Ingo Noka

Posts Tagged ‘aviation’

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A New Beginning

In Announcement on October 19, 2013 at 2:54 pm

I am leaving

A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are for. Sail out to sea and do new things. — Rear Admiral Grace Murray Brewster Hopper.

This year, Asia was teasing me with a glimpse of aviation heaven – I bought my first airplane and I have been in the air for more than 100 hours over six months.  But now the harsh realities of life caught up with me. After putting up with me for 12 years in Singapore, my company is now sending me to Dubai.  The new job is great and a logical next step in my career, but rising up into the skies every weekend and go wherever the fancy takes me is likely  a thing of the past.

Nevertheless, as the saying goes, “To most people, the sky is the limit. To those who love aviation, the sky is home.”, and so I am not actually leaving.  I am just going to use a different part of my home.

My strategy in life has been to do first what is necessary to fulfill your obligations to your family and other people and to do the best with what you got.  So far that has served me well.  What sometimes looked like the end of the road for me turned out to be the beginning of something better.

And so, I decided to use the time between jobs and get a commercial pilot license with instrument and multi-engine ratings.  I have already paid my deposit with Florida Flyers in St. Augustine and bought the Gleim materials to prepare for the theory exams.

I didn’t find anything useful  about GA flying and aircraft ownership in the UAE on the Internet. It frankly feels in bit like South East Asia four years ago.  In other words, a perfect starting point for my next blog “flyinthemiddleeast”.

Taking my Piper Archer to Dubai is not completely out of the question. She has served me very well and turned out to be a beautiful and rock-solid personal plane for a low time PPL holder.  I have an inkling, however, that a N-registered aircraft may have better utility in the UAE, which means I will try selling the Piper in Singapore and buy a new plane in Dubai.  If you are interested, look out for a blog post on that subject.

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My Record-Breaking Mini-Stopover in Singapore

In Flight Log, Knowledge, Navigation on October 14, 2013 at 2:05 pm

Short Final Runway 21 Seletar Airport Singapore

I wonder what the shortest stop-over in Singapore might have been so far.  I mean a stop-over with immigration and customs clearance both ways, not just changing flights at Changi.  I don’t know the answer, but I think I might have come close to breaking the record for the shortest stop over yesterday.  I spend a grand total of 2 minutes in Singapore in between entry and exit clearances.  Thankfully Seletar doesn’t have that many passengers passing through, so I hope the always very helpful officers at the checkpoint didn’t mind too much.

You might ask why I was doing this.  Well, it wasn’t because I want to get into the Guinness Book of World Records, even so the thought briefly crossed my mind.  No, I had to go through immigration because I wanted to show Michael Dent how to fly in and out of Singapore and instead of the planned touch and go, ATC told me that I had to do a full stop and go to the Apron office.  The upside of this was that I could take Michael through a crash course of CIQ procedures as well.

For those who haven missed my post about procedures at Seletar, you might want to click here to have this information handy in case you are planning to fly into Singapore one day.

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Off to Malacca

In Flight Log, Navigation, Private Pilot License on October 6, 2013 at 10:47 am

Beautiful clouds between Senai and Malacca, West coast Malaysia

On my way back from Pulau Tioman on 5 October 13

Evening at Senai Airport, Malaysia

Happy as I can be. Flying my little Piper for a coffee to Malacca before heading back to Singapore

By Ingo Noka.  Update: The weather was simply beautiful, just a bit bumpy below the cloud base.  I flew to Malacca as planned and went through Immigration there.  If it wasn’t for the 1 hour flight time, this is a more convenient place to complete the usual formalities.

Most of the flight time I spent at about 4000 feet altitude – nice and cool.  Seletar was very busy with four aircraft in the circuit (there is only a right hand circuit!).  I joined overhead at 2000 feet and joint downwind as number three.  Everything is very tight at Seletar, so I was rather close to the aircraft in front of me and my landing clearance didn’t come through until I was almost at the threshold, because the aircraft in front of me had to taxi some way to get off the runway.  The controller was on the ball and did a great job keeping everybody flying safely in such a confined airspace – thanks!

I didn’t make the 300 hours mark.  There are still a few minutes missing.  I am sure next weekend will be the day and coincidentally I will reach 100 hours of flying my own aircraft.

