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2011年3月，随着一组名为“中国最美女机长”的照片在网上疯传，人们在惊叹主人公的美丽容貌和飒爽英姿之余，也对这位不到29岁的女孩充满了好奇：她如何从一名普通大学生蝶变成了“云朵上的金领”？作为中国国际航空公司历史上80后女机长，她的生活又是怎样的？
把握机遇，女大学生激活“飞天”梦
杭州萧山国际机场待飞区，一位年轻漂亮的女孩坐在飞机驾驶舱内，静候塔台的指令。几分钟后，塔台发令：“A321，可以进入跑道。”女孩回答：“可以起飞，A321。”她用纤细的手轻推推杆，发动机加油，机轮缓缓驶向跑道。随着女孩一系列动作娴熟的操作，这个机身长度达44.51米、自重60多吨的“庞然大物”，转眼间拔地而起，呼啸着飞向蓝天。
这就是“中国最美女机长”的一个工作侧影。她叫王峥，1982年出生在北京一个普通家庭。王峥现在是“国航”浙江分公司第九飞行大队空客A321机型的一名机长，也是国航历史上第一位女机长，并且最年轻。
从小聪慧的王峥，始终对一些特别的东西充满好奇，在别的女孩都琢磨着如何给小布娃娃穿衣服时，她却告诉父母，自己喜欢飞机，理想是开着飞机翱翔蓝天！直到上高中时王峥才了解到，只有男飞行员才能飞上蓝天。
直到2003年7月，一些拥有“飞天”梦想的女孩终于看到了曙光：国航在飞行员的选拔中，首次打破只招收男生的金科玉律，女孩也可以驾驶飞机了！报纸上的这条消息，迅速“激活”了王峥沉寂多年的梦想。尽管当时已经是一名大二学生，学的专业是与航天毫不沾边的电子信息技术，但她还是怀着“试着去做才能成功”的心态，瞒着父母悄悄报了名。
“每个项目测试之后都有女孩哭着被淘汰掉，相当残酷。”说起当初的严格筛选，王峥感慨不已。要被选拔为女飞行员，除了身高要在1.65米到1.75米之间，其他要求与男飞行员没有任何不同。招飞对象都要经过苛刻的筛选程序，标尺近乎完美。首先是上百项检查，身体合格后还要通过注意力、分配能力、手脚协调能力等飞行素质方面的选拔，之后是心理能力的测试，最后还要例行政审，其中任何一项有微小的不符都将被刷掉。
直到与国航签订合同之前，王峥才打电话告诉家人，说自己即将被送进中国航空学院学习飞行专业。最初，王峥的父母并不支持她的选择,觉得飞行员是一个高危职业，女孩子还是在办公室里稳稳当当的比较好。但王峥已经下定了圆梦的决心，见劝说无效，父母也只好尊重她的选择。
王峥原本一直是个安静、纤柔的女孩。但成了飞行学员后，她刻意让自己经常跟男学员一起跑步、打球、爬山，和他们打成一片。渐渐地，这位娇柔美女变得性格沉稳、意志坚定，身上还多了一股男孩子般的韧劲。她明白，飞行员一直是男人的领域，女孩子想在这个行业有所成就，就得付出更多的努力。除了加强锻炼身体，磨砺性格，王峥每天还要背航空理论、航行法规、外语、气象等相关知识，一天常常只睡4个小时。“这个专业非同寻常，民航飞行员，责任大过天，必须刻苦学习才行。”王峥认真地说。
浪漫刺激，云朵上收获别样经历
2004年12月，王峥和另两名女孩在国内学完理论课后，又被派到美国SPARTAN公司接受试飞训练。该公司成立于1928年，堪称民航界的“西点军校”，曾培养出包括美国前总统老布什在内的许多飞行员。
登机演练是一对一进行的。一次，美国教练瑞恩带王峥操练盲降。他们的盲降并非是在夜间进行，而是钻进能见度为零的云层。平时没有钻云的机会，教学规则也不允许，这时练着练着，年轻女孩爱玩的心就露出来了，王峥请示瑞恩说：“我想摸摸窗外的云彩，很小时我就有过抚摸白云的愿望。”教练觉得好笑，说：“那不就是水吗？有什么好摸的？”王峥笑着说：“我就是想摸摸它。”
教学规则是不允许飞行中打开舷窗的，但或许是王峥的浪漫情怀感染了教练，一向严厉的他竟然破天荒地“开明”了一次，说：“那你就摸一下吧。”
这种机型驾驶舱左前方有个拳头大小的副窗，王峥小心翼翼打开它，把手伸了出去。浓重的云雾在她五指间掠过，冰冷，但很爽，想想世间有多少人能摸到天上的云彩？她不由幸福地喊叫：“我抚摸过云朵了！”一串欢快的笑声飘荡在云层中。
第一次试驾飞机，面对复杂的仪表盘，过度兴奋的王峥有点手忙脚乱，双手根本不够用。她几乎忘记了此前烂熟于心的一切理论。在美国教练瑞恩的口令下，油门推杆被王峥推到了头，发动机的轰鸣声顿时大了起来，飞机迅速向前蹿去。随着教练的“起飞”口令，王峥用力地把操纵杆一拉，机头一下子高高地翘了起来，向天际冲去。开始几次，王峥每一次飞下来都是一身汗。熬过了适应期，王峥驾驶飞机的技术日臻娴熟。
2006年5月，SPARTAN公司第一次让王峥独自操控教练机。飞行员首次飞行最难的是过起落关,因为飞行最容易出事故的就是起飞和降落时的3分钟。而对于起落这一关，王峥却做得近乎完美。异国教练欣慰地说：“就算是一名老飞行员，也只能做到如此了。”单飞过关后,王峥又一鼓作气通过了私人驾照、商用驾照和仪表理论三大考试,成为这一届最早完成所有课程的学员。
