XI'AN, Dec. 8 -- In the winter drizzle, a white control line model plane climbs, dives and turns. The flyer, Huang Jinquan, 11, has just won his first national title in August with a dazzling aerobatic performance.
Not keen to talk, the introverted champion prefers to show his passion with the two lines in his hands.
Jinquan is a student of Redian Primary School in the eastern suburbs of Xi'an, northwest China. More than 70 percent of the students at this school come from rural areas and have been taken to cities by their parents, who are migrant workers striving for a better life. Many, like Huang, lack a companion as their parents are usually busy with work, and model planes are too expensive for them.
Headmaster Han Baoan had a chance to receive flying training in 1983 when he first came to work in Redian. Since then he has been trying his best to help his students fly.
"We may not have enough money, but nothing can deprive us of passion for the sport," he says.
The school managed to establish a model airplane club in 2017. The sport became more popular among Redian students when it was included in the program of the 2017 Chinese National Games. Now the club has 20 members and has won the national championships in two years in a row.
"Model planes are expensive. Many beginners in the more developed coastal provinces can afford serious competition models. They can buy new ones when they crash the models," says Han. "We don't have enough funding. Neither can we charge our students in the club. All we can do is to train harder than other teams."
"But still, I'd like to help these children fly further and higher in their life," Han says.
Han and other teachers bought components and made model planes themselves. They teach students take-off and landing and later flying stunts.
"A good flyer needs to practice for thousands of hours. For example, Huang has to finish more than 10 training sessions every week in order to better master the skills," says Han.
The club renewed an air-raid shelter under the classroom building to store and fix models.
"We can fix up some small problems of the model airplanes such as a broken propeller or a broken landing gear," says Jin Yuwei, who partnered Huang to snatch the first place of the Chinese Teenagers' Model Airplane Competition.
The title was hard-earned. In the 2017 national competition, her plane accidentally crashed into Huang's. The then eight-year-old girl burst into tears. After the failure, she trained even harder and now she can operate the plane better.
"I love the sport and my parents are all supportive. Since I began playing model planes I seldom play computer games or get up late at the weekend. The sport helps me to develop good habits," Jin says.
Flying model airplanes also means more opportunities for these students. To promote the sport, the city government has launched a project in which schools like Redian can share local top schools' funding and other resources on extra-curricular activities.
Jinquan's sister Jinxia, who snatched the club's first national title in 2018, was also recommended to study in one of the top middle schools in Xi'an.
Jinquan says he just wants to keep playing model airplanes, without elaborating on his future plan.