HANGAR AT LAST...

It's pretty ironic when you're studying at an airport but never went close to the school's aircraft. So, the time has finally came. Thank God Captain Jaafar who taught Batch A50 was very understanding despite we most of my batchmates slept in his class. LOLOL... He finally brought us to the hangar. After collecting our pass at the airport security, he headed straight to the hangar; all were eager as beavers. The weather was perfect that morning despite the heavy showers for the past week. As soon as we arrived at the hangar, our seniors who were waiting for their sortie greeted us and took us to the planes. We'd split to several groups - some going to the Piper Warrior III and some headed to the Diamond DA40.



I headed straight to the Diamond since that's the plane that we're going to fly throughout our single engine course. After having a close-up view, I thought to myself, "Pewiiitttt... What a sexy aircraft." Yes, indeed it was sexy. The closer you look, the sexier it gets. I fell in love with the aircraft since the first time I saw it flew over my house since it was first introduced into APFT's fleet. My senior, Hong, who was also a Kelantanese, asked me to sit in the cockpit while he explained about the Garmin G1000 display.



What an awesome cockpit it was... After that, he brought me to the brand new Piper Seminole - a twin engine trainer. Unlike the Diamonds which had full glass cockpit, the Seminole had a semi-glass cockpit. Another difference between Diamonds and Pipers is the Diamonds use joysticks instead of yoke - so it's quite similar to the A320 we'll be flying soon. After that, we had some demo about the pre-flight checks that had to be done. Alan was asked to suck the stall warning sensor at the leading edge of the wings to check the stall warning. LOLOL...



Then we were explained about the 4 cylinder piston engine by Captain Jaafar. Only now we had a better view of what's what instead of just staring at the whiteboard in class - well, at least some of us are still looking at the whiteboard. Hahaha... Well, all in all, it was an awesome experience. The trip had made us more eager to fly... Unfortunately, we heard some news saying that we have to finish our Phase 1 of ground school first before we start flying. That means ground school for the next 3 months........... $#@!

BOREDOM STRIKES THE VILLA

What do APFT cadets do when they're bored and still under 1 month curfew? Easy... We play cards.. LOL.....

RAMBUT OH RAMBUT...

Well, a tradition is a tradition... But unfortunately in APFT, the tradition is the juniors have to cut their hair... NOMBOR 3!!! Talk about our dear hair......... Pffft...


Bye-bye pretty hair...... =(

FIRST DAY OF CLASS

THE DAY HAS COME...

*photo courtesy of APFT

27th of December 2011 marks the first step for me and my 11 colleagues in realising our dreams of becoming an aviator as we make our way to Asia Pacific Flight Training (APFT) in Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan. For some of my colleagues, they're 800 kilometers away from home, but for me, just a 10 minute drive to the crew residence... Haha.. Pengkalan Chepa is like my backyard. My high school is in Pengkalan Chepa (MRSM Pengkalan Chepa), my driving school is in Pengkalan Chepa (Institut Memandu Kotaraya), and now my flying school is in Pengkalan Chepa! How cool is that? LOLOL...

We've registered at the ground school at Sultan Ismail Petra Airport and were handled by Kolonel (B) Dahalan who were in charge of the Air Asia cadets. After a quick tour around the school, we were brought to the Crew Residence in Panji. It was a very nice place indeed. It was more of like a resort rather than a hostel. The place has everything - gym, laundry, cafe, lounge, basketball court, futsal court, badminton court. Surau is also available in the Kompleks Islam Jubli Perak Sultan Ismail Petra opposite the Crew Residence.



*photo courtesy of Jessica Lee

We were then brought to our respective villas (as we called it) which were named after airports in Malaysia and Singapore. Some of my colleagues had to stay with the seniors, but lucky for me, I got to stay with the rest of my colleagues. I was placed in villa Lahad Datu (LHD). I was stunned with the villa. It has a common area outside for us to study. There were pantry, table, air cond and even a fridge! The villa has six rooms (one for each cadet), 2 toilets and 2 bathrooms. There were nothing more that I could wish for.




From the look of it, I'm sure I'll be having a nice stay here throughout my 2 years of training. One small step into aviation...

SECOND MEETING AT AIR ASIA

I went for the second meeting with Air Asia at Air Asia's office at LCCT on the 14th of December - just after I came back from LIMA. I finally get to meet my fellow colleagues more personally as most of our parents weren't there. Saya ni malu-malu sikit depan parents saya. *blushing* Haha...

Well, the meeting turned out well. We'd discussed about the registration process, transport to the flying school (but not for me lah), financing, bank accounts, as well as uniform measurement. In the end, ALL IS WELL... APFT, here we come!



*photo courtesy of Jessica Lee

DREAM REALISED...

21st November 2011 will stay in my mind for the rest of my life. A single e-mail received on the day changed the life of 12 people from every walks of life. It was a turning point that changed everything. My dream to touch the skies, has finally been realised...

Aircrafts never fail to amaze me since I was a child. My parents thought I was the same as any other children who liked airplanes and tend to forget about it as they grow older. Unfortunately for them, I wasn't. Planes keep on attracting me until I grow up. That's when I decided that I really want to be a pilot. I knew I belong in the skies. From the moment I entered school, I said to myself, "Joji, mu keno belajar sungguh. Nati besar mu nok jadi pilot." That was my motivation to work hard. A child with a high dream - literally.




Now, Alhamdulillah, Air Asia had given me the chance of a lifetime to realise my childhood dream. My hard work throughout the selection process as well as my 11 years of study had finally pay off. I am now on track in becoming the person I always wanted since I was a child. *lega pulak rasa* Now I join my 11 colleagues - Khushdeep, Keegan, Joseph, Zafran, Hans, Jenson, Hasbullah, Jessica, Goh, Alan and Avan - who are as passionate as me in realising our dreams of becoming aviators. And so begins the journey...