Operation Kingbird Flying Programme 2010-11 No.

605 Sqn OT NG SHUK KWAN, ALICE

Operation Kingbird Flying Programme 2010-11

Individual Report

There is little opportunity to learn flying in Hong Kong. The Operation Kingbird Flying
Programme has offered HKACC members a valuable chance to experience flying. This
programme is divided into two sessions, namely local session and oversea session. Local session
is ground school training and flight simulator training while the oversea session is the real flying
training in Christchurch, New Zealand.

1) Learning to fly

1.1 Ground School Training in Hong Kong

The programme began in October 2010. From

October to December 2010, I attended a series
of Ground School Training which consisted of
airmanship and aerodrome knowledge,
principle of flight, aircraft general knowledge
and radio communication in civil aviation.
Flight simulator trainings were also carried out
at the same time. I kept practicing the skills in
the Microsoft flight simulator installed in my home computer. Starting from January 2011, the
training was focused on flight simulator training. Except basic maneuvering, I learnt some
advanced skills such as stall recovery and slow flying, which are necessary before doing solo.

1.2 Flight Training in New Zealand

Time flew to February 2011. The real flying training began finally. It was from 9th to 18th February
in Christchurch, New Zealand. The airfield we had flying training was called Rangiora Airfield at
Christchurch. It took us about half an hour to
drive there from hostel. 12 of us were
divided into 4 groups. There were 3 members
in each group and each group followed a
fixed instructor and aircraft. The aircraft we
flew was Tomahawk, PA-38 112. Throughout
the training, I have flown two Tomahawks.
They were EYJ for the first 4 days and EYC for
the last 2 days. At the beginning of each day,
my group mates and I needed to go for a

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Operation Kingbird Flying Programme 2010-11 No. 605 Sqn OT NG SHUK KWAN, ALICE

preflight inspection which was a 360 degree check of the whole aircraft. Also, we attended a
briefing before first flight on each day.

My first flying lesson began on 11th February. Normally, I had two flights a day. One was in the
morning and the other one was in the afternoon. On the 1st day, David Knudsen, who was my
instructor, taught me the basic maneuver of aircraft, straight and level. On the 2nd day, I
practiced climbing and descending, medium turns in the first flight and then climbing and
descending turns in the second flight. On the 3rd day, I learnt stalling which was one of the
requirements of going solo. I also had a breakthrough on that day. I performed my first landing.
The weather was the worst
on the 4th day but we had
to train on circuit. However,
the cloud base was only
600 ft which was not
suitable for flying circuit.
As a result, we could not
fly in the morning. In the
afternoon, the weather
became better. However,
there was strong cross
wind and dust wind around
the runway. All flying was
forced to stop. In order to
th
catch up the progress, I did 4 flights in total on the 5 day of training. And I spent all the time to
practice circuit. At the end of the day, I learnt all skills and emergency procedures required in a
first solo, for example, emergency landing in downwind, engine failure after take off, engine
failure before taking off, etc. Finally, on the 6th day, I performed my first solo. The time required
was out of my expectation. It only took me 7.9 hours to go for a solo. Although the landing was
not that good, I enjoyed the whole process, especially the feeling of flying on my own. Not only
was it my first solo flight, it was also my last flight in Rangiora, New Zealand.

2) Feeling to the learning process

Before joining this progamme, I had never thought that I could go for a solo within 8 hours.
Thanks wholeheartedly to my instructor, David Knudsen. I could quickly control the aircraft.
Apart from the hands on flying training, the ground school training and the simulator training in
Hong Kong also helped me to get familiar with the maneuver of the plane easily. Without them,
I probably could not complete my first solo in 8 hours.

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3) Living in New Zealand

Not only did I gain flying experience, team

spirit building was also my acquirement
from the trip. In the 9-day trip, 14 of us
lived in a group. Everyone held their
responsibilities to serve the group. We
worked and played together. When one
flew not so well in a flight, we gave support
and recommendation to him/her. When
one went for a solo successfully, we shared
the happiness and excitement together. I enjoyed the life with all kingbirders in New Zealand.

4) Summary

I am glad to have chance to be a student pilot in New Zealand. This gave me an invaluable
experience in flying and strengthened my passion in aviation. After performing my first solo, I
become confident that I have the ability to become a pilot. This encouragement will be stay with
me until my dream finally come true. Owing to the Operation Kingbird Flying Programme, I
could fly high in New Zealand as well as the aviation industry in the future.

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Operation Kingbird Flying Programme 2010-11 No. 605 Sqn OT NG SHUK KWAN, ALICE

5) Individual Timeline of learning

5.1 Ground School and Flight Simulator Training (Hong Kong)

Date Content Duration (hour)

21 October 2010 Lecture- Airmanship & Aerodrome Knowledge 2.5
23 October 2010 Flight Simulator Training-Traxiing, Straight & Level, 3.0
Level turn
26 October 2010 Lecture-Principle of Flight 2.5
2 November 2010 Lecture-Aircraft General Knowledge 2.5
9 November 2010 Lecture-Radio Communications in Civil Aviation 2.5
13 November 2010 Flight Simulator Training-Climb & descend, ascending 3.5
&descending turns
18 November 2010 Flight Simulator Training- Take off and landing 2.5
20 November 2010 Flight Simulator Training- landing Consolidation 2.5
25 November 2010 General Revision with test 1.5
27 November 2010 Flight Simulator Training-Basic Circuit 3.5
27 November 2010 Small Group Training 2.0
4 December 2010 Flight Simulator Training-Circuit Consolidation 3.5
28 December 2010 Small Group Training 3.0
30 December 2010 Small Group Training 3.0
6 January 2011 Small Group Training 3.0
17 January 2011 Small Group Training 3.0
20 January 2011 Small Group Training 3.0

5.2 Flying Training (Rangiora, New Zealand)

Date Content Duration (hour)

11 February 2011 Straight & Level 1.0
12 February 2011 Climbing & Descending, Medium Turns 1.0
12 February 2011 Climbing & Descending Turns 0.8
13 February 2011 Basic Stalling 0.8
13 February 2011 Advanced Stalling 0.8
14 February 2011 Introduction to Circuit 0.5
15 February 2011 Circuit in Rangiora 0.5
15 February 2011 Circuit in Rangiora 0.6
15 February 2011 Circuit in Rangiora 0.6
15 February 2011 Circuit in Rangiora 0.5
16 February 2011 Circuit in Rangiora 0.8
16 February 2011 First Solo 0.1