8th NOVEMBER 2017 --- 9 of us went to the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah airport, also known as the Subang airport for Operation Eagle Eye. It took around 45 minutes to reach there from our university, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). As soon as we got there, we went inside the SkyPark Terminal to receive our daily pass at the security post.
The members of Group 4;
From left, back row: Ali, Leong, Fakhrul, Syafiq, Amir, Wahid & Iqmal.
From left, front row: A'ida & Hasnor(me).
We were accompanied by Captain Sebastian Payne, a Chief Ground Instructor of the Air Adventure Flying Club (AAFC) along with Dr. Zairil A. Zaludin, our lecturer in UPM who is also a ground instructor at the AAFC. At around 1 p.m., we're ready and prepared to make Operation Eagle Eye a success!
The ExecuJet hangar was spotted along our way to the Wira Kris hangar. We were all thrilled to see various types of classy private jets lining up in the hangar and also along the bay!
Upon our arrival at the Wira Kris Hangar, we were welcomed by Mr. Mutalib, an aircraft maintenance engineer from maintenance company GM Aero.
After a quick briefing, Captain Sebastian began the sharing session starting from the aircraft engines. As our prior knowledge on aircraft engine is only theoretical, Captain Sebastian's sharing of knowledge is very helpful for us. Apart from that, Captain explained the functions of the various devices installed on the aircraft including the control surfaces, sensors, high lift devices and also winglets. After that, we also had the opportunity to learn the basics of the flight control and the functions of the indicators in the cockpit.
Captain Sebastian explaining the aircraft engine mechanism.
This sensor is known as the pitot tube, whose function is very crucial in aircrafts.
Inaccuracy in the data received through this small sensor may lead to a massive disaster.
The small rectangle slot at the leading edge of the wing is the stall warning system.
It is a simple mechanism which works like a flute, where it will produce a high pitch sound 5-10 knots before stall to alarm the pilot onboard.
Captain Sebastian explaining the basics of flight control.
We continued our journey in the Subang airport by meeting the unsung heroes of Subang airport: the staffs at Meteorological Office, the Airport Fire Rescue Service (AFRS), and the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) Control Tower.
Our first stop is the Selangor Meteorological Office, where we met Mr. Vimallavathi who then explained the role of the Meteorological Office in flight operations. It is interesting to know how many aspects are needed to be taken care of in order to ensure that the flight is safe.
Mr. Vima also showed us around the office where various apparatus and high tech devices are used to obtain the data of the weather in Selangor along with their functions.
Mr. Vima explaining the image obtained through satellite that is used to monitor weather in our country.
Our next stop is the Airport Fire Rescue Service (AFRS) department.
Once we reached the AFRS office, we were greeted by a line up of 3 fire fighting vehicles ready for mission. We were informed that the AFRS team is required to go through performance test every once in a while in order to make sure that the team is able to accomplish the rescuing mission within a period of 3 minutes. A quick briefing about the role of AFRS in ensuring the safety within the airport area was also shared with us.
After the session, we were given the chance to ride the fire fighting vehicle. The truck is massive and offers a powerful ability of producing water output of 6000 liters a minute, equipped with a water tank with a capacity of 12000 liters.
Climbing aboard the monster truck known as the Rosenbauer Panther Fire Fighting Vehicle owned by the AFRS department
Our last destination of the day is the DCA Control Tower.
The view from the control tower is very mesmerizing, allowing the officers to monitor the aircrafts having take off and landing within their area of responsibility. Apart from explaining about the roles of DCA Control Tower in flight operations, the procedure to request for a flight testing to be held in Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport was briefly explained to us.
As we were all excited and amazed by the roles of the officers in charge in the Control Tower, we approached the officers to find out about the career pathway to work in the Control Tower. The officers were very helpful and even explained the requirements and ways to send in our applications. I hope some of us may have the opportunity to serve at the DCA Control Tower one day!
Our group leader, Ali accepted the challenge to communicate with the pilot on board through the radio transmitter.
A quick selfie in front of the DCA Control Tower before heading back to UPM!
And so those are the 3 unsung heroes of the airport whose contributions need to be recognized and appreciated more widely. Their hard work in order to ensure that the flight operations run smoothly without any hiccup is priceless. Thank you, heroes!
I hope this blog will be helpful to any individual who is interested in flight testing and flight operations.
Thank you for reading!
