IPOH

So I'm back to this site after a whole month.
I always wanted to write something
since I last updated the blog in July
but I really had no time to do that
as I was busy flying and moving around.

Things have been great in the past month
except that the haze hit Malaysia again last week.
Because of that, my flying progress has been delayed further.
Anyway, I shall cut the crap and stop telling the misfortune,
I'm currently in Ipoh, still alive,
struggling to get my single-engine flying done.
How did I end up being here? It's a long story.
I'm not going to talk anything about that in public.
Ask me personally if anyone is interested to know.

Even though I have only done two sorties here,
I think flying around in Ipoh should be fun
because this airfield is said to be one of the hardest airport
to be approached because of its mountainous landscape.
I'm no bluffing, this's what the air traffic controller said
when we made a visit to the tower on our first day here.
According to the source that I have got from the Internet,
Cathay Pacific used to send their pilots here for training
because the limestone hills around the airport closely resembled the skyscrapers
around Hong Kong's Kai Tak Airport, the top ten hardest airport in the world.
Read the comments here: The source.
Besides, the runway is short(2000m) with a down and up slope
at two ends of the runway, increasing the difficulty for making a nice landing.

To be sure, at this moment, I no longer care
if I'm progressing faster or slower than other batchmates,
I just don't like the feeling that a team spirit is separated into two.
However, the Buddha must have his reason for what happened,
at least I'm closer to my dearest family now,
so instead of blaming the school for kicking us here and there,
I should just enjoy myself and learn as much as possible in Ipoh.

Have been praying a lot these few days,
to the Buddha, Guan Yin PuSa and many others,
hopefully they hear my prayers and I hope my life 
is long enough to be exchanged with :)

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.

NAV7

What goes around comes around.

Haha! Gonna update about my NAV7 soon which I did yesterday.

Probably after my SOLO navigations

to Redang island and Kota Bharu.

Hello off day!

If you ask me what I don't like about TGG detachment,

it must be the hostel because I'd always prefer 

to stay alone and have some personal space 

as it does affect the level of my comfort sometimes.

I don't have any opinion on my roommates, 

but try to imagine the noises and annoyance 

when everyone is in the room, talking on the phone, 

chitchatting with someone about something

which you're not interested to know(You can't close your ears though :P) 

or when everyone is watching their own favourite YouTube channels. 

For example,

someone's watching "Pranking shows" while

you're listening to Beethoven or ThePianoGuys

and none of you wants to use headset or

turn down the volume. (Example only, Don't "terasa" :P)

Was thinking to wish my father Happy Father's Day

but I feel embarrassed. Maybe an sms will do.

Love, is that really hard to say?

Anyway, off today! Hello weekend!

Continue "Heartbeat..I can feel your heartbeat."

Next destinations for navigation:

P.Redang 

Kota Bharu

And many more in CPL stage.

NAV 4 done.

I finally did my first navigation solo this afternoon after so long.

As Capt. Fuad (APAC19), together with Kelvin, were flying

exactly the same route with me at almost the same time, 

I knew there's nothing for me to worry about,

I basically just followed them all the way since start-up until landing, 

It was quite a relaxing sortie and I pretty enjoyed myself up there.

Anyway, the most interesting part was the landing

and it's what I'm going to say here today.

In fact, I started the engine 10 minutes after APAC19,

but I came back right after them, only two or three minutes later.

Listening to the radio transmission from Terengganu Approach,

I was shocked and I believe the others also did

because, starting from Dungun, my actual elapse time 

between waypoints became shorter than the estimates. 

"APAC5362, traffic APAC19 is 4 minutes ahead, same routing."

"APAC5362, traffic APAC19 is 3 minutes ahead, same routing."

I checked everything, indicated airspeed normal, RPM normal,
I was sure that I was on track but how on earth I was faster,
maybe I got some magic or tailwinds pushing me behind :P
or they did a few orbits somewhere I think.

Until.

Me:"APAC5362, turning final to land."

Approach:"APAC5362, continue approach, number 1 on short final."

Me:"Continue approach, APAC5362."

Approach:"APAC19, expedite vacate via Bravo."

Approach:"APAC5362, clear to land."

Me:"Clear to land, APAC5362."

Approach:"APAC19, clear to cross runway via Alpha, continue taxi for dispersal via Charlie."

Approach:"APAC5362, number 2, number 1 vacating via Charlie for dispersal."

Me:"Number 2, number 1 vacating via Charlie for dispersal, APAC5362."

At this time, I already safely landed and slowed down on the runway

waiting for APAC19 to cross the runway from Alpha continue for Charlie

because the controller instructed me to stay number 2.

So I took my sweet time, continued taxiing with a turtle speed

like a boss on the runway for a few hundred meters
to keep a safe distance from traffic ahead.