回国后，王峥进入国航浙江分公司开始上飞机跟飞。
2007年初，王峥迎来了她人生中的“处女航”，以副驾驶身份从杭州飞上海。当经历过许多的付出，终于能驾驶着大型客机展翅高飞，王峥激动的心情不言而喻。当天，王峥标准的动作、对起落的精确控制，让她身边的老机长都感到惊讶，感叹道：“你这丫头，有天分！”
敬业最美丽，“80后”女机长走红网络
因飞行技术精湛，对工作认真负责、一丝不苟，2010年7月，已累积飞行了2700多小时 (对机长的“硬件”要求) 的王峥，被公司提拔为责任机长。这不仅意味着她的年薪翻了近三倍，而且以后还可以独立带领副手驾驶飞机，并全权指挥一架客机上的所有事务。
但升“官”后不久，王峥却经历了一场生死考验。2010年初冬的一天，她执飞一趟从杭州到北京的大型客机，当天北京有雾，但不影响降落。谁知，当飞机在首都机场附近下降至1000英尺时，王峥突然发现，两侧仪表的飞行指引不一致，航向相差约15度，左侧仪表此时也无法截获地面发来的盲降信息。飞机驾驶舱内有两套相同的操作系统，相互之间是联动的，由机长(左座)和副驾驶同步操作。两套驾驶系统必须保持完全一致，才能保证飞行安全，一旦出现失误，后果不堪设想。
身为主驾驶的王峥一下紧张起来，这到底该信哪一套仪表？此时飞机正在下降，按规定，飞机下降到离地面295英尺时，如果还看不到机场跑道，就必须“复飞”上天，改落其他机场。眼看就要到达这个高度了，王峥心跳如擂鼓。她一遍遍命令自己：一定要冷静，冷静。
关键时刻，这位女机长果断决定“复飞”，同时联系地面雷达，等待引导，一边做“检查单”（按照每一个飞行程序的详细步骤，检查一遍操作上是否有遗漏）。飞机上升到3000英尺的高度盘旋着，她判断可能是左侧的惯性导航系统故障，把导航电门转至右侧，终于收到了盲降信息！
整个降落过程，驾驶舱里惊心动魄。但客舱里有人在打盹儿，有人在聊天，大多数客人只知飞机因雾延时了。一场生死攸关的大考验，由于机长冷静处理，最终化险为夷。当飞机稳稳地在首都机场停下来，乘客们轻松地走出客舱时，王峥长长地舒了一口气，紧绷着的神经这才松弛了下来。再看外面雾中的北京，她觉得格外美丽。
有时飞机平稳地落地以后，旅客下飞机时会由衷地跟乘务长说“机长今天飞得真棒”。当他们发现，从驾驶舱走出的居然是一个20多岁的姑娘时，不由惊呼：“天！还是位年轻女机长啊，真了不起！”
穿上制服的王峥英姿勃发、漂亮干练，经常会有乘客索要她的电话，与她合影，甚至请她签名。有一次下机加油时，一位搬运工人专门过来要求用手机给她拍个照片，要激励家中的小女儿积极上进，长大了像她一样！这激发了王峥作为一名国航女机长的荣誉感和责任感。
尽管父母很希望女儿多陪陪他们，一起过个节日，但他们说得最多的一句话就是“你放心去飞吧，家里一切都安好”。渐渐地，家里的节假日就完全跟王峥的工作联系在了一起，她什么时候回来，一家人就什么时候“过节”。
王峥说平时她的空闲并不多，飞行的航前准备和航后总结也要一定的时间，很多时候还要在异地过夜，加上不断的业务学习。一旦有点属于自己的时间，她也会像一般女孩那样，喜欢看电视和逛街购物，以及寻找各地的美食美景。这位“金领”机长的生活，过得简单而快乐。
2011年3月，不知哪位“粉丝”把王峥的一组工作照传到了网络上，很快就被疯狂转载。“英姿飒爽”、“给力”、“养眼”等赞誉之词随之涌来。王峥怎么也想不到，常年飞在蓝天上的她很少抛头露面，竟也能走红网络，并被网友们冠以“中国最美女机长”的称号。□
Young Female Captain Takes off
By Bi Yuntian
Wang Zheng, a 29-year-old female captain with Zhejiang Branch of Air China stationed at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, flies Airbus 321 now. She is Air China’s first female captain and the youngest captain of both genders.
