Chinese military helicopters perform 'ballet' in expo

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A pair of Chinese military helicopters performed an in-air ballet-like stunt as they circled around each other nose to nose at an expo in north China's Tianjin Municipality on Thursday morning.

The performance, just meters above the ground, was carried out at the China Helicopter Exposition by a team from the People's Liberation Army Ground Force. It is the second time the Fenglei team has showcased the Z-19, a versatile reconnaissance/attack aircraft, at the bi-yearly event.

A Z-19E helicopter at the expo /Web Photo

"The difficulty lies in the close distance between the two helicopters," said Peng Yong, of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, during a live commentary on the performance. "The air flow around one helicopter interferes with the stability of the other one."

"The performance is a hard test for both the pilots and the hardware," he added.

Equipment tagged as "air to ground missile" installed on the Z-19E helicopter /Web Photo

Other military helicopters including the Z-10 and civil types such as AC-352 also performed during the opening day of the show, China's only expo solely dedicated to helicopters.

China Helicopter Exposition Photo

It runs until September 17, with 403 exhibitors from 22 countries. On display are 75 types of helicopters.

The general public are welcome to the expo during the last two days.