Life of a Cadet Pilot, Part 1

It all started in February 2005 when I was still a civil/telco engineer. I started to evaluate my achievements and targets in life after having worked for about a year. Seeing the lack of opportunities and bad economic situations in Malaysia made me look to other countries for better ones. I stumbled upon the SIA website and was attracted to this job opening; Cadet Pilot. I used to fantasize piloting the fighter jets when I was a kid. But that was just a dream and I never thought of it as an ambition because one needs to be the Cream of the Crop to fight for that limited place. But my love for flying and traveling was re-ignited after seeing that advert. So I made this big decision to switch my direction and applied for it. I was called up for the 1st interview in April and subsequently the final in May. Before I could catch my breath, I was there for the medical check-up and signed the bond agreement; and my interesting journey began.

I was sent to a 21-day OBS training for physical, mental and leadership in June. That was one helluva tough training for me; physically, as I'm not really an outdoor person. (More stories and pictures in "OBS" post below)



After OBS, I was back in Singapore for ground studies and flying. The programme's duration is 6 months leading to the ATPL exam. I have to study more than 10 subjects, all compressed into the short duration of 6 months. Classes start every weekdays from 8am-5pm with only an hour break for lunch. This was the first time I have studied so hard and so much in my life that not even the combined hours of my secondary and university can match this. The books I need to read; when stacked up on the table can even go higher than my head. Some were so stressed in the class that they started to act "weird". LOL...




Flying was fun but limited hours because it was just introductory and aptitude gauging. I have flown for 9 hours on the Cessna 152. The only thing to worry was the instructors who can be unpredictable just like the weather. But they were just doing their job and they guided me well.


The final 2-week study break was a nightmare. There were just so much to consolidate of what I have been taught and learned for the past 6 months. It was overwhelming. And I studied from morning till 11pm in the night everyday. Sometimes, my brain was so saturated and just went numb. With so much expectations from family and friends, it added up to the existing pressures to pass this exam hurdle. Others were just like me and again, started to do weird things in the house. But most of the time, we took breaks and played LAN gaming of DOTA to release stress.




ATPL exam was over in 3 days on 28th Dec. But I have missed my Christmas because of this. But nevertheless, we made it up by celebrating later; not for the Christmas but for all our countless days of burning midnight oil and sleepless nights have finally come to an end. I really had fun chilling and hanging out around Singapore. These were the days that I really have the time to sight-see and explore the island since the first day I came here.




Now that everything has come to an end here in Singapore. I have secured the frozen ATPL and will move on to Perth, Australia (hopefully end of this month) to commence more flying to obtain the CPL/IR. My journey has actually just begun. The road is still far and the challenges ahead are even steeper. But knowing that I have so much moral support from my family, friends and fellow batchmates; this will push me to work even harder to reach the skies and to realize this once in a lifetime opportunity. Thank you for all those who are behind me all the time. Hopefully when I come back from Perth next time, I can continue with the Part 2 stories.

BBQ Farewell Party

Leroy's dad has made a BBQ farewell party for us before we take leave to Perth, Australia. We had the party at Coastal Sands Resort in Pasir Ris. It would have been a perfect party if not for the continuous rain. But it was still fun and wonderful; as we improvised and BBQ under the rain with umbrella cover. That was certainly a first time for me and the 'wet' BBQ experience was not that bad after all. At least the rain cooled us down from the heat. I love the chicken wing marinated with Leroy's mom's secret recipe. The taste was just fantastic. Thank you to Leroy's parents for making such a wonderful party for us.

Christmas Party at SFC

Well done to C124. They really did a good job in organizing the first ever annual SFC christmas party. It was very fun and entertaining. Also a good stress reliever for us. Merry christmas everyone!

DOTA

Caught red handed! Playing DOTA during the study break. Ah, we were just relaxing after a hard day of studying and revising. In fact, we've been doing that almost daily to release our stress. If not, we will go nuts and crazy. ATPL day is nearer, so as our stress continuing to build up. Don't worry, pilots are trained to handle stress. According to HPL, our sympathethic system will provide us the ability to "Fight or Take Flight" in stressful situations. And our parasympathetic system will prolong the body to fight the stress and return it to normal. LOL, for those who don't understand the lines above, it is taken from the subject Human Performance Limit for Pilots; one of the subject for our coming ATPL exam.

Pictures ripped from Leroy's blog.

Christmas in Changi Airport

The final study week for ATPL is so stressful. Been on the books everyday from morning till night. Finally we decided to take a break and to get some fresh air. So we went to Changi Airport; our future workplace; for dinner and sight-seeing. The terminals have higher than usual traffic due to the holiday seasons. Christmas decorations are everywhere to bring up the holiday mood. But sadly, while everyone else is going to celebrate, we have to go back to our studies. What worse is that our exams are on the Boxing Day! What a terrible day to start our exams.

Heavenly Light

Interesting weather at Seletar Airport.

This is the time
This is the day that we've been waiting for
All the world will stop to watch you shine
And if you fall
And if you trust then yes it will come true

-Shannon Noll : Shine