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Flight School

The 17th Aviation School was established in Jilin at the beginning of 1960 to train pilots for the new Shenyang J-5 jet fighters that were rolling off the production line. The J-5 was the Chinese-built version of the Soviet MiG 17.

The trainee pilots and their instructors were early and enthusiastic supporters of the Cultural Revolution and produced their own "Ten-Point Initiative". In November 1966 the 17th Aviation School initiative was singled-out for praise and recommendation in a speech by Politburo-member Xu Xiangqian.

flightschool 2 flightschool 1 flightschool 3

52mm   9.6g

h. 53mm  w. 51mm   10.8g

h. 57mm  w. 56mm   13.3g

pilot hero P1060281 - Copy P1060284 - Copy

Cover and inside pages from Heroic Sky Sentinel, Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1971

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The first point of the "Ten-Point Initiative" began, rather predictably, "Chairman Mao's work is a revolutionary textbook".

In addition to promoting revolution, Mao's works - and even mental images of the Great Helmsman - were considered to promote confidence and fighting spirit during combat.