Long time never update...

See what I mean? I'm not made for this blogging thing.

But today, in a state of near complete boredness, I shall attempt to recapture the last month and a bit of excitement on Queenslands' Sunshine Coast & beyond.

First, I'll start with our first (of three) road trip to Brisbane:

Maroochydore, or more precisely Pacific Paradise Mudjimba where we are staying, is laid back & quiet – well as quiet as can be when there aren’t any 737s, A320s or Lear 45s on final approach or taking off from MCY Sunshine Coast Airport, which is no more than 400 m away. It is nothing more than your stereotypical Australian suburb with the local shops and bowling club the epicentre and hub of activity. There’s the beach dotted with a few café’s and take-away lunch bars & the surf life saving club as it’s hotspot about 1-2 km away. In terms of structures – nothing too big due to the proximity of the airport – however, plenty of holiday apartments and resorts that stand at a maximum of 7 storeys (probably) line the coast from Coolum down to Maroochydore & Mooloolaba.

Sunshine Plaza @ Maroochydore is a 20 minute bus ride away, and that is your average shopping centre equivalent to Garden City or Carousel in Perth – but with a more interesting design in the water fall laced canal that runs through it and large shaded al-fresco areas for café’s and restaurants around this canal. A nice setting if you aren’t in the mood for shopping. This is where the buck stops. Apart from Bi-Lo at Mudjimba, Sunshine Plaza at Maroochydore, the endless beaches all up and down the coast from Noosa – there really isn’t much else.

This is really the equivalent of Florida in Australia – all the old retirees wanting a semi-tropical laid back existence. They’ve got it made! Lawn bowls around the corner, Golf course across the creek, Wellness centres and spas, strawberry farms and the Hinterland (a cooler name for the inland hills when compared to the Darling Escarpment). Yes, all in a Sunday drive. Sure, these things are enjoyable – but not day in and day out. That is why we felt the need to rent a car and drive on down to the fastest growing capital city in Australia – Brisbane.

Planning for this little day side-trip began a week prior with our schedule not really showing much at all – in fact nothing at all – for 7 days. So with IPT practice having been completed, and the acknowledgement that all work and no play will lead to eventual insanity, we rented a car.

Our day started not too early, with the car being collected at 0900 from the airport rental. At 0930, we were on the road and heading to the Sunshine Coast Motorway, thence the M1 motorway AKA the Bruce Highway (how Aussie can you get).

Being school holidays, there was plenty of traffic travelling southward and northward – but thankfully not any that slowed us down too much. The drive of 100 km was scheduled to last approximately 1 hr and 15 minutes, not including any stops to be made along the way. With the radio tuned to Nova (no one thought to bring any CDs – where’s Nash when you need him!), we were abuzz with the day ahead, discussing the various things we could do in and around Brisbane- deciding that this time would be spent more as tourists exploring the place, with the guidance of Mitchell who had previously studied in Brisbane at QUT.

Scenery along the drive included numerous Pine tree plantations, and amazing landscapes to the interior such as this mountain – forgetting the name. There is a tourist scenic drive that parallels the M1 known as “Steve Irwin Way”, after the famous late Crocodile Hunter. Not surprisingly, this drive passes through “Beerwah”, home of Australia Zoo – that shall be an adventure for another day. Interestingly named places I felt were “Deception bay” and “Danger Bay”. Imagine buying a place in those locales – It’s almost like “Innaloo” or “Upper Swan” in Perth. However, I still wonder if these places are any reflection of their unfortunate names

Before proceeding into Brisbane, it was decided that we should have a look at a shopping centre at the airport known as DFO – Duty Free Outlet. A centre filled with factory outlets and branded apparel and goods at considerably discounted prices from city retail shops. Yes, not being much of a shopping person, we spent a mere 1 hour meandering through the maze of people and shops trying to find that convincing bargain – but none were to be had – albeit I didn’t really give anything much of a chance with 5 second stares at most shops.

