Gliding through the wind, piercing the clouds to protect the sky

TPO - As one of 19 nominees for Outstanding Young Vietnamese Faces 2024, Captain Nguyen Hoang Hai Quang (born in 1995) has nearly 700 accumulated flight hours on Yak-52, L-39 and Su-27 aircraft. He is one of the talented young pilots of the Vietnam People's Air Force who is carrying out the mission of protecting the motherland's sky.

TPO - As one of 19 nominees for Outstanding Young Vietnamese Faces 2024, Captain Nguyen Hoang Hai Quang (born in 1995) has nearly 700 accumulated flight hours on Yak-52, L-39 and Su-27 aircraft. He is one of the talented young pilots of the Vietnam People's Air Force who is carrying out the mission of protecting the motherland's sky.

We were present at the TB2 National Shooting Range (Tay Son, Binh Dinh) when the 372nd Air Division of the Air Defense - Air Force organized a practice session of shooting, bombing, and live ammunition for the units.

During this inspection, Captain Nguyen Hoang Hai Quang - Deputy Squadron Leader, Chief of Staff of Squadron 1 (Regiment 925, Division 372) and his teammates were assigned to use Su-27 multi-role fighter jets to fly a formation of two aircraft to attack the ground with conventional bombs.

Sharing after the flight, Captain Quang said that flying in formation is a difficult flight, requiring a very high level of coordination, absolute precision, and no chance of correction for any mistakes. When training, take-offs are not always smooth. There are days when the weather is bad, and we encounter clouds and fog, and we have to quickly escape the clouds to find our way back to the team.

“Flying in a ground attack formation is one of the more difficult combat flight exercises. When performing a mission, the planes are at close range, and dive from high above, so there is a high risk factor. Therefore, the pilot must fly while maintaining data so that the planes can maintain their formation, aim, shoot, drop bombs in a very short time (under 10 seconds) and escape safely,” said Captain Quang.

Speaking more about this difficult flight, Captain Quang said that to successfully drop a bomb on a target requires a rigorous and thorough training process, with each movement having to be precise and detailed. Therefore, pilots must practice thoroughly from the ground on flying techniques, grasping the opportunity to drop the bomb and escape appropriately.

Captain Nguyen Hoang Hai Quang and technical staff check the technical condition of the Su-27 aircraft before carrying out the mission.

Captain Nguyen Hoang Hai Quang piloted a Su-27 fighter jet to participate in the Air Force Navigation Exercise for the entire army and practice shooting, dropping bombs and live ammunition for the Air Force in 2023, at Nhu Xuan Shooting Range ( Thanh Hoa ).

During the training, the pilots practiced throwing dry bombs (without weapons) many times; practiced handling situations where bombs did not come out, bullets did not explode, or how to neutralize the effects of wind and limited visibility. During the training, they had to strictly follow the flight commander's orders and perform the same basic principles and movements as in the training and be ready to handle unexpected situations.

Hai Quang, born in Dai Hong commune, Dai Loc district, Quang Nam province, during his childhood, he read many historical stories about the legendary pilots of the Vietnam People's Air Force. The times he followed his family to Da Nang to visit, seeing the fighter planes practicing with beautiful turns, acrobatics and sometimes flying low over his head like a lightning bolt, made Quang truly admire and desire to become a pilot.

Unit commander shares joy with Nguyen Hoang Hai Quang after the first successful solo flight, April 21, 2016.

Recalling the journey to realize his dream of conquering the sky, Captain Quang said: In 2012, when he was in grade 12, there was an announcement on television about recruiting military pilots. He boldly went to the district military agency to register for the preliminary selection. A month later, a military vehicle took Quang and more than 50 young people in the district to Division 372 stationed in Da Nang.

At the division infirmary, the recruitment process was very strict and thorough in terms of physical strength, height, weight, specialty, and field of study. Many people were eliminated immediately because they did not have enough physical strength or eyesight. Some people were eliminated almost to the finish line because they could not keep their balance while sitting on a swivel chair.

