Aviation
Military /
China
Centenary of the Chinese PC
Stealth Fighter and new Z-8L helicopter rehearse for July ceremonies in Beijing
J-20
Alert5, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gabriela Ramos
6/20/2021
On July 1st, the Chinese Communist Party will celebrate its hundred years of history and the date will be marked by a big party. The celebration will feature the participation of the Air Force of the People's Army of China (PLAAF), which will hold a huge air show.
The first rehearsals for the event took place last weekend in Beijing. The J-20 stealth fighter and the unprecedented Z-8L helicopter participated in the trials. The Z-8L is a 15-tonne helicopter that, so far, has been little seen in action.
In the tests, several helicopters flew side by side, forming the number 100, in reference to the centenary, while ten J-10 fighters flew, forming the number 71, in reference to the date of July 1st. Another five J-20s flew close to the others.
The use of the Z-8L helicopter drew attention. He flew carrying a China flag and, according to the record, the aircraft in question belongs to the 161st Air Assault Brigade.
The Z-8L is a significantly modified version of the Z-8, which was inspired by Aerospatiale's French Super Frelon model. Despite the similarities, the new aircraft has greater interior space and greater capacity, as it is a 15-tonne class model.
Over the weekend, rehearsals mobilized around 14,000 people, demonstrating the magnitude of this type of event in China, where military parades are quite common and work as a way to instill national pride in the population and show off military power.
J-20
Alert5, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Gabriela Ramos
Gabriela is the latest addition to the editorial team of our website, having provided us with her solid background in editing, publishing and photography, and her interest and training in aviation history and historiography. His good taste and common sense and great cleverness and sagacity in the selection of themes and materials greatly enriched our vocabulary and narrative style. Gabriela brought unusual predicates and came to stay, helping to point the way of success of our portal.
   
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