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Zhou Yingqiu is an anesthesiologist and university associate professor during the day, and turns into an aerobatic pilot at night. He recently won a bronze medal at the Acrofest at Borrego Valley Airport, showcasing his dual capabilities in medicine and blue sky.
During the day, he isSan Diego He is an associate professor and anesthesiologist at UC San Diego School of Medicine. After work, she dons flight equipment, dons a parachute, flies a biplane sports plane without an umbrella, and completes a series of precise and difficult stunts in the blue sky.
Video source: Provided by parent Zhou Xiaowu,los angeles Interview Center Post-Production
This is not a movie plot, but the real life of Zhou Yingqiu (Kimberly Zhou). At the 2026 AcroFest National Aerobatic Open Championships at San Diego’s Borrego Valley Airport, which concluded from October 22 to 24, Zhou Yingqiu won the bronze medal, not only taking her short three-year flying career to new heights, but also shining in the event, in which men make up the majority.
“I started flying firstly because I dreamed of flying in the sky since childhood and secondly, I wanted to get relief from work pressure.” The person of Chinese origin saidsan gabriel Zhou Yingqiu, who grew up in Gu, said that her work as an anesthesiologist requires a high level of concentration, and she cannot take any detail lightly. She lives in high-pressure environments for long periods of time, and flying has become a way for her to readjust her body and mind and relieve stress.
She will start learning to fly in 2021. He gradually discovered that the charm of flying is not only to climb from the ground to the sky, but also to have concentration, judgment and challenges during the driving process, as well as making many friends with extraordinary discipline and courage in the flying circle. In 2024, it was Zhou Yingqiu who began to receive aerobatic training and improved her flying skills in just two years. This year, he also qualified as a flight instructor.
The Great Lakes Sport Trainer driven by Zhou Yingqiu is obviously different from the passenger planes or small private planes that ordinary people are familiar with.
It is a retro-looking biplane, with upper and lower wings and an open cockpit, which allows the pilot to directly face the oncoming air flow. Compared with an aircraft with full cabin cover, the driver can not only experience the flight more directly, but also has to make corresponding safety preparations.
Before each takeoff, in addition to strictly checking every part and internal machinery of the aircraft, Zhou Yingqiu directly attaches the parachute to her body in case of emergencies. He explained that aerobatics is not just about flying the plane in the sky and doing some flips. Pilots must complete specific tasks in designated airspace according to competition requirements, and precisely control the aircraft’s attitude, direction and flight trajectory, such as continuously flipping or falling vertically while rising rapidly in the air, or taking off suddenly and turning after a rapid vertical descent, or performing a difficult “falling leaf” in the air. Every movement can make people stop breathing and flying is very difficult.
He said with a smile that every pilot who crosses the threshold of Aerofest can be called a top flight expert in the United States. As a well-known aerobatic event on the West Coast of the United States, it is hosted by the San Diego Hammerheads, the 36th branch of the International Aerobatic Club. The chapter has promoted the sport of precision aerobatics on the West Coast since 1975.
The competition is held annually at the designated aerobatic airfield at Borrego Valley Airport. Pilots must complete specified tasks in a limited three-dimensional space, and judges will score based on various technical parameters to test the pilot’s ability to control the aircraft, accuracy of movements, and performance on the spot.
