Talk to me

Most of the times, the boy just wants to continue talking
so he starts saying something stupid and spoils it all
although he knows the thing, which he's going to say, doesn't feel right.

It's not that I have run out of topics possible
but I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable during the conversations.
Frankly speaking, I actually feel it difficult to go further and deeper,
especially for me or may be both who don't actually like to talk on phone.
It makes me a little scared sometimes but I won't give up trying,
before I get shut down officially.

"And though it's just a line to you,

for me it's true,

it never seemed so right before."-Something stupid

Courage is what I need, not shyness. 

Plane spotting

I believe almost every aviation enthusiast enjoys plane spotting.

Many people, who are not into it, see it as an odd hobby but

it's considered a popular pastime worldwide for people, including me, 

who are keen about airplanes and flying, who are constantly amazed

by the ingenuity of human ability at getting a giant tin bird up into the sky.

I learned this and experienced the awesomeness first hand in the year 2010

when I decided to go for a walk with my camera on a whim

at Kuala Lumpur International Airport which was near to my college

where I did my Diploma in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering.

In 2010. Don't remember I had this phone before.

But you can see how happy I was during my first plane spotting at KLIA.

From Anjung Tinjau KLIA. One of the very first shots I had there.

Sri Lankan Airlines A340-300. Didn't have a good camera at that time

but it didn't stop me from developing the hobby,

AirAsia X A330-300 climbing out from KLIA.

Emirates A330-200 landing at KLIA.

AirAsia A320 approaching KLIA.

Me posting under an engine of Singapore Airlines B747-400

in Singapore Airshow 2012.

The jumbo jet.

I have even met some people who are really passionate, for them, 

plane spotting is simply genetically coded in his DNA.

The hobby itself is actually free but a real spotter will never get satisfied,

they don't mind spending a fortune on getting some really good gear

for plane spotting to make it easier and more fun 

as it has evolved from its roots of using nothing but binoculars

to a high tech, real-time game, some examples of the equipment are;

1. A smart phone or computer which has an internet connection to get the latest update of airport operations(flight schedules) and also the live tracking of the airplanes.
2. A dedicated radar decoded and radio scanner or the application(Liveatc.net) to keep track of the airplane movement, activities and the usage of the runways.
3. Some maps or guides for spotting where you can easily find on the Internet.
4. Some decent binoculars to check out the airplanes in details.
5. A tripod to take some steady shots and videos.
6. A good DSLR with a telephoto lens because the airplanes never flies low and near to you.

Pictures starting from here were taken with my new camera.

AirAsia X A330-300 taxiing to the low cost carrier terminal after landing.

AirAsia A320 "A true Malaysian" livery taking off from Kota Bharu Airport.

AirAsia A320 "World's best" livery retracting its landing gears after takeoff.

Weststar helicopter landing at Kota Bharu airport.

Malaysia Airlines prior to landing.

One Malaysia livery of AirAsia A320.

Piper Warrior 3

Plane spotting actually originated in World War 2

where some countries involved in the war encouraged their citizens 

to look out for enemy aircraft to warn of an impending attack.

Britain even had the Royal Observer Corps which was 

a civilian defense organisation operating between 1925 to 1995.

( Link --> Royal Observer Corps )

Today, plane spotting or known as aircraft spotting 

is not about preventing an attack or terrorism

but about aviation or airplane enthusiasts looking to snap a picture

of the interesting flying craft which they like,

whether they are airliners, fighters, helicopters, airships or hot air balloons,

it's all up to their personal interests :)

This picture doesn't belong to me.

As well as this picture. Airship.

And this also from the Internet. 

It's Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon Festival btw.

However, after the 9/11 incident, plane spotting is accused

of being a threat to national and air security,

thus, in some countries, for example, Malaysia,

even though there's no rules against amateur photography on airport property,

the airport authority police have no tolerance for plane spotting,

forcing spotters off the airport whenever they find spotters

near to the sensitive areas at the airport,

that's why I have never been to the hot spots,

like the most famous Ladang near KLIA

to avoid being asked to show my identity card by the police.

"Adik, IC mana?" :D

Probably plane spotting is more accepted in the western countries

like Los Angeles which openly encourages plane spotting 

on their social media outlets, asking spotters to send in their best shots,

anyway, just make sure you know the rules of that particular country

before you start spotting so that you won't get into any legal troubles.

From the Internet. A very nice shot you have there, dude :D

Picture from: http://www.travelstart.co.za

 Make sure your girl won't feel bored 

if you're bringing her to spotting :DD

From the Internet. 

Sexy. I mean the airplane :DDD

From the Internet. Great posture. :DDDD

From the Internet. 

Spotting at a place like this it the bomb!

This is professional. haha!

Besides, there're also some sites or forums on the Internet

where spotters share their techniques, tips, photos,

locations they think are best for plane spotting

and discuss everything aviation related.

Belows are some of the really good sites:

airliners.net

planespotters.net

malaysianwings.net

Malindo ATR72-600 vacating the runway after landing.

KLM B777-300ER Skyteam livery climbing out from KLIA.

Malaysia Airlines B737-800 Oneworld livery resting at the apron.

Malaysia Airlines B737-800 Retro livery taxiing to the main terminal buidling.