Born into an ordinary family in Beijing in 1982, Wang as a little girl cherished a hope of flying airplanes. While other girls loved dolls she loved airplanes and the sky. She grew up with the dream of piloting an airplane, but the dream crashed in her second senior high school year when she finally learned that only males would have an opportunity to be pilots. It was not until July 2003 when she was 21 and a sophomore majoring in electronics technology that she heard of the great news that Air China was recruiting women candidates for pilots. She signed up with Air China but kept her parents in the dark.
The selection procedure was extremely strict for a woman candidate. A successful candidate must stand between 1.65 and 1.75 meters tall and she must satisfy all other requirements as strict as those for a man candidate. She went through near 100 physical tests successfully. Then she passed tests of her concentration capability and eye-hand coordination capability. Then she passed the psychology tests. Routine security check was a must. The professional aptitude test was torturing. In one of the tests, you sit in a chair. The chair spins clockwise several dozens times and then it turns anticlockwise equal times. As soon as the chair stops spinning, you are supposed to stand up and walk straightforward. Of more than 300 women applicants, only Wang Zheng and two others passed all the tests. Probably she was born with a perfect physique for flying and her teen-age dream of becoming a pilot was a telltale indicator.
Before she was going to sign a contract with Air China for a pilot course study at the Civil Aviation University of China, Wang Zheng revealed all of this to her parents. Her parents raised their concerns, thinking flying in the sky would be too risky and the best job for their daughter would be an office work down on earth. But Wang Zheng was adamant. Her parents finally agreed to let her try.
A quiet girl in high school, Wang Zheng did not stand out in sports. But as soon as she was recruited into the pilot course, she knew she needed changing herself. The study was grueling. More often than not, she slept only four hours a day in order to stay on the track.
