Aviation: Back to basic
Over the past couple of (few) days, I am going through my Aviation English learning. After few day, I suddenly have a feel stifled – don’t have a misinterpretation, it is not something that suffocate me to deplete the oxygen, instead it’s just a metaphor. I have been always improving myself for almost ten years. At the time I got the result slip that showing my English in HKAL examination was graded F, which meant that I had no chance to get enrolled into any on the uni in HK. By chance, I could stay in Taiwan for a degree program. I took it and I have determined from day one I was bounding for Taiwan – it will be my new life.
I have been asking myself in the recent two years, why I want to become an airline pilot – this question should go further back to talk about my “first-met” with aviation. My passion is started from 1) travel experiences, 2) a computer flight simulator software and 3) the footage from Youtube. Then what next’s I don’t want to use the word : “accident” – that means a chain of events lead to a bad consequence – I met my mentor and group of aviation enthusiasts in HKU Space as we took the course – Australian based PPL certificate. What Next is that I found that I was not prepare for the application because I noticed loads for my defects. Therefore, I chose a more practical and achievable path by that time – to be a ground staff. Through more than two-years in the HKIA, passing hundreds of dawn and dusk, these sunlight and moonlight taught me that time is passing always. Around a month before I leave my last position as a Senior Service Control Officer in that company, I was involved in an incident that I made the wrong crew call and a scheduled flight delayed for half an hour as a result. After that, I asked myself, what have I learnt from the episode as well as within these two-year time frame. Suddenly, I realized that it’s time to apply for cadet program.
Perhaps you may challenge me if I could be a good pilot in airline. Then I would tell you a list of reasons why I could be a pilot. Remember one time, rightly it was the first time I handle the ambulance case in my ramp-coordinator life. A flight requested taxing back to stand because of a sickness passenger. Once I opened a door and tried to asked about the status of the sick PAX, he walked out from the aircraft through the airstair by himself. Although the paramedic as well as passenger service department’s agent and airfield officer from airport operator were on site, he should have been stopped from the cabin door before we cleared them out. What’s more is that you may have a question why I did not have collected some basic information before I went to the scene. Well, I could say that there were lot of reasons behind and I don’t want to disclose. However, I want to share to you is the experience I got from that case – at least, if I would be a ramp-coordinator again, I would pay more attention if the sick pax came out.
In any circumstance, pilots shall use the mnemonic “Aviate, Navigate, Communicate”
What I have learnt in the past two years?
I would like to use the mnemonic “Aviation, Navigate, Communicate” to tell you what I have learnt – To aviate, we need knowledge to back us up. To navigate, we need have a well-planning as well as the mindset of X-check. To communicate, we need to use language.
In the past two years, from work, I had opportunities in two positions with various duties – from a ramp coordinator to a load controller as as well as liaison officer in the heart of airport control center. During my leisure time, I joined various courses – some are aviation related – such as the Australian based PPL certificate and the Aviation Operations and Management diploma program. Other are daily and language skills related – for example, I took a barista course, first-aid course, and the English lessons. Also, I do sport on a regular basis, say at least twice a week and 45 to 60 mins a time. Through these work and daily experience, what I have really learnt is the fact that learning is life-long activities. Tell you a quote that I like:
I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.
— Confucius
This’s the reason why I practice as much as I could! Finally, to achieve aviate, navigate and communicate in order, we need the prioritize skills.
However, commercial airliner pilots should not only need to fly the aircraft, take 100% responsibility of our decision – take care ourselves for our family members and friends, have the commitment to our employer, passengers as well as their relatives and don’t ruin/distory the trust of consigner in case we are a freighter pilot. The more important is that we should have a conscious of accountability. To have that sense, no matter for safety or avoiding from demerit or sorts of disciplinary consequences, airmenship is worth to notice.
Success breeds complacency.
Complacency breeds failure.
Only the paranoid survive
— Andy Grove
