A former 82-year-old retired Chinese military pilot Miao Xiaohong has flown a Vulcan aircraft. She was attending the "Inspired to fly in China"- 2019 International Conference of China Section of the Ninety-Nines Inc, held at Jintang General Airport in Chengdu, the capital of China’s southwestern Sichuan province. (Photos: Chengdu Economic Daily)

The seasoned aviator arrived at the airport at around 10 am, sat in the cockpit and took off, soaring above Chengdu for about half an hour.

Although the visibility was low, Miao completed the flight and encouraged other female pilot trainees to undertake such activity that is designed to strengthen support and networking for global female pilots.

Miao was born in the eastern province of Shandong and joined China’s second batch of women military pilots in 1956. Much of her work involved logistics and disaster relief, including dropping supplies into calamity-hit areas.

In April 2019, the granny pilot had taken to the skies again for the first time in 30 years after retirement, performing a range of maneuvers during the 40-minute flight accompanied by a trainer.