Huangping County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, southwest China - July 23, 2017
1. English letters "AOPA CHINA" in sky
2. Aircraft taking off
3. Various of aircraft performing stunts in sky
4. SOUNDBITE (English dubbed with Chinese) Mike Stewart, founder and captain of First General Aviation team:
"The space between each aircraft should be appropriate or the letters won't look right. The pilots need advanced trainings beforehand and also need to cooperate closely."
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5. Various of aircraft in sky

6. SOUNDBITE (English dubbed with Chinese) Mike Stewart, founder and captain of First General Aviation team:
"People see all kinds of things every day and it's hard to remember significant events. If you put letters in the sky, they will remember every letter."
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7. English letters "AOPA CHINA" in sky

Sky writing pilots took center stage at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA)-China Fly-In 2017 air show in Huangping County of southwest China's Guizhou Province on Sunday.

At an altitude of 3,000 meters, five aircrafts from the First General Aviation flew together side by side at a speed of 220 kilometers per hour, and left nine clear English letters "AOPA CHINA" in the sky.
Mike Stewart, founder and captain of the First General Aviation team explained his creation after the performance. He said the performance requires atmospheric stability, few clouds and a minimum altitude of 2,700 meters. Before the flight, the letters are set by a computer program.

"The space between each aircraft should be appropriate or the letters won't look right. The pilots need advanced trainings beforehand and also need to cooperate closely," said Stewart.

Stewart said writing English in the sky only needs five aircrafts whereas Chinese needs 12 to 13 planes, due to the complexity of Chinese characters. He is working on performing in Chinese in the future.

"People see all kinds of things every day and it's hard to remember significant events. If you put letters in the sky, they will remember every letter," said Stewart.

The five-day event runs from July 21 to 25, featuring several renowned international aerobatic teams. In addition to the air show, the event includes other activities such as an aircraft exhibition, drone aerial stunts and hot air balloons at night.