Back home

Everything came to an end last Tuesday after i had my 7th sortie, the test sortie which proves to be my last ever sortie. It wasn't a case of me being placed in a stressed up situation with a nasty mean instructor, on the contrary, i should be counting my lucky stars, for that i had Mr. Hyacinth Tan for my test, the best instructor in the Air Grading course, well known for his patience and teachings.

Prior to my test sortie, i messed up my test profile sortie during my 6th sortie. Made too many mistakes and my primary instructor was telling me it would take quite something for me to pull it through for my test. It proved to be true despite the fact that i did improved alot compared to my 6th sortie, but it just wasn't good enough.

3 weeks of flying, 7 sorties and 7.7 hours of flying experience are definitely something i'll remember for life. It's like a milestone for me. Of course you can always argue that i didn't manage to clear and continue with it. Flying just below the clouds, little raindrops hitting down the canopy, and glazing the sceneries from 5500 feet above ground level are good enough for me though.

The most memorable and unforgettable part is the thrill of diving down 170kts and pulling up to 4G, as my instructor executed aerobatics during my 1st sortie. Hanging on my safety harness, head facing down and staring at the whole landscape below, with a bird's eye view, is something i never use to imagine.

The weird thing about this Air Grading course which was lasted for 3 weeks was the fact that i felt it wasn't that long. Probably felt like it's only for a week or so, but of course to be frank, towards the end i kinda miss Singapore and all the oriental delicacies. I was telling my friend how she would love to be in my shoes for that i'm chewing steak almost day in day out.

Recalling back the last day over at the Air Grading Center, just an hour before i departed to Tamworth Airport, i walked back alone to my accommodation block from the classroom to finish packing up some of my stuff. Holding on to my electronic tickets, my passport, my travel order and my clearance form with my left hand, the usual 5 minutes walk back almost became an hour long emotional walk.

Images of all the fun right from the day we departed from Changi Airport, were flashing through the back of my head. Images of the hot unbearable 39 degrees of sun burning down at us the day we first stepped on Tamworth, images of the day we first stepped into the cockpit of the CT-4B for strapping, images of our first sortie, images of our weekly anticipated drinking sessions on Friday night, images of the star glazing during some nights, images of a group of guys sitting down over at each other rooms chatting and fooling away and images of us bidding each other goodbyes were flashing just like a movie with no title to it.

2nd Feb 2006, the day we became superstars with cameras from our families and friends all flashing on us at the airport. 9th Feb 2006, the day 16 of us had our first ever sortie in a CT-4B aircraft. 11th Feb 2006, the day 17 of us headed down to Tamworth Town for the first time. 21st Feb 2006, 3 of us departed back to Singapore. 23rd Feb 2006, 3 more of us departed back to Singapore. To date, 9 left in phase 2. 27th Feb 2006 (Tomorrow), 4 more coming back.

9 are left fighting for their last few sortie which all will probably end this coming Thursday. (To AGC02/06: If you guys are reading my blog now, all the best with the remaining sortie and always remember your own motivation, your stand and your desire. "When you are high up in the sky, you will envy no one on ground.")

Just in case some of you are curious why i placed the current song on my blog, the reason is that this song marked the end of my air grading. It's the song that almost made my friend wept after he saw the clip which i made for him. I edited the video we took of him singing during our usual fooling around together with the song. The last night before i left, i spend 3 hours doing up a course video for them and this song was also used to wrap up the clip. Somehow its a emo song which somehow goes well to what we felt towards to each other and the air grading course.

In short, i had a wonderful time in Tamworth and for this i'll have something interesting to share with my grandchildren in time to come and like what they said, the rest is history..