder" fitness time. Years of fitness habits have also given him the courage to think and dare to do and challenge all new things.
Someone asked Wang Deshun: "Octogenarians can spend their old age in peace, stay at home with their children and grandchildren, and enjoy the joys of the world; or lie on the beach and bask in the sun, raise up the years, and spend the rest of their quiet lives, isn't it good?" ”
"It's a good choice and a normal way of life. But I am a person who is born as an 'active factor', I don't want a normal life, I want to do my own thing, regardless of what others say. I still have a dream to do, and I still have to pursue a happy life! Wang Deshun replied firmly, "Age is not old, it is decided by God, we can't influence it; but the mentality of old age is decided by yourself, and the criterion for judging is to see if you dare to try what you have not done." When you want to say 'too late,' you have to be cautious because it could just be an excuse for you to back off. It's never too late to do what you want. I hope that more people can do what you want to do, don't be afraid of challenges, dare to try, maybe you can succeed! ”
Some of the photos were provided by LeXiang Airlines