Leading the six-man F-16 fighter flight demonstration team is Senior Lieutenant Colonel Li Meiyi, captain of the 140th Squadron, and one of her wingman pilots is Lieutenant Colonel Wang Ruichuan, a combat-ready soldier. This year's Singapore National Day celebrations saw a female

Author: Ma Huaqing

The leader of the six-man F-16 fighter flight demonstration team is Senior Lieutenant Colonel Li Meiyi (right), captain of the 140th Squadron. One of her wingmen pilots is Lieutenant Colonel Wang Ruichuan (left), a combat-ready soldier. . (Photo by Liang Qilin) ​​

At this year’s Singapore National Day celebrations, a female pilot served as captain for the first time in the fighter jet flight display.

To celebrate the 57th anniversary of the founding of Singapore , the Singapore Air Force will dispatch 15 aircraft on National Day to bring a wonderful flight performance to the audience. This includes a series of thrilling flight maneuvers such as Double Shackle, high-speed turning and vertical climb, Apache combat attack, and a national flag salute.

The Singapore Air Force will dispatch 15 aircraft on National Day to bring wonderful flight performances to the audience, including a series of thrilling flight actions such as double shackle cross flight, high-speed turning and straight upward sprint of two aircraft, Apache combat attack, etc. , as well as the national flag salute session. (Morning Post Chart)

Leading the six-person F-16 fighter flight demonstration team is Senior Lieutenant Colonel Li Meiyi (37 years old), leader of the 140th Squadron. This year is her second time to participate in the Singapore National Day celebration flight demonstration since 2015.

Li Meiyi said in an interview that the accuracy required for flight performances is different from that of usual flight training, and the perspective of the audience on the ground must be taken into account. In order to bring the best visual experience to the audience, the aerobatic team also arranged for subordinates to shoot videos at the National Day celebration during the preview to analyze the flight posture and route and obtain timely feedback.

Although female pilots have participated in the National Day celebration flight performances in the past, Li Meiyi feels very honored to be the first female captain of the fighter flight demonstration team. "This shows that the Singapore Air Force is indeed gender-neutral."

Two F-16 fighter jets will also perform high-speed turns and straight upward sprints for the first time. This difficult flight maneuver has been used in previous National Day celebrations. , completed by just one fighter jet.

Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Selva, vice chairman of the Air Force Flight Performance Committee, revealed that unlike previous years of arranging alternate aircraft to be on standby in the air, all aircraft participating in the air show this year will be on display.

In addition, the Armed Forces announced earlier that the CH-47F heavy-lift helicopter that will replace the CH-47D Chinook helicopter will also meet the public for the first time. Navy frogmen will jump from a CH-47F into the waters of Marina Bay during the civil defense demonstration.

Captain Huang Yanwei (35 years old), an Apache helicopter pilot from the 120th Squadron, said that during the National Day celebration, the audience will be presented with stunts such as a 60-degree elevation angle and "deep dive", similar to the flight performances presented by Singapore Air Show .

Three Chinook helicopters fly over neighborhoods with national flags

On Singapore’s National Day, three giant national flags will be flown on three Chinook helicopters, flying over different neighborhoods across the country. To ensure nothing goes wrong, the Air Force will also prepare a total of 15 huge national flags at three different locations that day.

Each giant flag requires a group of 25 people and takes 40 minutes to two hours to roll up. Preparatory work began gradually as early as September last year, with up to 300 regular soldiers, full-time national servicemen and combat-ready soldiers participating.

Captain Ye Yucheng (26), a CH-47 helicopter pilot from 127 Squadron, said: "We hope to make the national flag closer to the hearts of Singaporeans, especially during this COVID-19 epidemic."

is from the same squadron and is responsible for flying the flag. The captain of the national flag team, Liu Weibin (46 years old), a third-level military expert, said: "Seeing the national flag flying in the sky, I feel very proud and satisfied."

The National Day flight mission went smoothly, and the ground personnel also played an important role.Lieutenant Hong Xueying (24 years old), an air traffic controller from the 206 Squadron, said that Singapore’s airspace is very small. In addition to issuing instructions to the helicopter pilot, she also has to maintain close communication with the Meteorological Bureau and the radar center to ensure that there are no emergencies during the flight.

Lieutenant Colonel Ong Swee Chuan, a Singapore combat readiness pilot, retired in 2014. This year is the second time since 2015 that he has participated in the National Day celebration air show. (File photo)

Combat-ready pilot Wang Ruichuan: Only after watching Top Gun did my two daughters know what I do...

Combat-ready soldiers can be recalled to the camp for up to 40 days of training every year. Combat-ready pilots whose communication call sign is "Sushi" Lieutenant Colonel Wang Ruichuan (50 years old) returns to the camp for training every year for 40 days.

He was an experienced fighter pilot when he left the Air Force eight years ago.

In order to maintain the technical level of flying F-16 fighter jets, Wang Ruichuan, who currently works as a pilot for a low-cost airline in Singapore, must return to the camp for training four or five times a month.

This year is his second time to participate in the National Day celebration flight show after 2015. In an interview, he said that in preparation for this year's National Day celebration air show, he had to frequently return to the camp for training and change shifts with his colleagues. However, as more and more people travel abroad, the civil aviation industry has become increasingly busy. But even though he had to balance military duties and daily work, he still enjoyed it.

Wang Ruichuan believes that high-speed sharp turns are the most challenging. "Our bodies have to withstand a lot of gravity (G-force). For example, a 50-kilogram person will bear a gravity of 9G, which is 450 kilograms. Your body will be unable to move in the cabin. Since we are flying at low altitude, we must also pay attention to obstacles. "

Because he is passionate about fighter jet flying, he applied for an extension of his military readiness obligation for three more years last year to continue teaching flying experience to future generations.

Wang Ruichuan said with a smile that his two daughters originally neither cared about nor understood his mission as a fighter pilot.

“Thanks to the movie Top Gun: Maverick, they took a keen interest in my life as a fighter pilot and kept asking me questions. I was delighted to be able to attend this year’s National Day celebrations and my daughters saw I’m actually doing something similar to the movie “