Wanted to take some photos while I was taxiing at first
(It's safe because I was taxiing with 5-6 knots only)
but I was scared that the controller could see me :P

Photos taken enroute would be uploaded later! :)

Dungun in sight.

And this is how I pronounce : "Dungoooooong"

Was listening to the radio transmission between Terengganu Approach 

and two America-registered aircraft, which were heading to P.Redang,

while singing "heartbeat" on the way back from Dungun to WMKN.

The weather was depressing.

It's a fun solo navigation anyway.

My route for this solo navigation.

WMKN-Cenering-Penerak-Dungun-

Penerak-K.Berang-Cenering-WMKN

Hazy all the way

 but still managed to see near objects.

Approaching East of KT town.

Me:"APAC5362, east of KT town, 1500ft, airfield in sight!"
Approach:"APAC5362, maintain 1500ft, join right hand downwind runway 04."
Me:"Maintain 1500ft, join right hand downwind runway 04, APAC5362."
Me:"APAC5362, right hand downwind runway 04 to land."

The 7th day in TGG

It's almost been a week since I came to Terengganu,
I've begun to doubt if flying is really fast here,
so far I've only done a familiarisation sortie
which was to familiar myself with all training areas here.
Anyway, let me continue my TGG's post today.

As you all know that there's no entertainment here,
what I normally do in spare time are surfing the Internet,
working out or jogging with my friends in the evening.
Everyday, I repeat the same routine from yesterday.
It was pretty same today except that
we walked further to the other side of the sea
followed by a yummy burger bakar as dinner.

Still the same lagoon but different view. The sky never stays the same at least. 

It's become a checkpoint for us, the runner gang.

Seeing a sunset seems so hard at the East coast,

maybe I'll get a sunrise view for you one day,

a photo that only you'll have it.

Da Big Bro burger bakar which is right beside UMT.

It's a homemade burger chicken combo served with French fries.

Their prices were quite reasonable but one of my friends said that

their services were poor, which I actually don't think so :P

Maybe I'm contented and easy-going :P

I'm looking forward for my next try there.

Just something that I drew in the sand the other day.

E.T = Edison Tang

Eat more or what else it could be? It's all up to your imagination.

Sometimes, I'm also surprised by what I've said

but I really mean it.

TGG (2)

For your information, Asia Pacific Flight Training is located

within the perimeter of the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport,

which is in Kota Bharu(The Islamic City), Kelantan.

Yet, as the number of cadets has been increasing fast in recent years,

other than Kota Bharu itself, APFT have also set up

a few detachments in other states 

to accommodate and speed up the movement of cadets.

These places include Subang, Ipoh and Terengganu.

Just exactly four days ago, I was sent here - Terengganu.

I'm not going to detail my daily life and flying progress today.

Basically, it's just like what I said in the last post,

this place lacks of some havoc and excitement,

even though I haven't deeply explored the town.
Unlike the Crew Residence in Kota Bharu,
which have three rows of villas with a total number of thirty-six houses,
each villa houses six students,
there're only about twenty cadets in this detachment now,
all stay in a three-storey single house,
so we're like meeting the same people everywhere and everyday.

"Eat, Sleep then Fly", that's what we do here 

but I'll surely find my way through trying to enjoy this short stay soon.

Anyway, speaking of which, there's actually something 

that makes me have no regret coming to this place,

it's the beautiful landscapes of this land, especially the seas!

I don't mind jogging to the sea everyday for all these views.

The lagoon in the evening.

Same place on the same day.

When I first arrived in TGG.

All these were taken at Pantai Tok Jembal

which only took me a 20-minute walking distance from my hostel.

For more of these stunning scenery, follow me on my Instagram: edison_tsk

TGG

So this's my second night in Terengganu.

I have settled down and familiarised myself with places around.

As expected, there's nothing much here,

the town is far away from my accommodation

which couldn't be reached by foot,

luckily there's a sea and some restaurants nearby

to hang out with the boys.

Just before I came, someone had told me that 

everything here suck except flying,

I actually agree with it now.

Food is worse than KB Crew Residence,

same goes to the accommodation, 

I have to plan something for spare time

before I get bored with the sea and airport.

Anyway, I've determined to do all my best here,

hoping I can leave this place by September

with some wonderful memories and a CPL.

How to concentrate while you keep poping up on my mind. 

I don't know if I'm pushing too far or I'm not trying hard enough

but I mean to keep you by my side, at least as a close friend,

so that I have someone to share all my joy and tears with 

and I have a strong feeling that you're the right one,

that's why I'm playing safe. Just gotta sober down.

*Blogging at 5 o'clock in the morning 

after watching "The Apprentice Asia".

I guess I couldn't sleep already 

unless I could make myself tired because

apparently the best timing to sleep has passed.

