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HuaDe
@huade7.bsky.social

@simplyjustemily.bsky.social Last year a Chinese made J20 fighter jet belonging to Pakistan shot down a French made Rafale jet flown by India. The Rafale had elaborate defense systems but the Chinese missile hit it because Pakistan was using a Chinese KJ500 radar plane to guide the missile

HuaDe
@huade7.bsky.social

I was a member of the test flight team which made the KJ500 possible. Did you know Americans were once very eager to help modernize China’s PLA? Lockheed proposed to start China’s first Flight Test Academy and I was to be Director. Here is the flight jacket shoulder patch they gave me.

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simplyjustemily.bsky.social
@simplyjustemily.bsky.social

It must have been an incredibly challenging feat for you to serve as the head of the test pilot academy while also being a member of the flight test team. I imagine you had to overcome countless hardships to complete that test-flying mission. I have the utmost admiration for you.

HuaDe
@huade7.bsky.social

No. The flight test program ended about 18 months before the proposal for the flight test academy. Sorry…I was time-vague.

simplyjustemily.bsky.social
@simplyjustemily.bsky.social

In China, newly built aircraft undergo rigorous testing by specialized test pilots before entering PLA service. It’s a dangerous job that pushes aircraft to their limits, and many brave pilots have lost their lives in the process.

HuaDe
@huade7.bsky.social

Test flights are dangerous but it is amazing how throughly careful they are. Alan, our instrumentation engineer had gages all over the aircraft. Our engineer would tell the test pilot in detail what to expect…and then we watched his predictions come true.