I was at Ipoh for another day trip, but this time it’s not
about
bike hunting. I bought this flying package from Groupon which includes on
ground flight training and some air time in a single engine plane, Piper PA-28. There’s
nothing much to plan in this trip except finding a friend or two who is willing
to risk their lives sitting in my plane. Approached a few person but unfortunately
they can’t make it due to commitment but one guy accepted my invitation and he
is none other than Mr.Jason Chew. I don’t think he knows what he is getting
himself.
So the night before Jason slept over at my place because I
plan to leave Penang at 6am. My appointment is at 10am, so I was thinking reach
there about 8am+++ have a nice breakfast
and head straight to the airport. The plan went smoothly except the time and
the breakfast. We left Penang at about almost 7am and we skipped breakfast
because we got a little difficulty locating the airport due to the lousy GPS on
our iPhones.
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| Reason why we were late. This guy keep snoozing his phone. This pic has the evidence. |
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| Slept all the way from Ipoh to Penang >< |
The weather was not bright and sunny as I picture it in my
head weeks and nights before the real day. I picture myself in aviator glasses,
standing beside the plane with bright sun lights shining at me. The weather is
always hot and humid but on the real day it was gloomy and cold. It was raining
all the way from Penang to Ipoh, I was praying really hard that God would stop
the rain and grant me a nice weather so I could enjoy this experience to the
fullest and take nice photos of me and the planes.
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| Rain rain rain |
We reached the Sultan Azlan Shah airport at about 9.30am, and
there was no one in the airport. Even the air-con was still not on. Jason asked
is this a ghost town. I checked the plasma TVs and the next flight would be at
11am SIN – IPH. I called Ms.Rajes, the lady who liaised with me from the
booking till D-day. She met us 10minutes later, greeted us with a nice warm
smile and handshake. We spoke briefly about our country and about ourselves. A
van came right to the airport and picked us up to the designated location,
which is probably 1km from the main terminal. Picked up our pilot/instructor
and we were introduced to one another. He is an elderly man with vast
experience about flying. Guess his age.
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| Captain Tony Thoo |
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| The quiet Sultan Azlan Shah airport |
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| Pick-up Van |
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| Our access pass |
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| Rain stopped! |
73 years old with 50 years of flying experience. I told him
to call me Wan, he replied you can call me two. I was like huh? Is his trying
to be funny or what. He showed me his name tag, it was written Tony Thoo.
WAH!!! I was like how rare is this to meet someone with a ‘Thoo’ surname. Had a
great laugh over this matter. Anyways, to get through that security check
point, we have to register ourselves and wear our badge. After some paper work,
we were granted access and were brought to a hangar owned by Professional
Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA). I got down and the first thing I did
was, took out my iPhone and started taking pictures of the planes. I can’t help
it but I got really excited. Not many of them, but enough to make my heart jump
with joy.
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| Company signboard just outside the hangar |
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| Twin engine plane |
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| More planes |
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| Another twin engine plane owned by a Hongkie |
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| The plane we flew in |
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| Plane that matches Jason's shirt |
Another man appeared at the hangar, his name is Chief Dorai,
he has really thick moustache. He shared a little bit about what he does and
the course that are being offered. We then walked to their cabin where I was
given a briefing. A nice cozy office with vintage photos hanged on most parts
of the walls. There was a plane toy hanging above that cabin roof. Moses, 22 a undergrad
piloting student gave me an basic introduction on the checklist, dos and don’ts
before flying.
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| Future pilot Moses |
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| The checlist which I don't really understand |
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| Moses checking the fuel reading |
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| Showing us the reading of the fuel which is sufficient for us to fly |
I asked a lot of questions and they gave me a lot of
information but I can’t remember most of them since I don’t speak aviation
language. The jargons are just too much for my accounting mind to absorb. All I
remembered was all about numbers, i.e we flew up to 3,000 feet at about
110knots, we landed at 70knots, we were up in the air for about 25minutes and I
spent RM459 for this experience. Just numbers!
