paSSion for flying

“So flying is your childhood dream. You must be really passionate about flying then?” asked one of my friends over a coffee table.

I don’t know what is passion. I only know that I feel really HIGH after executing a good landing and conversely, extremely LOUSY after a rough one.

“If you are not paid or paid as much as what you are getting now to do the job, will you still fly?”

I was speechless. It was like an exclusively interview with a talk-show host on TV. The whole world was waiting for my answer.

Well, it’s the whole package that I am after, I guess. Besides handling the high-tech flying machine, I also look forward to immerse myself in many different layover stations in various countries and cultures. I always feel so lucky and fortunate to be able to go for authentic food in its countries of origin. I can go for Beijing Duck in Beijing today, fly to Singapore for Singapore Laksa tomorrow and two days later, Palak Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) in New Delhi. And many many more, Lamb shank in Christchurch, Sushi in Osaka, Fish and Chips in Perth, Serloin Steak in Johannesburg, etc etc.

“But you are not answering the question, Specky Pilot. Let me rephrase the question. If you already have a billion dollar in your bank account today, will you still be flying?”

Yes, I will still be flying. But not sitting in the cockpit man. I would rather sitting in the First Class sipping champagne, enjoying the in-flight entertainment having the freedom to do what I want anytime I want.

“But what happened to that childhood dream of yours? That picture of you walking across the departure hall flanked by stewardesses drawing the attention of everyone?”

Yes, it does feel good being in that picture now. But that picture itself doesn’t help in motivating me to wake up at 4 in the morning to prepare for work.

Hey, common, I still need money to survive. Can glamour and passion pay the bills? No. But it does make my working life more interesting.

Flying is my childhood dream

This is how it started:

"Attention boys and girls! What do you want to become when you grow up? Write down three choices on this form here." I can still remember the high-pitch voice of my primary school teacher, Ms Chen.

And so I spent the rest of that afternoon lying on the floor looking at the sky wondering what to fill in the form.

Doctor? No. I will not want to face germs and viruses everyday.

Policeman? Emmm... Not a bad choice. I can hold guns and go after bad people. :-)

Lawyer? No. I don't know much about law. :-(

Accountant? No. I don't know much about calculating money. :-<

Engineer? Bus driver? Businessman? :-< :-< :-<

Hey, I don't know much about anything!

And as though it was a sign from above, an aeroplane flew across the great blue sky. (Many years ago, the sky was not as hazy as what we see today.)

Oh yeah! Why not become a pilot? Can earn big bucks, can see the world. The picture of me in pilot's uniform flanked by many many stewardesses walking across the departure hall drawing attention from everyone around us appeared on my mind. Phuoa! How wonderful. Ok, set!

And so the rest is history. I have set my mind to become a pilot. When an opportunity came along for me to enrol myself in a flying school, I grabbed it without much thought. I have also chosen to study aviation-related subjects in university. By then, I have realised that being a pilot is like being a computer user, the job is not as majestic as a computer manufacturer. I have ever thought of becoming an aircraft engineer instead. But I could not let go the dream that I had since young.

I joined an airline right after my graduation from university. The flying training that I received from the airline flying college was not without struggle. Obstacles and difficulties had further strengthened my character. Flying college was where I met many of my future colleagues. They told me they said the same thing during their job interview:

"Flying is my childhood dream!"

Intro

So you are a pilot. Can a pilot wear spectacles? That's the question I often get when I tell people what I do.

Yes, you don’t have to have 100% perfect eyesight to become a pilot anymore. Yes, as long as your eyesight can be corrected to perfect vision, i.e. 6/6 vision, and you meet the minimum visual acuity required without visual aid, you have a chance of joining the flying profession.

I was quite happy to answer that question to friends whom I met for the first time. Then there is this friend of mine who kept asking me the same question every time we meet. He is a medical professional by the way. It is either he never listens to me or there is too many things for him to remember in his daily practice.

I live on an island where more than two third of the student population wears spectacles or contact lenses. The reasons why this phenomenon happens make a good research topic for a university thesis. There are simply not enough people here who do not wear spectacles to join the flying profession. By the way, why must a pilot have perfect eyesight? I have not figured out the answer either.

When I first introduce myself, I will say ‘I am flying for an airline’ so as not to sound too cocky, you know what I mean? Can you imagine I walk up to a lady, stretch out my hand and say, ‘Hi, I am a Pilot.’?

Looking at my spectacles, the next question usually is, ‘Oh, so you are a cabin crew?’

‘No, err, I am a First Officer.’

‘Officer? Ground staff or customers service officer?’

At this point, I am usually quite irritated already. And so I will not care whether I will be construed as cocky or not anymore. I will say, ‘Hi, I am Pilot.’

And you know what? ‘Pilot’ will be my name that they will remember for the next few times and many times thereafter that we meet, regardless of what my actual name is. Pilot, WILL BE my name when they introduce me to their friends. Or at least, my profession will be mentioned anyhow during the conversation. And our conversation will not go far from airplanes, airports, airline destinations and everything related to aviation industry.

I am not sure whether having a pilot friend actually gives you pride and pleasure, it somehow happens that way. It’s not that I don’t like the attention. In fact I love every bit of it. Who won’t? But that comes with a price. If I don’t make a conscious effort to steer away from those topics, I will end up an egoistic snob who knows very little of his new friends.

So if you are a friend of mine, please just accept me for whom I am. Please understand that my actual name (and thus my actual person) is in constant struggle with my profession (and your perceived pilot’s image) for your attention.

Watch out for my next posting in which I will tell you more about my actual person versus the stereotypical pilot’s image.

Specky Pilot