(Previous text: I need a bit over 3 hours to hit 300 hours total flying time in Single Engine Propeller aircraft.  Let’s see whether I can draw out a flight to Malacca this afternoon long enough to make it.  The plan is to stop in Malacca for CIQ (i.e. get a stamp in my passport) and then return direct to Singapore.)

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I am off flying

In Announcement on October 5, 2013 at 12:50 pm

Beautiful weather over Malaysia

After this morning’s heavy thunderstorms, the weather has improved remarkably, so I cannot do anything else but pack my stuff and go flying.  If the weather holds, I will fly to Pulau Tioman and return to Johor for an overnight stay.

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Come Fly With Me – 28/29 September

In Announcement on September 25, 2013 at 10:55 pm

Note the meticulous attention to modesty and safety (in that order), we pilots are known for. Anthony, the pilot, looks like he is in haven and the expression of Lenora, the passenger, is simply priceless. According to the Christian Science Monitor, Miss Rivero was delighted with flight but disappointed they didn’t fly higher.

I haven’t decided where I am going to next weekend, but I will definitely fly.  Pulau Tioman seems a nice destination and I could use the short-field landing practice.  If anybody is interested to join me, let me know.  I have one seat available (and a second for a light person).  Use the “Contact me …” link at the top right of this page if you want to send me a message.

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Thailand Flight – July 2013, Summary

In Flight Log, Navigation on August 12, 2013 at 1:02 am
Flight Summary
Dates 27 July 2013 – 31 July 2013
Engine Time 13h 10m
Landings 7
Airports WSSL, WMKP, VTSS, VTSW, WMKI, WMSA
Countries Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand
Distance approx. 1400 nm
Fuel total 115 Gallons
Fuel per hour approx. 8.8 Gallons
Picture Gallery Click Here

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Thailand Flight – Day 3 and 4 / 30 and 31 July 2013

In Aircraft, Flight Log, Gear, Navigation on August 3, 2013 at 5:11 pm

Back in Singapore after 14 hours of flight, 1,500 nm and three countries in four days.

I spent Monday evening in Ipoh, which is apparently famous for the local food.  I tried one noodle dish, which was indeed delicious.  Normally I am not a big friend of chicken feet in the Chinese cuisine, but this one tasted great. Read the rest of this entry »

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Come Fly With Me

In Announcement on August 1, 2013 at 12:03 pm

Note the meticulous attention to modesty and safety (in that order), we pilots are known for. Anthony, the pilot, looks like he is in haven and the expression of Lenora, the passenger, is simply priceless. According to the Christian Science Monitor, Miss Rivero was delighted with flight but disappointed they didn’t fly higher.

I have been asked a couple of times whether I prefer to fly alone, because I have done most of my long cross-country flights without co-pilot or passengers. There are two answers to that question.  Firstly, I don’t really prefer to fly alone, but I do enjoy the challenge and the freedom to make my own decisions.  Secondly, I absolutely love to show people the beauty of flight or share the workload with a fellow pilot. Read the rest of this entry »

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APFT Air Carnival – Kota Bahru

In Flight Log, Navigation, Weather on May 12, 2013 at 5:05 pm

APFT Airshow Public Transport

Flight Summary
Engine Time 9h 46m
Landings 4 – WMSA, WMKC, WMKJ, WSSL
Fuel total approx. 78 Gallons
Fuel per hour approx. 8 Gallons
Pictures Click here

From 19 to 21 April 2013, I flew to Kota Bahru to join the Air Carnival organized by the Asia Pacific Flight Training to celebrate the graduation of their students.  Two other aircraft from WoA in Singapore were there as well (DA40 and Columbia 350), and the “Extreme Midlife Aerobatics” crew brought a Piper Arrow (Marcus Walther) and the Giles 202 for the aerobatics display.  APFT is one of the biggest flight schools in Malaysia and has their main bases in Kota Bahru, Terengganu and, I think,  smaller ones in KL and Ipoh.

While we were there, APFT offered to provide Avgas to anybody who wants to fly along the East Coast (where Petronas does not supply Avgas).  You can message me if you are looking for a contact.  Flying at the East coast is under appreciated by most pilots.  I wholeheartedly recommend you try it out.

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