From here we travelled on into the city of Brisbane – located just 20 minutes from the airport. This is a peculiar thing with Australia – there are no dedicated highways that serve commuters directly from the airport to within the CBD – I can’t think of any Australian city that has such – you must travel through the suburbs on small and often congested roads. Nonetheless, the road from YBBN to the city was scenic at parts, hugging the Brisbane river and then through the old docklands and into Chinatown, then across into the CBD.


Brisbane city, as mentioned earlier, is the fastest growing capital city in Australia. There are a number of high-rise constructions – both commercial and residential in the CBD. Skyscraper architecture is comparable to other Australian capital cities making it a little boring, but the charm of this city is in its heritage. There are numerous heritage buildings littered throughout the city that remind one of the historical significance of Brisbane in Australian history. The council house, old treasury building and numerous other ex-civil/government buildings have been converted into museums, casinos and a myriad of other tourism/heritage related roles.

Driving around, you can tell that the city forms an integral part of daily/weekend life with pubs/shopping arcades and malls spread throughout the city – more haphazard than Perth – however the primary shopping arcades and pedestrian malls centred around the museum (with clocktower). From kerbside, you don’t really get a full perspective of this city.

So we hit the waterways – taking a ferry ride from the city downstream to nearly the mouth of the Brisbane river.

To be continued......................

Virtual Realities..

Okay… the first blog was much easier to start than this one. I’ve been sitting around for about 5 minutes now trying to think of a creative title and way to open this entry. Not working. Coming back to what I said in my opening, I don’t want to be too “try hard” – just simply convey the journey that I’m on. So bugger the creativeness (I’ve saved this entry as “SGBlog_Entry 2”), let’s get straight to the nitty-gritty!

It’s been an exciting weekend with a good quantity of constructive practice in the Instrument Proficiency Trainer (IPT) and a good dose of exploring this region of Australia that I am presently in.

Friday morning was spent in the IPT from 0800 – 1200 completing much needed rehearsal and consolidation of normal procedures in the LJ45. It's a virtual world with no exterior views, control columns - just a cockpit. I think it’s safe to say that we’ve “conquered” the normal checklists from before start till shutdown. We’re needing to work on the transition altitude checks – haven’t bothered to go that high yet because all the sectors thus far attempted are between MCY and BNE – a mere distance of 112 km. 7000ft has been sufficient – not higher than the trips in the Baron back in Perth!

On a break in our IPT session, we even managed to get airside for some shots with the Learjet. The aircraft is even better up close and in the sunshine.

The Simfinity IPT is provided by CAE – I believe it came along with SIM B. It’s a really neat concept that allows pilots to train for normal procedures during early training as well as gaining a good understanding of the intricacy of the avionics and EFIS. I’ve been exposed to EFIS/FMS instrument panels in the past with my love affinity for Microsoft Flight Simulator. However, this brings it to a whole new level! I would kill for one of these devices in my house and hook up multiple monitors for external views and link it with MSFS9. It’s really superb – all instruments and switches are functional.

However, the FMS is not FULLY functional – which is a bit of a downer because this is considered quite essential for our training and future careers. The FMS or Flight Management System is basically a super computer that allows the programming of lateral and vertical flight data, departures, arrivals and approaches etc etc. It integrates with the Flight Guidance System or “George” (that’s the name given to the Autopilot) to provide precise automated* navigation and flight (*no autothrottle in the LJ45). Of course, we still learn to fly this beautiful airplane “stick & rudder”, as we will the wide-bodies – but this gives us a platform to get used to deriving maximum benefit from available aircraft systems and maximise our Situational Awareness (SA) – e.g. flying in congested airspace and multi-tasking communications, traffic separation, and setting up the aircraft for arrivals/departures, “George” comes in handy!

I digress – The other annoying thing about the IPT is that only one person can touch it at a time. So procedurally, we know what we have to do, and at times (a lot of times) we have to be doing things simultaneously (i.e. the PF and PNF duties) – but the IPT doesn’t let us do that. It’s one at a time. And boy, do we constantly forget that. Hehehe. Imagine trying to adjust the heading whilst your PNF is setting up the approach. Each time you touch the displays, you cut him off, and vice versa – and the plane is flying at 8 miles a minute! Cilaka! The upside to all this is that it has made us fast with the checks and setting up. Oh, one more annoying thing – all the turn knobs don’t work as they do in the cockpit – imagine having to tap the monitor furiously to get your heading bug to move from 000 to 250. My guy’s will see when they arrive.. but here’s the warning for you guys anyway!