The 100th Airbus in the world which belongs to Malaysia Airlines.

Just landed. Turning into high speed taxiway.

AirAsia latest livery. 

Japan Airlines

Malindo Airline B737-900

At the end of the day, everyone who ends up

being an aviation or airplane geek must have their own stories to tell

and plane spotting simply combines their love and enthusiasm for aviation.

"There's always something to see, new liveries, new airlines and new fleets,

bringing surprises to the spotters every time they go spotting."

If you wish to know more about plane spotting,

just do some reseaches about the spots in different airports,

come on any given day, especially the sunny ones,

you'll find enthusiastic and knowledgeable people there

with their eyes and cameras focused on the skies.

Reference : Be an aircraft spotter.

Airborne.

Rock and roll.

Let's fly high, baby.

Asiana flight 214

On Saturday afternoon, an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 smashed onto the runway

when it was attempting to land at San Francisco International Airport,

killing two teenage Chinese girls and injuring more than 160 passengers seriously

before the heavily damaged aircraft was engulfed in smoke and flames.

What was so shocking about this accident was that,
Asiana Airline was considered one of the safest airlines in the world
while their flight 214 was the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 777,

which was well-known as a high-technology and safe plane,
since it entered service in 1995.
The accident has become a hot topic in aviation sector today.

The flight, which originated in Shanghai
before stopping in Seoul en-route to San Fransicso,

was carrying 61 U.S citizens, 77 South Koreans and 141 Chinese.

The cause of the crash has not been determined but the FBI has ruled out terrorism.

The plane appeared to have touched down tail-first and short of the runway.

Investigators said the plane was flying "significantly below" its target speed 

during the approach and the plane may have stalled 

when the crew tried to abort the landing just about two seconds 

before the tail of the plane hit a sea wall separating the airport from the bay.

Passenger Janghyung Lee told USA TODAY
that the aircraft rattled wildly before landing.

Thus, attention is increasingly being focused on the actions of the pilots 

but investigators have refused to speculate on the cause of the crash

since they were still in the process of investigation and interviewing the pilots.

Latest news: 

According to USA TODAY, the investigators revealed Wednesday that

the pilot told them that he was temporarily blinded by a bright light 

when 500ft above the ground. The pilots also recognised that 

the plane was going too low and not aligned with the runway centerline.

They continued making adjustments on the approach until

they initiated a go-around or "aborted landing" but it's too late.

How or why they got themselves in this situation,

and why they did not abandon the landing sooner, remains unknown.

The pilot says he's blinded by light prior to crash

It's certainly understandable that some people might be afraid of flying.

Fear is very powerful, especially after we get to know the facts

or rumours from the social media which are yet to be verified

but please be reassured that air crashes are still a rare event.

Every day, people in the aviation industry are working hard,

trying to make the machines better and more accurate, 

strengthening the air rules and revising their policies, 

to make air transportation safer. 

The number of deaths on highways in a year 

might still be much higher than the entire number of people 

who have died in a commercial airplane over the past half century.

References:

Asiana Flight 214: A pilot's perspective

Stories of bravery emerged

abcnews

Now you know how important airmenship and decision making are
Edison! : )

CPL now!

Finally I'm updating my blog again after three weeks.

My schedule for the last month was quite hectic and

left me no room to blog as I was preparing for my PPL flight test.

The aim of the test was to check if I'm able to 

act as a pilot-in-command of an aircraft privately

for leisure flying (I can't get compensated in any forms).

Thank to Buddha that I managed to scrape through.

Passing the check ride means I'm now qualified to fly the aircraft anytime, 

of course it's subject to my type rating, for any non-commercial purpose.

In the previous post, I said I would tell more

about my solo navigation sortie from TGG to KBR 

but I can't really recall much about that sortie at the moment.

So why don't we give it a pass? =D  

I would definitely have more interesting stories to share in the future.

Speaking of the test, it's one of my "longest" sorties in the flying academy.

Even though the test only took 1 hour and 30 minutes,

it's really tiring and tense to fly with the legendary examiner,

who's also the commander of Terengganu detachment.

In spite of that, I tried to keep calm and do all my best 

throughout the whole flight, I made a few small mistakes, 

luckily his mood was good on that day and 

he gave me a pass with an average performance.
Having stepped into the CPL flying stage,

I hope I would have the same amount of confidence

like what I had in the ground school before.

After the flight test, I straightaway went to KB for license documentations 

with a batch mate, who had also done the test, by bus on that night.

The need of travelling was a hassle but we had no choice because 

it's APFT's procedure and we wanted to get our PPL license done ASAP.

We're lucky that we didn't need to wait long for 

chief instructor and chief ground instructor who we needed their signatures, 

so we managed to settle all documentations in a morning.

With the permission from the warden, I went back home for a few days afterwards.
It was a short break but at least I got to see my dearest family again after so long.
The last time I went home was during the Qing Ming festival on 31st March.

I always enjoy being at home, do you? 

Too many thoughts in my head but I need some time to sort them out.

Anyway, I learnt something from the General Handling sortie the other day 

which was a pilot must dare to speak out when he/she has doubts 

about the safety or any decision of other pilots.
It's not merely his mistake even though I was not having the control.
It was a scary but valuable experience.