Preparing the 'Little Eagles' to fly high

The program to produce flying cadets for the air force has taken off smoothly, writes Li Yang

Thirty-nine of the 100 junior middle school graduates enrolled in the quasi-military aviation training program in five key high schools across China four summers ago joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force as flying cadets last year. They are the first batch of pilots to emerge out of a new air force pilot training program that focuses on developing the instincts and thinking power of pilots from an early age.

The program has now been extended to more than 10 high schools and will admit 1,000 students this year, and the air force hopes to select about 400 flying cadets from the dozens of "Little Eagle Classes" when they graduate three years later.