So after conducting multiple ILS’ at Brisbane and shutting down the aircraft, we left the college and pondered our Friday afternoon. The sun was shining bright, it was lunchtime and we were hungry. Hmm, things were adding up here. Where could we go to enjoy the sun and fill up our stomachs and have a light discussion on the last four hours of training?

The answer was as clear as the beach water we were about to see…

NOOSA – The OC of Queensland!

BUS – AUD$4.80 one way.
CAMERA – Charged
SENSE OF ADVENTURE – PRICELESS!

The bus trip took us along the coast from Mudjimba (where Pacific Paradise Resort and the airport is located), up to Mount Coolum, Coolum and finally Noosa Heads. All in all a 40 km journey – completed in 45 minutes. Mount Coolum is even more majestic from it’s base – we are sure to conquer this mountain in the next few weeks. The town of Coolum is spectacular with the waters of the South Pacific smashing against majestic rock cliffs. Aloof this cliffs and winding with the coast line are man-made wooden walkways with lookout points and park benches and tables located at periodic intervals. These were interlaced with landscaped gardens and grassed areas. The beach – being school holidays – was crowded, in fact packed with school kids and families. The Surf Life Saving Club gave me that “Home & Away” kind of feeling. Coolum was nice – an improvement from what we saw last week at Mooloolaba Beach.

Like most stories, the best was yet to come. When we got to Noosa Heads Interchange, we were at first a little bewildered at where we were. We couldn’t see a beach, there were large hills all around with the occasional mansion built along the slopes. Those looked nice, OC-replica living up to its name. Quick look at a tourist map and we discovered the main street was a little walk ahead – so we made our way to Hastings Street. Wow! OK, the sikit atas image became apparent as soon as we made our way onto Hastings street. You knew it was posh from the pedestrian sidewalks. Low rise apartments and hotels lined either side of the street interlaced with high society shops and the odd restaurant. A path to the beach was found and we followed the crowd to be found in awe and dumbstruck when we saw this:

Soft white sand, crystal clear waters (no seaweed), small gentle waves and hundreds of people crowded this place. Yes. We were in Noosa! I couldn’t believe it. Traversing the beach and taking a walk in the water were extremely refreshing even though the water was a bit cold – but the sand was so fine and soft it felt as if you were walking on slightly coarse bed of talcum powder. There was no rocks even in the sand – just pure white sand!! Unbelievable!

We found a nice place and chilled for 3 hours and discussed our surroundings and procedures – what an environment! We minimised time on procedures to enjoy ourselves more.
We’re definitely coming back to Noosa to spend a day lazing at the beach – maybe after the base check – we’ll see how time goes. Jen, I found a good place for holiday!!

To be continued…

From Troposphere to Blogosphere (and back to the Troposphere again)

Hello to all.

I've always cringed at the thought of having a blog - it's so not my nature to dispell much about myself to people who I don't know... The only comfort I have in starting this blog is that the people most likely to read it are my friends and family - whom will know that once I do start talking I pretty much don't shut up.. Also, i'm tech-savvy, but not tech-crazy... I love pen and paper... but dei, embarrassing a bit when even an old ex-PM can start a blog before you, a 24 year old right? cillaaakkaaaa

So while i'm away on Training, this is a place for those close to me to hear my rants and raves about life in aviation.

Furthermore, I've always backed away from monologues because after reading some other blogs around I realise why Mum always said to read more books. Some people out there have waayyy too much creativity in their writing. I'm very black and white - very much like an aircraft manual. I won't say that i'm not creative - I think I am.. but putting things into words and creatively conveying a message is something I do not consider my forte (cilaka.. see already sounding like a prat using words like "forte".. how la-di-da!).. Basically consider this a warning la.. don't expect me to write too much here that will make one "think and ponder the question and meaning of life". My aim is to be very to the point in a roundabout way (because, that's me!)

