Dancing in the air

Two Chinese military helicopters perform an in-air stunt at the China Helicopter Exposition in north China's Tianjin Municipality on Thursday, September 14, 2017. [Photo: CGTN]

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. 

Helicopters fly at the China Helicopter Exposition in north China's Tianjin Municipality on Thursday, September 14, 2017. [Photo: China Plus/Li Jin]

It is the second time the Fenglei team has showcased the Z-19, a versatile reconnaissance/attack aircraft, at the bi-yearly event. 

"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. 

Helicopters fly at the China Helicopter Exposition in north China's Tianjin Municipality on Thursday, September 14, 2017. [Photo: China Plus/Li Jin]

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.