女飛翩然

2013年的冬天，在甘肅海拔3000米左右的雪山區，王佩文飛進了一個并不特別的山窩。進入之前所觀察的情況都正常，沒想到飛進去僅僅幾秒鐘，一股極強的下降氣流突然出現，王佩文立刻提升發動機功率，但飛機還是止不住往下掉。沒有絲毫遲疑，王佩文就做出了判斷：增速“脫離”，用損失一定高度的代價換來了寶貴的動能，飛機迅速地沖出了下降氣流，避過了這次突如其來的險情。飛到安全地帶回過頭她再看那個山窩時，氣流已經變得異常兇猛。遠遠地看到山壁上的幼樹搖搖欲墜，她頓時后背一緊。“如果當時發現晚一點，或者再多停留幾秒鐘，飛機持續下降進入深度渦環的話，周圍地勢復雜，后果不堪設想。”她回憶道。

今天看來，王佩文已經可以從容處理這樣的空中險情。然而誰能想到，這位美麗的女孩在成為飛行員之前，曾是一名民航空乘人員。

女孩的天空夢

在王佩文9歲的時候，表哥去濟南上大學，她跟著全家人一起去機場送他。正巧看到一隊空中乘務員進場，他們的颯爽英姿一下子就打動了她。她指著遠遠走去的空乘們的身影，對媽媽悄悄地說：“我長大了也想和他們一樣。”于是到了上大學的年紀時，她毅然選擇了空乘專業。王佩文從中國民航飛行學院畢業后，順利進了上海一家民用航空公司。因為實現了自己從小的夢想，所以她傾注了格外的熱情在工作中。但是漸漸地，當王佩文發現如今文靜的工作與自己當初的夢想相去甚遠時，就開始有了“為航空事業真正做點事”的心思。

究竟做什么？這個時候，她還沒有明確的想法。一次偶然的機會，王佩文認識了韓籍女機長Angel。Angel在成為飛行員之前只是希爾頓酒店的一個前臺工作人員，因為所在酒店是與大韓航空對接的過夜酒店，有一天一位女飛行員路過前臺把帽子一摘，長發飄起的那一刻，讓Angel也想成為那樣的飛行員。于是，她鼓起勇氣去拜托機長們給她講解飛行知識、傳授飛行經驗。經過一系列培訓和考核，就有了現在飛行圈里耳熟能詳的韓籍女機長的故事。王佩文說她特別認同Angel的一句話：“我很幸運，選擇了飛行這樣一條大多數女人都不會選擇的路。但其實無論以什么樣的方式，只要你堅持，那扇窗子之后，總會有好的風景。”一個酒店前臺工作人員搖身一變成了中國的外籍女機長，如此勵志的經歷讓此時的王佩文覺得，自己想成為一個飛行者并非不可能。

聽別人講“風景”時只是向往，而當自己看到“風景”的時候，才更容易做決定。有天晚上，王佩文所在的機組要從虹橋機場調空機到浦東機場，王佩文進入駕駛艙，發現夜晚的駕駛艙美得驚人，那種美給了她極大的震撼。當天工作結束回到家里后，她用了整整48個小時進行思考。做了決定之后，她就給她母校的院長打了一個電話。

空中轉身

一個電話，清楚了學飛行的條件，也明確了自己對飛行的訴求。2011年8月，王佩文開始了學習駕駛飛機的歷程。對于一個離開校園幾年時間的女孩來說，重新回到學校學習一個偏理工科的科目時還是有一定難度的，她每天早上7點鐘就去圖書館看書，晚上回到宿舍經常打著應急燈學習看到凌晨1點多。就這樣，花了5個月時間，王佩文就完成了正常情況下要花2年時間學習的課程。由于她選擇學飛的是直升機，所以理論過了之后就被分到中國民航飛行學院新津分院進行實踐。當年正好新津分院成立了直升機大隊，迎來了第一批直升機自費生，所以有很多企業家和航空愛好者都自費來學習私照或者商照，也就是這個時候，王佩文結識了很多師兄弟，后來也和這些人成為了朋友。

在新津分院學習飛行的時候，雖然身為女性，但王佩文卻絲毫不輸男性學員。憑借超高的悟性，王佩文成為了當時飛行學院“貝爾組”第一個單飛的女學員。在她學飛的過程中，大多時都是順利的，但也曾有一次危險的失誤讓王佩文記憶猶新。那是她第一次被放“單人單飛”，其實就是在旁邊座位上放上沙袋來代替真人。由于經驗不足，起飛之前她并沒有檢查清楚飛機上所有的儀器，也恰恰在那一次，駕駛桿沒有處在正常位置。當她上機之后，直接就上提槳矩。然而，由于駕駛桿并沒有處在正常位置，隨著功率的增大，整個飛機的拉力就迅速向著駕駛桿的方向偏移。所以飛機一起來，就開始向后仰，尾槳差點就打到地面。幸虧技術指揮員發現后用無線電提醒她向前穩桿，才避免了更大危險的出現。那一次險情之后，王佩文在自己的飛行筆記上寫道：“只有保持安全記錄的飛行員，才是真正優秀的飛行員。”

