Farmer postpones flying self-made plane
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-10-02 11:47

Liu Yibing, a farmer from Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, northwest China, had to postpone flying his new self-made aircraft last week because of problems with permission and the weather.

Liu Yibing (right), a farmer, makes a successful trial flight on his self-designed, self-assembled plane in Yinchuan, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region June 19, 2005. Liu is scheduled to fly across Ningxia on his plane September 26 in the so-called "the first flight for Chinsee farmers". [Xinhua]

 

The department of publicity with the regional committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), one of the seven organizers of theflight, said the postponement was necessary because Liu's permit to fly the plane was only valid between November this year and next May.

But Liu's self-made light plane could not sustain the cold weather in November in north China. A rescheduling of the flight is still under discussion, said the publicity department.

Liu, now 33, who is from Beita Village in suburban Yinchuan, the regional capital, became a farmer at his hometown after graduation from a junior middle school in 1989. By chance, Liu read a magazine story about a super-light plane and decided to make one of his own. The first plane was manufactured in 1991 after a year's hard work.

By 2004, Liu had altogether designed and assembled nine planes and made various successful flights. He has the title of "No.1 farmer-turned pilot in China."

The publicity department of the regional CPC committee, together with six other organizations, decided in April to stage arange of activities featuring "the No.1 farmer-turned pilot in China," with the central activity being Liu's flying of his new plane between September 25 and 30.

The aircraft Liu will fly has a fully-sealed double-seat cabin,with reference to GT500 planes made in the United States. Liu's new plane, which cost him 330,000 yuan (about 40,691 US dollars), also has a ROTAX582 engine and a wingspan of nine meters, with a 6.2-meter-long fuselage. It is equipped with advanced satellite navigating equipment and ejection parachutes. Its speed ranges from 65 km to 160 km and it can fly non-stop for five hours.

In accordance with the original plan, Liu will take off from Guyuan, a city in southern Ningxia, and fly over Zhongwei, Wuzhongand Yinchuan, all in Ningxia, at a height of between 400 meters and 600 meters, landing in Shizuishan in the northern part of Ningxia. After the flight, the plane will be donated to the Shizuishan youth activity center. Enditem

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