By December 2004, she had finished all the classroom studies. She went with two other girls to get hands-on training at Spartan, a pilot training company in USA, which in the aviation industry is considered something like West Point Academy for USA army. In May 2006, she first successfully piloted a trainer independently. Before long, she passed three key qualification examinations and acquired a private pilot license and a commercial pilot license. She was the first among the whole batch of pilot students that passed all the examinations.
Back in China, she was assigned to Hangzhou-based Zhejiang Branch of Air China. The first day she put on her pilot uniform and looked at herself in the mirror, she was so proud and happy that she found herself looking extremely smart and handsome.
Her first flight was a short one: a 180-kilometer journey from Shanghai to Hangzhou. She worked as a copilot, her performance accurate and effective. The captain was deeply impressed by the young female pilot’s efficiency and proficiency, commenting that the girl was indeed talented.
She was happy to fly and gradually she got to understand why airlines now want women pilots. As technology improves, piloting a jumbo jet is no longer a huge demand on physical build. Women pilots have their advantages: they are more careful and sharp-eyed for possible mistakes and hidden defects and they are good at hundreds of buttons and switches.
One summer day in 2009, Wang Zheng flew from Hangzhou to Bangkok. After the plane landed, she did the routine check around the plane on the ground to see if there was any anomaly. She noticed some water dripping from a wastewater outlet at the bottom of the fuselage. She asked the ground technicians where the water was coming from. The ground technicians said stewardesses might be draining water from the kitchen. Wang Zheng was careful. She boarded the plane and checked. The water was not coming from the kitchen. She came back and watched more carefully. The water kept running. She reported the anomaly to the captain by phone. The captain ordered a thorough examination. Under the kitchen is a small cabin for more than 50 computers. When the door of the cabin was opened, the ground technicians were astonished to find a large pool of water on the floor as a water pipe passing through the computer cabin had broken. The water would not cause any danger when the plane was on ground. But it could flood some computers in the cabin when the plane climbed up at a steep angle in its takeoff. The hidden disaster was fixed thanks to Wang Zheng.
By July 2010, Wang Zheng had flown more than 2,700 hours and she graduated to captainship that month. That means she now commands an airplane and she has her own copilot.
She has had her share of emergencies. She piloted a large passenger plane from Hangzhou to Beijing one early winter day in 2010. It was foggy in Beijing, but the weather allowed touchdown. While the plane was smoothly descending toward the runway, Wang Zheng suddenly found the instruments on either side of her were telling a different story. The instruments on the left side failed to catch the blind landing information from the ground controller.
She knew it was an emergency. If the plane descended to 295 feet above the runway and she did not have the signal, she must get the plane up again. The 295 feet mark was fast approaching. She decided to get the plane up. The plane went up to 3,000 feet and circled above the airport while she tried to contact the ground radar and checked the landing checklist again to see whether anything had been missed. After diagnosing that the inertia guidance system was out of order, she switched the control to the right side and the plane immediately received the blind landing signal. The passengers were unaware of the emergency, though they knew the flight would be late to arrive in Beijing due to the heavy fog. When the plane finally stood still and passengers began to file out, Wang felt relieved. Looking at the night scene at the foggy airport, she felt it was beautiful.
Passengers are always amazed when they find the captain is a girl in her late 20s. Some passengers want her telephone number. Many want to pose with her for a photo. Once the plane touched down for refueling, an airport porter came over and photographed her on his cell phone. The porter explained that he wanted to show his daughter what women could achieve. That moment made Wang Zheng especially proud.
As a captain, Wang Zheng runs a busy schedule. Since she became a pilot four years ago, she has never stayed home for holidays and festivals. She is busy during holidays and festivals. And whenever she works, she shuts down her cell phone so that she can concentrate on her job. Her parents adjust their holidays and festivals according to her work schedule. Holidays and festivals are when she is home. She does not have much time for herself. She is often away from home and she attends regular training. But she still finds time to do shopping and watch television series.