Lesson from the first episode:

Bringing members who are stronger than you 

to the board when someone is to be blamed

is the silliest mistake ever. You can't escape

from taking the responsibility for the failure

but it's not done by committing suicide and giving up.

Leaving the weakest in the team won't help the team either.

Lesson from the second episode:

Never compromise when you think something's wrong

or you have something better to solve the problem.

I knew Hanzo'll definitely be fired when he asked Sam to shut up. 

Maintaining a good communication and linking between members is essential,
for me, it''s cockpit gradient and crew resources management.

31st May

So today is 31st May,
it's my dear elder sister's birthday!
Here I must dedicate this post to her
for all undivided support that she has been giving me.
Being the eldest of three children, she had been playing her role well
guarding us whenever our parents were not at home
until we all grew up and managed to take good care of ourselves.
I don't know how my other family members think about her,
but I feel great and blessed to be her cute little brother :P
Happy birthday, stay healthy and pretty, 大姐!


Okay! Talk about training.
My batch will be departing for Terengganu detachment in a few hours!
It's the decision of Chief Instructor. Now only expedite us but it's better than none :(
According to his plan, we're to complete single engine flying by mid September
so that we could proceed with twin engine flying and graduate on time.
I don't know if the plan will work, let's see what will happen there,
what I'm pretty sure is that we'll have minimum rest time
in Terengganu to catch up with the progress.


A friend of mine had a friendship problem recently.
I told her, backstabbers are everywhere,
it's nothing and it's normal in a big company like ours.
Sometimes, unconsciously, we even become one of them.
Dealing with them, there's one thing I've learned,
they are only powerful when your back is turned.
So why should we let them control so much of our mind?
You and me actually know who to keep in touch with
and who to keep away from one day.

Just a smile.

Flying or Friends?

I felt so astounded and unpleasant that
those people gave you a response
like "What?? Why we cannot fly???"
instead of showing their concern about their friends' safety
after something unhappy happened.

Flying or friends?
Of course the latter!

Going to read up the emergency procedures and
make sure that it's always remained current in my head.
Navigation 2 was done yesterday. Waiting for RT test now
so that I could proceed with the Navigation solo check.
Heard some rumours recently, good and bad,
I just hope that everything's alright and
the progress won't get any slower.


I want to see you keep a smile on your face everyday
and it's true.

Two more.

Exam week is done!
I have two remaining papers
but at least I could temporarily say good bye
to those thick books and test preps until June.

Performance: 90
Mass and Balance: Congratulations
Operational Procedures: Congratulations

Results were good, I only regret that
Performance didn't come up to my expectations
because I was confident in the theory part,
maybe I tabulated one of the graphs wrong.
(Performance is a subject about airplane performance)
Anyway, to my surprise, I found myself enjoying
the group study with my batch mates this time.
I'm not trying to take credit for their success
but sharing knowledge with them and
seeing them pass the exams did bring me some satisfaction.

Okay, let the past be the past.
I have to concentrate more on flying
and boost my flying hours from now on
to graduate from this place as soon as possible!

I don't stay up for no reason.
I don't stalk for no reason.
Even though sometimes there's no reason.

Zombie

I'm actually feeling like a zombie now
after staying up the whole night to study
but still I came to the hangar
by taking 06:30am bus because
I was assigned as the duty cadet of the day
to do the morning brief even though
there's no any serviceable aircraft today.
Seriously, I'm not sure if it's considered lucky or not,
at least I have a valid reason to cancel my sortie
in exchange for a good rest.

(By the way, what a duty cadet needs to do
are to brief all flying cadets and duty instructor
about the actual weather report, terminal aerodrome forecast,
remaining aircraft hours, some part of SOP as well as emergency checklist
and the last job is to do a time check synchronised with the air traffic control's time.)

I swear I'm not going to stay up late anymore
after I finish all ground paper examinations by June.
My sleeping habit has been terribly messed up recently.
causing me to have insomnia almost every night,
playing lullabies didn't even help much.
It's a nightmare for those who usually
enjoy sleeping and dreaming :(

Anyway, I gotta go catch some sleep
at the cadet waiting room now.
Here are some pictures which I have just taken.
Good morning. Greetings from APFT hangar.

Just a beautiful and stunning view to welcome me back to hangar in the early morning!

The sky overhead the other side of the airfield.

Best view for a 360 panorama effect!

No aircraft. A tech log and authorisation sheet for each aircraft

should be on the table if there's any serviceable aircraft ready to fly.

Goyang kaki while chatting with my friend on Facebook.

Testing 123. See the reflection in the water?

ASIAN EXPRESS 6430. 

Travelled on this aircraft once.

Updated at 3:30pm*

A few aircraft were released for service

but my solo sortie was not flown due to 

flying repriortised to those AFI.

Another unproductive day at the hangar.

:)