Honored PLA pilot inspires younger Chinese

As a result, the new approach enabled his pilots to familiarize themselves with the aircraft in a shorter period of time, while also improving the efficiency of the training program, Du's superiors said.

In the Air Force's annual aerial combat contest in 2018 and the annual land-strike competition in 2019, Qiu cooperated with his backseat weapon operator to defeat a number of elite pilots from other Air Force units. He won the championship for the two top contests.