Who knows, this may even evolve to more if I like it that much. Roland, you're to blame! :)

Well, I'll start now.


I love to fly.

There is nothing that can describe it or beat it in my opinion. I wake up in the morning and I yearn for it - not above family or friends of course - I like to think that I will be able to keep "work" and home seperate - but honestly, I don't consider this as work. Would you believe it, but I found a company that is willing to pay me to do my hobby! It's bloody brilliant! Go back to what I said earlier about keeping "work" and home seperate - maybe it's impossible. Ask anyone who knows me and you'll know that I'm just "plane" insane.

And it has always been like this.

Since I was 2 (or less even), this has been my dream and goal in life. In time I'll tell you more about how I have developed this obsession and passion for aviation and flying. There have been lots of ups and downs to this point and I guarantee there will be more - There's a weather radar on board the aircraft, but not one on the ground if you get what I mean - so I expect to hit that little bit of turbulence every now and again when my feet are on terra firma (cilaka.. "terra firma"... shiok or not my england!)

Right now, I'm at a place called Maroochydore, Sunshine Coast in the sunny state of Queensland, Australia. It's about 100 km North of Brisbane, a resort/holiday home town filled with luxury condos right by the Coral Sea/South Pacific ocean. It's about 25 minutes south of the Australian OC - Noosa - A place I've yet to explore but plan on doing so with some free time available. Why am I here? Well, that company I've fooled into paying me to do my hobby has sent me here to a unique advanced training programme. Yes. They've actually sent me here to learn to fly a sexy business jet. An aircraft that makes aeromaniacs like myself drool at it's sight. So unbelievably sleek and powerful and elegant that it puts companies like Ferrari's to shame - Jeremy Clarkson, eat your heart out - The Bombardier Learjet 45.

It's an amazing oppurtunity. Not many pilots in the world would have had the chance to fly this kind of machine. In time we'll fly this girl up and down the eastern coastline of Australia (touch wood - you'll see this heaps, I very pantan) - honestly, some of the best flying in the world - and i'm getting paid to do it! SHIOK OR NOT?

Ying and Yang - life is balanced. In physics, engineering, maths, chemistry, economics, accounting etc etc, we are drilled with laws of equilibrium. Everything is balanced - it's how we function as human beings. Balance is so important in everything and this is no different.

Yes, it's a beautiful aircraft that I'm here to fly - but it can be ugly too - and I'll have to put up with it's ugly side in the simulator quite frequently and potentially in flight (touch wood - see pantan again..) Yeah, I can go and see Noosa and Brisbane, in my "free" time - which means when I'm not studying and learning about everything this aircraft has to offer, recapping and committing to memory checklists and procedures and air law so that at the drop of a pin I can conquer my sensors, rely on my confidence and abilities to fly this aircraft safely. This time i'm also really far away from family and loved ones. Sure, Seletar was away from home, but I could go home to KL on the odd weekends and see Mum and Dad. Jandakot was too convenient with my sisters 10 minutes away, and even better my better half only 2 minutes away. It's a new experience again, it's too early to tell now (i've only been here a week), but I'll be sure to report on this facet of the training at a later stage.

What's more i'm going to be learning how to fly this aircraft as a partnership - something I've never done before - it's called multi-crewing - and this involves a lot of teamwork, patience and understanding. This is training for life (I hope to see that this multi-crewing concept is useful for the household :) ). It's no party - but heck, I'll do it the 126 way and have copius amounts of fun doing it - *wish the guys were here - oi, if you lot are reading be motivated!

I'm motivated. Really, really motivated. I aim to translate this motivation into success whilst i'm here and build a solid foundation for the life i've chosen. I want to master the skill of aviating - not piloting.

So check here for updates. I'll regiment my day to include 1 hour before bed for writing blog-entries (when I can). I'll include some pictures for next time and let you know how the experience adds up.

I won't just be concentrating on just MCY in this blog, i'll give you some history as well - there's been a lot of it that has compounded up until now.

Hope you will enjoy what is to follow.