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| Captain Tony Thoo briefing on the runway track |
After going through our checklist, the moment that I’ve been
waiting for has arrived. I helped the other engineers pushed the plane out of the hangar. Surprisingly, it's quite light and easy to push. Easier than pushing a car out. The pilot hops into the cockpit, Jason up to the
passenger seat and finally me, beside the pilot. I was really excited and a bit
nervous. I’ve never been so close to the front before. Mr.Tony Thoo started the
engine, the propellers started to turn, few seconds later, it stopped. I was starting
to have second thoughts about doing this. He turns off and on some switches and
tried starting the engine again. This time, it was a success but I was getting
all nervous inside. I was on radio communication with him and he started
communicating with the people in the flight control tower. I can’t understand
90% of what they are speaking about, it’s all delta Charlie delta Charlie@#)$(U#@)$(*#@_$)(#@+_(@!+#!@+3
ipoh _#$*_#@($*@_#$*_@# delta charlie $#)@($*@#_($*_#($#@_( ready _$(#*_@#*$_#@ permission
)(#$*)#@($*_@#$*_)@(#_@( 04 #)($*@#)($*#)@($*_#@$(_ 22
#)($*#@)($*#@)($*)#@(*$#)@(*$#@)(*$_#@*. We then took off.
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| Pushing the plane out with the crew | | | |
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| Captain Tony doing the checklist |
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| Jason getting nervous. LOL |
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| They have two sets of control. And my hands are on the 'controllers' all the time to feel the movement. |
Up in the sky, he
said when he flies, he feel s like he is half fairy and half human. Hahaha.
Kinda funny when you try picturing him as a fairy. He then let me take control…
that was MAGIC. That was the best experienced I’ve ever had. I did some mini
dives and it really felt like a roller coaster. The scenery was beautiful the
weather was perfect. The rain did stop just as we reached the hangar. My little
prayer was answered, my dreamed was achieved and I just enjoy the experience as
much as I could. It felt like driving a car without the traffic jam and worry
of knocking into someone because you are up in the sky alone. It was like a big
playground for me. Turn left right up down etc. It was time to get down on
earth, he communicated to the control tower people and all I hear was
)$(*@#)($*@)#($*)@#($*#@)(*
delta Charlie
delta Charlie $*)(@#*$_(#@*$_#@($_#@($ permission )#($*#@)($*#_@$*#_@$*#@_
landing $)(#@*$)(*#@$)(*#@$)(*#@)($*#@_(*$_(@#*$_@(U$ left wing landing
#)($)#@$*)#@(*$)#(@*$_#*$(U@!_#(*!@_#( Mr.Tony lowered the speed to 70knots and
maneuver the plane towards the airport. His landing was perfect, we didn’t feel
a single bump at all.
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| Giving a thumbs up for Captain Tony's landing |
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| Wan & Thoo |
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| Me & Jason |
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| Trying to be funny |
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| Friendly Ms.Rajes & I |
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| Me & Moses |
There was a man with those banner thing that directs him
to the hangar. I asked about his responsibilities and all, Tony the pilot
replied, “You cannot follow him blindly. You are the captain of the plane and you
are responsible for anything that happens. If you see something suspicious,
free feel to stop and check before going back into the hangar.” That lesson
reminded me on the first LOV. Leadership is responsible. Lazy to elaborate on
it further.
Got off the plane and started taking more photos. Jason and
I exchange our experience excitedly with one another and I’m glad he was there
with me. It was a great moment I shared with a good friend so it made this
experience even sweeter. Went back to the cabin for a little debrief and
presentation of souvenirs and certificate to ME! yahoo!!!!!
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| Receiving my certificate from the man himself. proud moments. kakaka |
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| A personalized post card given to them by one of their friends. I asked them signed their names on it as a souvenir |
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| Co-pilot Deswyn =) |
Now I can proudly say, I’ve pilot and fly a plane before! “WINGS!”