In March 2011, someone uploaded a group of photos showing Wang Zheng working as a captain. She found herself catapulting to the national fame overnight. She observes that as China now lacks pilots, some Chinese airliners employ foreign captains and pilots. She says her success would encourage more young women to dream of flying.□
把握机遇，女大学生激活“飞天”梦
杭州萧山国际机场待飞区，一位年轻漂亮的女孩坐在飞机驾驶舱内，静候塔台的指令。几分钟后，塔台发令：“A321，可以进入跑道。”女孩回答：“可以起飞，A321。”她用纤细的手轻推推杆，发动机加油，机轮缓缓驶向跑道。随着女孩一系列动作娴熟的操作，这个机身长度达44.51米、自重60多吨的“庞然大物”，转眼间拔地而起，呼啸着飞向蓝天。
这就是“中国最美女机长”的一个工作侧影。她叫王峥，1982年出生在北京一个普通家庭。王峥现在是“国航”浙江分公司第九飞行大队空客A321机型的一名机长，也是国航历史上第一位女机长，并且最年轻。
从小聪慧的王峥，始终对一些特别的东西充满好奇，在别的女孩都琢磨着如何给小布娃娃穿衣服时，她却告诉父母，自己喜欢飞机，理想是开着飞机翱翔蓝天！直到上高中时王峥才了解到，只有男飞行员才能飞上蓝天。
直到2003年7月，一些拥有“飞天”梦想的女孩终于看到了曙光：国航在飞行员的选拔中，首次打破只招收男生的金科玉律，女孩也可以驾驶飞机了！报纸上的这条消息，迅速“激活”了王峥沉寂多年的梦想。尽管当时已经是一名大二学生，学的专业是与航天毫不沾边的电子信息技术，但她还是怀着“试着去做才能成功”的心态，瞒着父母悄悄报了名。
“每个项目测试之后都有女孩哭着被淘汰掉，相当残酷。”说起当初的严格筛选，王峥感慨不已。要被选拔为女飞行员，除了身高要在1.65米到1.75米之间，其他要求与男飞行员没有任何不同。招飞对象都要经过苛刻的筛选程序，标尺近乎完美。首先是上百项检查，身体合格后还要通过注意力、分配能力、手脚协调能力等飞行素质方面的选拔，之后是心理能力的测试，最后还要例行政审，其中任何一项有微小的不符都将被刷掉。
直到与国航签订合同之前，王峥才打电话告诉家人，说自己即将被送进中国航空学院学习飞行专业。最初，王峥的父母并不支持她的选择,觉得飞行员是一个高危职业，女孩子还是在办公室里稳稳当当的比较好。但王峥已经下定了圆梦的决心，见劝说无效，父母也只好尊重她的选择。
王峥原本一直是个安静、纤柔的女孩。但成了飞行学员后，她刻意让自己经常跟男学员一起跑步、打球、爬山，和他们打成一片。渐渐地，这位娇柔美女变得性格沉稳、意志坚定，身上还多了一股男孩子般的韧劲。她明白，飞行员一直是男人的领域，女孩子想在这个行业有所成就，就得付出更多的努力。除了加强锻炼身体，磨砺性格，王峥每天还要背航空理论、航行法规、外语、气象等相关知识，一天常常只睡4个小时。“这个专业非同寻常，民航飞行员，责任大过天，必须刻苦学习才行。”王峥认真地说。
浪漫刺激，云朵上收获别样经历
2004年12月，王峥和另两名女孩在国内学完理论课后，又被派到美国SPARTAN公司接受试飞训练。该公司成立于1928年，堪称民航界的“西点军校”，曾培养出包括美国前总统老布什在内的许多飞行员。
登机演练是一对一进行的。一次，美国教练瑞恩带王峥操练盲降。他们的盲降并非是在夜间进行，而是钻进能见度为零的云层。平时没有钻云的机会，教学规则也不允许，这时练着练着，年轻女孩爱玩的心就露出来了，王峥请示瑞恩说：“我想摸摸窗外的云彩，很小时我就有过抚摸白云的愿望。”教练觉得好笑，说：“那不就是水吗？有什么好摸的？”王峥笑着说：“我就是想摸摸它。”
教学规则是不允许飞行中打开舷窗的，但或许是王峥的浪漫情怀感染了教练，一向严厉的他竟然破天荒地“开明”了一次，说：“那你就摸一下吧。”
这种机型驾驶舱左前方有个拳头大小的副窗，王峥小心翼翼打开它，把手伸了出去。浓重的云雾在她五指间掠过，冰冷，但很爽，想想世间有多少人能摸到天上的云彩？她不由幸福地喊叫：“我抚摸过云朵了！”一串欢快的笑声飘荡在云层中。
第一次试驾飞机，面对复杂的仪表盘，过度兴奋的王峥有点手忙脚乱，双手根本不够用。她几乎忘记了此前烂熟于心的一切理论。在美国教练瑞恩的口令下，油门推杆被王峥推到了头，发动机的轰鸣声顿时大了起来，飞机迅速向前蹿去。随着教练的“起飞”口令，王峥用力地把操纵杆一拉，机头一下子高高地翘了起来，向天际冲去。开始几次，王峥每一次飞下来都是一身汗。熬过了适应期，王峥驾驶飞机的技术日臻娴熟。
2006年5月，SPARTAN公司第一次让王峥独自操控教练机。飞行员首次飞行最难的是过起落关,因为飞行最容易出事故的就是起飞和降落时的3分钟。而对于起落这一关，王峥却做得近乎完美。异国教练欣慰地说：“就算是一名老飞行员，也只能做到如此了。”单飞过关后,王峥又一鼓作气通过了私人驾照、商用驾照和仪表理论三大考试,成为这一届最早完成所有课程的学员。
