In 1989, Miao retired and started her writing career. She published her nonfiction works A Daughter of the Sky and China's First Batch of Female Pilots which depict the stories of China's women aviators.

When she searched for materials for her books, she found that many aged pilots in other countries still flew, and she had the idea to return to the sky.

To prepare for Tuesday's flight, during the past two months Miao walked 3,000 steps every day and moved her arms to meet the requirements for high-altitude flight.

She said she had worried about the flight a lot because she was 82 years old and had not piloted any aircraft for 30 years. But when she sat in the cockpit, she was calm enough to finish the flight steadily.