Young flyers finally earn their wings

Forty students from the Singapore Youth Flying Club have earned their wings.

Quek Zhi Hao from Raffles Institution won two awards -- Best in Flying and Best in Ground School.

He said: "Probably the most gruelling part of the the past year has been the final handling test. It was about three hours long, and it consists of three different parts. one is the practical flying part, the other two parts are ground-based. And so the preparation, as well as the actual test itself were both tough."

At the Aviation Awards and Private Pilot Licence Wings presentation ceremony on Saturday morning, 40 students from various junior colleges and polytechnics graduated with the coveted Private Pilot Licence (PPL).

They had to sit for various tests, complete one-year of theory and practical examinations and go on to take a flight test before they are certified to fly a four-seater Diamond Star plane.

All 40 of them have applied to join the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) as pilot trainees, including Carmen Lum, who is the only girl among them.

She said: "The Youth Flying Club has many guys and it is a rare opportunity for a girl to be able to come in. It's definitely a very rewarding experience, although it's very challenging... juggling between school and youth flying club -- one challenge was time management."

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RSAF trainee injured in training incident in US

A Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) trainee was injured in a training incident in the United States.

The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said Lieutenant (LTA) Lu Zhen Yang Ephraim was undergoing a routine training flight and was in the backseat of a US Navy T-45C Goshawk training jet when it crash landed on the runway at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida on November 4 at 10.30am (US time).

The training jet was piloted by a US Navy instructor pilot.

LTA Lu sustained injuries to his left arm and rib and is undergoing treatment at a hospital.

MINDEF said LTA Lu was on a Weapon Systems Officer (fighter) Course conducted by the US Navy.

MINDEF said the RSAF is assisting LTA Lu's family and added that the US Navy is investigating the cause of the crash.

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