回国后，王峥进入国航浙江分公司开始上飞机跟飞。
2007年初，王峥迎来了她人生中的“处女航”，以副驾驶身份从杭州飞上海。当经历过许多的付出，终于能驾驶着大型客机展翅高飞，王峥激动的心情不言而喻。当天，王峥标准的动作、对起落的精确控制，让她身边的老机长都感到惊讶，感叹道：“你这丫头，有天分！”
敬业最美丽，“80后”女机长走红网络
因飞行技术精湛，对工作认真负责、一丝不苟，2010年7月，已累积飞行了2700多小时 (对机长的“硬件”要求) 的王峥，被公司提拔为责任机长。这不仅意味着她的年薪翻了近三倍，而且以后还可以独立带领副手驾驶飞机，并全权指挥一架客机上的所有事务。
但升“官”后不久，王峥却经历了一场生死考验。2010年初冬的一天，她执飞一趟从杭州到北京的大型客机，当天北京有雾，但不影响降落。谁知，当飞机在首都机场附近下降至1000英尺时，王峥突然发现，两侧仪表的飞行指引不一致，航向相差约15度，左侧仪表此时也无法截获地面发来的盲降信息。飞机驾驶舱内有两套相同的操作系统，相互之间是联动的，由机长(左座)和副驾驶同步操作。两套驾驶系统必须保持完全一致，才能保证飞行安全，一旦出现失误，后果不堪设想。
身为主驾驶的王峥一下紧张起来，这到底该信哪一套仪表？此时飞机正在下降，按规定，飞机下降到离地面295英尺时，如果还看不到机场跑道，就必须“复飞”上天，改落其他机场。眼看就要到达这个高度了，王峥心跳如擂鼓。她一遍遍命令自己：一定要冷静，冷静。
关键时刻，这位女机长果断决定“复飞”，同时联系地面雷达，等待引导，一边做“检查单”（按照每一个飞行程序的详细步骤，检查一遍操作上是否有遗漏）。飞机上升到3000英尺的高度盘旋着，她判断可能是左侧的惯性导航系统故障，把导航电门转至右侧，终于收到了盲降信息！
整个降落过程，驾驶舱里惊心动魄。但客舱里有人在打盹儿，有人在聊天，大多数客人只知飞机因雾延时了。一场生死攸关的大考验，由于机长冷静处理，最终化险为夷。当飞机稳稳地在首都机场停下来，乘客们轻松地走出客舱时，王峥长长地舒了一口气，紧绷着的神经这才松弛了下来。再看外面雾中的北京，她觉得格外美丽。
有时飞机平稳地落地以后，旅客下飞机时会由衷地跟乘务长说“机长今天飞得真棒”。当他们发现，从驾驶舱走出的居然是一个20多岁的姑娘时，不由惊呼：“天！还是位年轻女机长啊，真了不起！”
穿上制服的王峥英姿勃发、漂亮干练，经常会有乘客索要她的电话，与她合影，甚至请她签名。有一次下机加油时，一位搬运工人专门过来要求用手机给她拍个照片，要激励家中的小女儿积极上进，长大了像她一样！这激发了王峥作为一名国航女机长的荣誉感和责任感。
尽管父母很希望女儿多陪陪他们，一起过个节日，但他们说得最多的一句话就是“你放心去飞吧，家里一切都安好”。渐渐地，家里的节假日就完全跟王峥的工作联系在了一起，她什么时候回来，一家人就什么时候“过节”。
王峥说平时她的空闲并不多，飞行的航前准备和航后总结也要一定的时间，很多时候还要在异地过夜，加上不断的业务学习。一旦有点属于自己的时间，她也会像一般女孩那样，喜欢看电视和逛街购物，以及寻找各地的美食美景。这位“金领”机长的生活，过得简单而快乐。
2011年3月，不知哪位“粉丝”把王峥的一组工作照传到了网络上，很快就被疯狂转载。“英姿飒爽”、“给力”、“养眼”等赞誉之词随之涌来。王峥怎么也想不到，常年飞在蓝天上的她很少抛头露面，竟也能走红网络，并被网友们冠以“中国最美女机长”的称号。□
Young Female Captain Takes off
By Bi Yuntian
Wang Zheng, a 29-year-old female captain with Zhejiang Branch of Air China stationed at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, flies Airbus 321 now. She is Air China’s first female captain and the youngest captain of both genders.
Born into an ordinary family in Beijing in 1982, Wang as a little girl cherished a hope of flying airplanes. While other girls loved dolls she loved airplanes and the sky. She grew up with the dream of piloting an airplane, but the dream crashed in her second senior high school year when she finally learned that only males would have an opportunity to be pilots. It was not until July 2003 when she was 21 and a sophomore majoring in electronics technology that she heard of the great news that Air China was recruiting women candidates for pilots. She signed up with Air China but kept her parents in the dark.
