Becoming air force pilots was a dream of many boys born in the 1950s, my father says, because the State provided for everything a pilot needed to soar higher. The pilots' "diet and leather jackets" had an unimaginable hold over the boys growing up in the shadow of the great famine in early 1960s and living a hand-to-mouth life under the planned economy.

A youth was enrolled in the air force pilots' program only after passing a strict physical test. It was a relatively fair and level platform for all candidates irrespective of their family background. The air force pilots were automatically promoted according to the years they flew and their families could enjoy preferential treatment in many aspects.

Working as a pilot in the air force meant bidding farewell to "normal" life. The job, to some extent, offered youths from the average families of workers and farmers a chance to climb up the social ladder, which was quite difficult in those days.

My father passed all the physical tests but failed in the political exam, because his mother was the daughter of a landlord in Jinan, Shandong province, and landlords were seen as the "exploiting class" and "people's enemies".

According to the rules, a pilot's parents and grandparents, and the other close relatives had to be members of the "advanced classes" such as workers, farmers and the People's Liberation Army to establish their patriotism.

Another reason behind the boys' dream of becoming a pilot was the heroic revolutionary education they received from the media of the Mao Zedong era. The air battle in the Korean War (1950-53) and romanticized stories of some legendary flying pilots of China's young air force made them the role models of youths of that generation.

But the reform and opening-up created more opportunities for people to lead a better life and offered youths from average families more choices to change their fate through education.

When I graduated from a key high school in Jinan in 2000, only one of the 900 graduates applied to join a pilots' training program. Both his parents were in the air force and had paid special attention to protect his eyesight. Possibly, he was the only one among the 900 graduates who met the physical requirements of the pilots' program.

That boy finally joined a civil aviation company as a pilot because it offered him higher salary and safer working environment.

It is the fast-paced economic and social development that has made it more difficult for the air force to find qualified flying cadets. So, apart from the "Little Eagles" program, China should also open up the civil pilot training sector to ensure that the country has enough pilots.

More importantly, a pilot's patriotism is not decided by his parents or grandparents but his/her outlook that gradually develops with the acquisition of knowledge and interactions with the right people.