完成整體訓練大綱后，王佩文順利拿通過實踐考試，成為了一名職業直升機飛行員。而她個人，也實現了一次華麗的“空中轉身”。正如她之前所說，若心中有藍天，必定能翱翔。

一飛難停

“自從飛起來之后，就很難停下來了。”王佩文講道。就在去年，她進行了一次讓自己備感自豪的飛行。當時任務要求她用兩天時間經停兩個機場把飛機從甘肅飛到北京，而跟她搭檔的是一個剛剛“軍轉民”的機長。“他的飛行技術很厲害，但對民航規則相對沒有那么熟悉。”王佩文介紹道。

在這次這次任務中，王佩文雖然是副駕駛，但是肩膀上的擔子卻不輕。飛行到最后一天，飛機要從包頭回北京，因為當地機場有活動所以他們不得不一直在機場待命。冬天的白晝格外短，而他們必須在日落前到北京，最初的計劃是14點30分起飛，可是直到15點機場還不放飛。這個時候正好起風了，是從包頭到北京的大順風。“站調當時問我最晚什么時候起飛，算了風速之后我告訴他們最晚15點40分飛。”她回憶當時的情景時說道。飛機最后在15點40分準時起飛，在大順風的“幫助”下，王佩文和機長順利在日落前把飛機開回了北京。也許這不是多大的一件事，但是讓她感受到了很強的存在感，更加有動力飛下去。

王佩文是一個愛“臭美”的女生，但因為直升機大多都是全景天窗，一旦飛行就要接受陽光直射的“洗禮”，所以她不得不接受曬黑的“事實”。“單發直升機”大部分是沒有空調的，夏天座艙里溫度達到40攝氏度是經常的事，滿身汗味她也不得不接受。有一次她回北京，凌晨3點落地，拖著大行李箱坐出租車回家，司機看她一副離家很久的樣子，就隨口問她：“你想家嗎？”她只答了一個字：“想。”“那一刻我覺得挺孤單的，但這就是我選擇的路，因為熱愛，所以習慣了就好。”

熱愛讓王佩文飛得暢快，樂趣也讓王佩文越來越熱愛飛行。“飛行對我來說是一件很好玩的事情。飛之前，我要自己看天氣，判斷云高、風速、風向、能見度，自己看地圖，自己量坐標點，算油量，算重量平衡，算地速。和民航比起來，我飛得會比較‘原始’一點，但樂趣也就在這。”

對于飛了沒多久的王佩文來說，飛是一個夢想，也是一個希望。在她的心里，飛機像她的翅膀，可以帶著她翱翔。在采訪的最后，王佩文告訴筆者：“我希望一直待在這個圈子里。即使未來飛不了了，就想當一名教員，因為能和愛飛行的人聊聊，也很快樂。”

It was winter of 2013. Wang Peiwen was flying through the snow mountains of Ganshu Province 3，000 meters above sea level when she came to this seemingly normal valley. Nothing unusual was observed beforehand， but seconds after she flew in， a strong downward torrent appeared out of nowhere. She instantly increased engine output， but could not stop the aircraft from falling. Without hesitation， she decided to gain speed and \"detach\" from the torrent by sacrificing certain altitude for precious momentum. She pulled out of the upcoming danger in time， and as she looked back， a chill went up her spine as she saw saplings on the cliffs shaking precariously in the intensified torrent. She recalled，“If I came to the situation a little bit slower， or stayed there for several more seconds， the aircraft would be dragged into the air toque. Considering the complex terrain， the consequences would be disastrous.”

Wang Peiwen has become a resourceful pilot today， but who could have imagined， that this beautiful girl used to an airline stewardess.

Flying Dream

When she was 9 years old and went with her family to see her cousin off at an airport， a file of air stewardess arriving at the airport caught her attention. Impressed with admiration， she whispered to her mother， “When I grow up， I want to be one of them.” By the time she went to college， she applied for the Cabin Stewardess Major without a second thought. After graduation， she went on to work in a private airline in Shanghai. A childhood dream coming true， Wang Peiwei was fully devoted to the job. But as time went on， she felt that the reality was a far cry from her dream. She started to consider “doing something meaningful for aviation.”