“At that time, I thought to myself, 'I'm just testing for the sake of it, it's not easy to get a result, otherwise I'll be eliminated from the "parking lot". Luckily, I passed all the examinations with ease; even the most difficult tests of aviation medicine such as testing memory, personal agility using logical thinking algorithms or sitting in a rotating chair many times and then closing my eyes and walking in a straight line',” Captain Quang recalled.

Family and teachers congratulate Nguyen Hoang Hai Quang after his successful first solo flight, April 21, 2016.

It seemed like everything was going smoothly, but an incident happened that almost eliminated Quang for a silly reason. When he entered the eye examination room, while covering his left eye so that his right eye could read the letters on the board in the distance, Quang accidentally pressed his eyeball too hard, so when he switched to testing his left eye, his eyes became dizzy and he couldn't read anything. At that time, the doctor let him out and called the next person in for examination.

“I thought I was rejected for such a silly reason, I was so sad that I wanted to cry. 15 minutes later, the doctor called me in to check again and I had completed this test, the following rounds were also smooth. When I heard that I was the only one who passed, I was overjoyed, immediately called my family and my close friend in class. After that, I reviewed and took the entrance exam to the Air Force Officer School to study military aircraft piloting,” Captain Quang confided.

As a third-year student at the Air Force Officer School, Captain Quang had his first solo flight on April 21, 2016. That day, the unit organized a solo drop flight for 4 pilots on a Yak-52 aircraft with a closed-circle take-off and landing exercise, and Quang was assigned the first solo drop mission.

The first time he sat in the cockpit alone without a flight instructor, he was quite nervous and anxious. However, when he rolled onto the runway, checked the standards, stopped for takeoff, and received encouragement from the flight commander via radio, he felt more confident.

Captain Nguyen Hoang Hai Quang participated in the unit's contest.

Captain Nguyen Hoang Hai Quang at the base of Regiment 925 after a flight in February 2025.

“After more than 30 minutes of flying in the sky, I was ordered to land. When I got to the parking lot and got off the plane, the commander and teammates surrounded me and gave me flowers to congratulate me. What was even more surprising was that my parents and aunt were also at the airport at that time. Seeing my relatives, I ran to hug everyone and happily said: “I did it, Mom and Dad”. It turned out that when they heard that I was about to fly solo, my parents and aunt took a bus from Quang Nam. They were afraid that I would be distracted, so they waited until after the flight to meet everyone,” Captain Quang said.

After that successful single drop, Quang continued his training in flight on a higher-performance, high-speed aircraft, the L-39 subsonic jet. He graduated in 2019 with the rank of lieutenant and then joined the 925th Air Force Regiment, performing missions on the Su-27 multi-role fighter.

In more than 5 years with the regiment, he has practiced flying more than 300 flights with various types of flights such as complex meteorological flights, night flights, sea flights, and performing level 2 air defense fighter duty during the day and at night.

At the same time, he also participated in competitions and sports events at all levels; participated in shooting and throwing live bombs and ammunition at ground targets at TB2 Shooting Range (Binh Dinh), sea targets at TB5 Shooting Range (Ba Ria - Vung Tau) and important drills...

Captain Nguyen Hoang Hai Quang (right) and his teammates learn from the flight.

Captain Nguyen Hoang Hai Quang and his teammates discuss a difficult flight.

“For military pilots, to be able to fly and perform missions, they must train and practice throughout their entire working process, without any gaps. Each flight lesson, after completion of training, is only valid for a certain period of time. Therefore, to ensure continuous flying techniques, prevent gaps and improve piloting techniques, the unit must organize regular training with many flying lessons,” Captain Quang shared.

During the 2021-2024 period, Captain Nguyen Hoang Hai Quang always completed his tasks excellently and continuously achieved the title of Emulation Fighter at the grassroots level; was commended by the Minister of National Defense, leaders of the Air Defense - Air Force and Division 372.

In 2024, Captain Quang made 78 flights with more than 71 flight hours ensuring absolute quality and safety; was approved as a flight instructor for all subjects and awarded the title of Level 2 Pilot.
Source: https://tienphong.vn/luot-gio-xuyen-may-bao-ve-bau-troi-post1722643.tpo