hello world

Haven't touched this for a while. BSLC at sispec has been a blast..well on hindsight as always. That sort of thing's never fun while you're at it. 14 days more and BSLC will end, and perhaps this short chapter of my life as an infantryman will come to a close. Observing the way the Army works as a rank-and-file soldier has been rather...eye-opening, and rather frustrating at many times. An extract from Lord Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade aptly sums it up:

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Being in the Army for 4 months so far and having to contend with all that has made me wonder whether choosing to sign on was a good idea. But I guess (and hope) that army and air force are worlds apart in that respect, and that I'd enjoy the life there infinitely more than where I am now. Also, I have God to thank for keeping me safe throughout these few months, no major injuries save for massed insect bites all over my body and ringing ears due to people firing blanks next to my ear.

Supposedly what will happen to me now that my application process has been cleared (according to the folks at RSAF) is that i'll be posted to air force recruitment centre after BSLC, while waiting for the next OCS intake. Completing BSLC allows me to skip the common leadership module of OCS (no confinement yay) and go straight to air wing... and from there go on to air force school before leaving for basic wing course in Australia assuming all goes well.

University wise..i'm sitting here watching the world go by as everyone around me's going for interview after interview for scholarships and university admissions, and some already receiving offers from many places. No qualms about that though...but it will be amusing if I get into the only course and university I applied to =D

In other news, I failed my first driving test (hoho) yesterday. Would have gotten a total of 16 points (fail to confirm safety x2, insufficient acceleration [omg?] and failing to keep left[that's actually considered road hogging eh]) and probably a pass if not for a brief lapse in situational awareness halfway through the test, where I did not notice a motorcyclist in the next lane as i filtered into it, causing me to receive another 16 (not enough side clearance given to other road users [duh i didn't see him] and causing other vehicles to take evasive action [hahaha]) and failure to give way to traffic with right of way (which is an immediate failure). Guess I am deemed unsafe on the roads =(

Oh and by the way if anyone actually knows what "fail to confirm safety" means, plz tell me tell me tell me. I have no idea what it means (simple though it may seem). Ironic ain't it. Being able to pass a flight test on the first attempt but not a driving test. Nevermind there's always MRT.

Right. I'm going back to leading my happy life until the next book in =D

and IIIIiiiiii don't wanna lead an army life...

posted to SISPEC as an INF LDR.

how fun.

NOT!

air force air force where's my FEP TRAINEE postinggg

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
-John 19:30

today we remember.

and here we are again, same situation as the last time I posted.

going for 2D-echo of my heart tomorrow as per RSAF requirement to exclude cardiac abnormalities, due to a strange ECG report the last time round.

It's come to this, either pilot or downgrade...gogo heart. I heart you =D

and i get to book in a day later. woo

"I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved" - Psalm 16:8

Everything went rather well today =)

Hopefully ECG's fine, and nose isn't too bad.

18 years of security this land has given me. Duty and obligation calls. Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow I lose my pink IC. for 11B. or SAF CARD as they call it now.

As always, prayers will be very much appreciated.

The hour is go

dear nose, either way it goes, tomorrow you will shape the course of my future.

And whatever happens, I love you because God gave you to me =)

gogo nose.

For those in the know, prayers would be very much appreciated =)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
-Romans 8:28

God, its in Your hands

zomg what turd why no one tell me my results

kk 12th prime number not bad not good

but nvm. I have medical to worry bout. Plz nose dun explode kthx.

Thank You Lord =)

Off to DEUTSCHLAND, then results, medical then tekong. God help me

my K800i exploded. so i got a nokia 1650. it pwns because it has no camera (woo NS).

but it has a flashlight and RADIO. video would have been better though. because VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR.

i <3 1650 =D

oh happy day

Had my maiden F-16 flight today =D

after being delayed twice due to weather conditions, we were told to suit up. An announcement that only instrument-rated pilots were cleared to fly was heard over the 143 Squadron building's PA, and we took the bus out to the hangars. On a sidenote, my G-suit was really tight...must be all the food I had in Malacca over the past 3 days.

walked out with the pilot flying with me, Major Desmond (callsign was Demon. I guess he got it due to his name), and strapped in to F-16D tail #639. It felt so surreal when the canopy closed shut. Just us and the bird. The oxygen mask was rather laborious to breathe with though...but it really helped in the high-G maneuvers. The taxi out to the runway was rather fast compared to what I was used to, but that was just the beginning of everything fast.

"Ninja 1 cleared for takeoff"

The afterburner lit and the Pratt and Whitney turbofan roared to life, and the F-16D shook and thundered down runway 36 and into the air. The combination of the deep rumble and vibration of the jet and the extreme acceleration felt during the afterburner takeoff was simply exhilarating.

A few seconds after getting airborne, we did a 3-4G climbing turn to the right to avoid Malaysian airspace. It felt great after not feeling any sustained G forces for more than half a year. While proceeding to the training area over the South China Sea, we climbed through thick cloud formations. The sight of flying into cloud in a bubble-canopy aircraft is amazing...it felt as if we were on a magical flying carpet.

On arrival at the training area at around 20000ft, we did some basic aerobatics. A 4G loop, a barrel roll, an immelmann turn (or up-and-over), and a 7G turn. Somewhere along or between these maneuvers, we broke the sound barrier at 16:04:49 Singapore time, reaching Mach 1.03. The climax of the maneuvers was a descending turn which reached 8.9G. At that point my vision was all faded and blur, and my lower body muscles rather tired from all the straining.

The experience of high-G maneuvers in the F-16 cannot really be described but has to be experienced to fully...say...enjoy it, unenjoyable though they may be, but I will attempt to describe it. At the start of the maneuver, you feel the G-suit slowly inflating and squeezing your lower body and legs. Progressively, you feel your whole body being forced into the seat, and at 5-6G you tense all your lower body and leg muscles to stop blood from draining out of the brain and pooling there, in an attempt to stop the feeling of lightheadedness and preventing your vision from blanking out. And it just all increases in intensity as 9G is approached.

After all that, Major Desmond gave me control of the aircraft. I managed a 3-4G level turn, and flew the F-16 back to Singapore through the guidance of the waypoints in the multifunction display, and the "thing that looks like sperm" on the heads-up display. Over the island, he took back control, steepened the descent and landed back on Tengah runway 36, where we taxyed back to the hangar and shut down the aircraft.

It was an extremely eye-opening day for me, not to mention an adrenalin-rush filled day too.

Thanks be to God who makes all things possible. Thanks to the RSAF and SYFC for starting this programme, and to the men and women of 143 Squadron for organizing, accomodating, and flying us =)

here's to the F-16, the first aircraft which ever made me feel a little nauseous.