The selection procedure was extremely strict for a woman candidate. A successful candidate must stand between 1.65 and 1.75 meters tall and she must satisfy all other requirements as strict as those for a man candidate. She went through near 100 physical tests successfully. Then she passed tests of her concentration capability and eye-hand coordination capability. Then she passed the psychology tests. Routine security check was a must. The professional aptitude test was torturing. In one of the tests, you sit in a chair. The chair spins clockwise several dozens times and then it turns anticlockwise equal times. As soon as the chair stops spinning, you are supposed to stand up and walk straightforward. Of more than 300 women applicants, only Wang Zheng and two others passed all the tests. Probably she was born with a perfect physique for flying and her teen-age dream of becoming a pilot was a telltale indicator.
Before she was going to sign a contract with Air China for a pilot course study at the Civil Aviation University of China, Wang Zheng revealed all of this to her parents. Her parents raised their concerns, thinking flying in the sky would be too risky and the best job for their daughter would be an office work down on earth. But Wang Zheng was adamant. Her parents finally agreed to let her try.
A quiet girl in high school, Wang Zheng did not stand out in sports. But as soon as she was recruited into the pilot course, she knew she needed changing herself. The study was grueling. More often than not, she slept only four hours a day in order to stay on the track.
By December 2004, she had finished all the classroom studies. She went with two other girls to get hands-on training at Spartan, a pilot training company in USA, which in the aviation industry is considered something like West Point Academy for USA army. In May 2006, she first successfully piloted a trainer independently. Before long, she passed three key qualification examinations and acquired a private pilot license and a commercial pilot license. She was the first among the whole batch of pilot students that passed all the examinations.
