S'pore Youth Flying Club looking to raise student intake

The Singapore Youth Flying Club is looking to raise its student intake amid increased interest in flying among youths.

The club takes in 180 students every year as members, and it hopes to increase its intake of students in future.

Thirty-nine of its students graduated with the coveted Private Pilot Licence on Saturday.

19-year-old Natalie Tan can't drive yet, but she can fly a plane.

Natalia Tan, a graduate of the Singapore Youth Flying Club, said: "My first time flying a plane was a bit scary because, I mean, you're in the air alone, you have to manage everything alone, so it's a bit intimidating.

"But after a while, you get used to it, and you start to enjoy it a lot. I hope to let other girls know that it's not a male thing, it's not a guy thing to be able to fly, and girls can do it too!"

The club gets about 600 applicants from students annually. But only 180 will make the cut.

Applicants must sit for various tests -- medical and psychometric tests -- as well as meet height requirements.

The Singapore Youth Flying Club has been helping youths fulfil their dreams of becoming pilots.

The club now has 11 instructors and it is hoping to hire about four more. When it increases the number of instructors to 15, the club will be able to take in 50 more students.

The club's chief flying instructor Daniel Tan said flying is becoming more popular among youths.

He said: "We've been actively going out to the schools and promoting the flying programme in Singapore Youth Flying Club. Apart from that, the students themselves actually spread the word for us. So increasingly... more and more people (are) getting to know about us."

It takes between six months and over a year to get a licence.

And it's free for Singaporean students who do it through their co-curricular activities (CCAs) in secondary school.

Temasek Polytechnic is the first institution to work with the Singapore Youth Flying Club to offer its aviation students a six-month flying programme to earn their Private Pilot Licence.

Since 1971, the club has been a source of pilots for the military and commercial aviation industry. It has trained nearly 6,000 student pilots. Of these, 928 have earned their wings to fly a plane.

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Singapore is currently being bitten by the flying bug with the boom in the aviation industry and it has caused quite a stir among the younger generation too. This is a good sign; having these enthusiasts start early, and there's no better way at doing it with SYFC, for free.

However, you must be able to meet the requirement set by them before they even take a look at your application. The link to the club's stie is at the top of the webpage below the main image.

Pre-requisites

• Singapore Citizen
• At least 16 years old
• Students in JC, Poly or IP/IB schools who are age 16.
• Freshmen preferred
• Healthy and no major illnesses
• Height - 1.62m to 1.90m and not obese
• Eyesight requirements
  • Short-sighted - below 500 deg each eye
  • Astigmatism - below 200 deg each eye
  • Not colour blind
  • No other eye deficiencies

Well looking at the eyesight requirement will probably eliminate a huge chunk of prospects judging by how high the rate of myopia Singaporean kids are succumbed with. Likewise, I failed in the eyesight requirement, so I never had a chance to join them. Tough luck.

If you do meet those standards and is interested in flying, there is no harm in sending in your application and have some fun at Seletar's sky. I'm sure you won't regret it.