But doing what？ She had no clue， not until she came to know a South Korean female captain， Angel Zo. Before becoming a pilot， Angel was a receptionist at a Hilton Hotel where the crews of Korean Airlines stay. But one day， seeing a female pilot removed her cap and let her hair flow in front her， she decided that she wanted to be a pilot just like that. She summoned all her courage to seek knowledge and experience from the pilots， and after a series of training and examination， she made it. Wang Peiwen finds her expression in Angel's words. “She is fortunate to choose a road most women would not consider. But whichever road you take， as long as you are committed， you will find a better view behind the window.” A hotel receptionist could turn to a pilot- such inspiring story convinced her that it is not impossible for her to become a pilot.

Hearing the \"views\" of others may inspire admiration， but seeing the \"view\" for yourself is what helps you make up your mind. During a ferry flight from Hongqiao airport to the nearby Pudong airport， she went into the cockpit， and was awe struck by the beauty of the night sky. After returning home， she thought for 48 hours， and decided to make a call to the President of her graduating university.

From Cabin to Cockpit

Learning about the requirements for pilot training through that call， she was more determined to her pursuit of the flying dream. In August 2011， she embarked on her training journey. For a girl who had left the campus for years， it is not an easy job to catch up on the science courses. Each day， she would go to study at the library at 7 am and study with an emergency lamp after the dorm light is out until 1 am. In 5 months， she completed the theory courses which would normally take 2 years. Majoring in helicopter， she was assigned to the Xinjin Campus of the Civil Aviation Flight University of China （CAFUC） for on-the-aircraft training， which just welcomed its new helicopter fleet and the first group of self-funded students， including entrepreneurs and flying enthusiasts， with whom Wang Peiwen had made a lot of friends.

As a female， she performed as well as any male trainee. She was the first female pilot to fly solo in her Bell Team. The training went on smoothly for her most of the time， but there was one incident that Wang Peiwen still remembers to this day. It was her first “solo flight”， meaning seating beside her was a sandbag instead of her instructor. For lack of experience， she forgot to check the instruments before taking off， as you could guess， the control stick happened to be in the wrong position. She climbed up， increased pitch， and pulled the helicopter up. But because the control stick was in a backward position， the helicopter was quickly pulled tail down， nearly hitting the ground. Luckily， her instructor warned her in time to push the control stick forward， and prevented bigger danger. After that incident， she wrote on her flying log， “Only pilots who keep sound safety records are really outstanding pilots.”

Following the training program， she passed the flying test， and became a professional helicopter pilot， successfully moving from the cabin to cockpit. As she said， if your ambition is in the blue sky， pursue it and you will be able to fly.

An Ongoing Journey

\"Once you started to fly， you would not want to stop\"， said Wang Peiwen. Last year， she completed a proud mission - flying a helicopter from Ganshu to Beijing with two stopovers. Her partner is a military turned civilian captain. “He had amazing skills， only not quite family with civil aviation regulations.\"

Although she was co-pilot in this mission， her task is not easy. At the last day of the mission， they had to fly the helicopter from Baotou to Beijing. Daytime in winter is short， and they must arrive at Beijing before sunset. But because the Baotou airport is occupied， they had to stay on hold. Their original plan was to depart at 2pm， but they were not allowed to take off until 3pm. But just before they depart， a heavy wind struck the airport. It was tailwind for their flight. “When the control tower asked when can we take off， I calculated the wind speed， and replied， no later than 3：40.” They took off at the exact time as she estimated， and with the \"help\" of the tailwind， they managed to arrive at Beijing before sunset. It may not sound like a big deal， but she was motivated by the responsibility and trust put in her.

Wang Peiwen loves to keep beautiful， but she had to live with the “reality” of being suntanned， because every time she fly， she would be bathed in sunlight coming through the panoramic cockpit of most helicopters. Another nuisance she had to bear with is the sweat， as most single engine helicopters have no air-conditioning in the cockpit， the temperature of which could easily exceed 40 degrees Celsius in summer. Once， she landed in Beijing at 3 am. When she pulled her luggage to a taxi， the driver， guessing that she must have been out of home for a while， asked her \"do you miss home\". \"Yes\" she replied. \"At that moment， I felt so lonely， but this is the road I choose， out of love， sooner or later I will get used to it.\"

She enjoys flying， not just out of passion， but also for the fun. \"Flying is fun. Before I fly， I would check the weather and calculate the altitude of clouds， wind speed， wind direction， and visibility. I would study maps， measure coordinates， and calculate fuel， weight balance， and low speed. Compared with civil aviation， my job is quite primeval， but that is fun part.\"

Still a new hand， flying is and will remain to be the dream and hope for Wang Peiwen. Deep inside， she looked at aircraft as her wings which flies her around. At the end of the interview， she told U-Jet， \"I hope to stay in this circle. When I can't fly anymore， I want to be an instructor， just so I can talk with people who love flying.\"