Back in China, she was assigned to Hangzhou-based Zhejiang Branch of Air China. The first day she put on her pilot uniform and looked at herself in the mirror, she was so proud and happy that she found herself looking extremely smart and handsome.
Her first flight was a short one: a 180-kilometer journey from Shanghai to Hangzhou. She worked as a copilot, her performance accurate and effective. The captain was deeply impressed by the young female pilot’s efficiency and proficiency, commenting that the girl was indeed talented.
She was happy to fly and gradually she got to understand why airlines now want women pilots. As technology improves, piloting a jumbo jet is no longer a huge demand on physical build. Women pilots have their advantages: they are more careful and sharp-eyed for possible mistakes and hidden defects and they are good at hundreds of buttons and switches.
One summer day in 2009, Wang Zheng flew from Hangzhou to Bangkok. After the plane landed, she did the routine check around the plane on the ground to see if there was any anomaly. She noticed some water dripping from a wastewater outlet at the bottom of the fuselage. She asked the ground technicians where the water was coming from. The ground technicians said stewardesses might be draining water from the kitchen. Wang Zheng was careful. She boarded the plane and checked. The water was not coming from the kitchen. She came back and watched more carefully. The water kept running. She reported the anomaly to the captain by phone. The captain ordered a thorough examination. Under the kitchen is a small cabin for more than 50 computers. When the door of the cabin was opened, the ground technicians were astonished to find a large pool of water on the floor as a water pipe passing through the computer cabin had broken. The water would not cause any danger when the plane was on ground. But it could flood some computers in the cabin when the plane climbed up at a steep angle in its takeoff. The hidden disaster was fixed thanks to Wang Zheng.
By July 2010, Wang Zheng had flown more than 2,700 hours and she graduated to captainship that month. That means she now commands an airplane and she has her own copilot.
She has had her share of emergencies. She piloted a large passenger plane from Hangzhou to Beijing one early winter day in 2010. It was foggy in Beijing, but the weather allowed touchdown. While the plane was smoothly descending toward the runway, Wang Zheng suddenly found the instruments on either side of her were telling a different story. The instruments on the left side failed to catch the blind landing information from the ground controller.
She knew it was an emergency. If the plane descended to 295 feet above the runway and she did not have the signal, she must get the plane up again. The 295 feet mark was fast approaching. She decided to get the plane up. The plane went up to 3,000 feet and circled above the airport while she tried to contact the ground radar and checked the landing checklist again to see whether anything had been missed. After diagnosing that the inertia guidance system was out of order, she switched the control to the right side and the plane immediately received the blind landing signal. The passengers were unaware of the emergency, though they knew the flight would be late to arrive in Beijing due to the heavy fog. When the plane finally stood still and passengers began to file out, Wang felt relieved. Looking at the night scene at the foggy airport, she felt it was beautiful.
Passengers are always amazed when they find the captain is a girl in her late 20s. Some passengers want her telephone number. Many want to pose with her for a photo. Once the plane touched down for refueling, an airport porter came over and photographed her on his cell phone. The porter explained that he wanted to show his daughter what women could achieve. That moment made Wang Zheng especially proud.
As a captain, Wang Zheng runs a busy schedule. Since she became a pilot four years ago, she has never stayed home for holidays and festivals. She is busy during holidays and festivals. And whenever she works, she shuts down her cell phone so that she can concentrate on her job. Her parents adjust their holidays and festivals according to her work schedule. Holidays and festivals are when she is home. She does not have much time for herself. She is often away from home and she attends regular training. But she still finds time to do shopping and watch television series.
In March 2011, someone uploaded a group of photos showing Wang Zheng working as a captain. She found herself catapulting to the national fame overnight. She observes that as China now lacks pilots, some Chinese airliners employ foreign captains and pilots. She says her success would encourage more young women to dream of flying.□