cadetpilot.blogspot.com
pilotcadet.blogspot.com
pilotcadetinterviews.blogspot.com
storiesofthesky.blogspot.com
talesofthesky.blogspot.com
agreatwaytofly.blogspot.com
And there were many more. However, the time as I plough away on my keyboard is 2358H, and I think I've got a long night ahead of me. So I decided to be quick and decisive. I settled on:
toflytoserve.blogspot.com
Maybe some of you might be familiar with this ad, which was aired by British Airways (BA) in 2011. If you haven't seen it before, I think this clip might just stir up some emotions.
But the real reason why I settled on "To fly, to serve", has a slightly different reason to it. (Yes yes, fine, agreatwaytofly was taken, but that only made it easier for me to settle with this one.)
My convictions, values, and morals are built upon a simple virtue: servitude. As a Catholic, I do my best everyday to model my life after my saviour, Jesus Christ. But anyhow, this blog isn't about religion. It's about aviation, flight, and becoming a pilot. Apart from Jesus, another person who greatly influenced me during my foundation years was a man named Roger Brendon Poulier. He was a teacher in SJI. He was ironically, an ACS boy. But it took one to mould many SJI boys into men of faith and integrity.
The thing that Roger, and my God have in common, is how they taught me to serve. Though as a pilot, you might find yourself spending far more time in the cockpit than in the cabin, where the cabin crew are doing the REAL service orientated jobs, I think it takes a great deal of maturity and sensibility to become a pilot. There are many routes to attaining maturity and sensibility. But I find that the most direct route, or as we pilots love to say, as the crow flies, is in leading a life of humility, and serving others. In doing so, it allows an individual to grow exponentially.
So that's my take on "To fly, to serve". In fact, I find that it goes the other way round too, "To serve, to fly". But let's just get down to it.
I want to help anyone who's interested in becoming a pilot, become one. Now that being said, I can only help you get past the interviews, as of now, at least. I too am a cadet pilot wannabe, who's passed the Singapore Airlines (SQ) cadet pilot interviews in 2011. Unfortunately, the economy isn't looking very good in the cyclical sectors, which means that airlines suffer too.
As a matter of fact, Air France-KLM just reported a "net loss of 1.19 billion Euros after a 471 million Euro restructuring charge and a 890 million Euro increase in its fuel bill." Crude oil prices continue to hover at $100 a barrel. Amidst the challenging environment that surrounds it, SQ however, still manages to keep its account sheets in the black, reporting a $131 million profit for the third quarter of FY 2012-2013. The breakdown of profits are as follows:
- Parent Airline Company Operating profit of $87 million ($137 million profit in 2011)
- SIA Engineering Operating profit of $31 million ($28 million profit in 2011)
- SilkAir Operating profit of $34 million ($32 million profit in 2011)
- SIA Cargo Operating loss of $29 million ($40 million loss in 2011)
So as you can see, times are tough but that still doesn't change some things. For "once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return." (Leonardo da Vinci)
If you are waiting for your turn to enter flight school like me, I welcome you as a brother, to stay steadfast, and continue to ride out this storm with me. If you are looking forward to becoming a pilot, then I invite you to read on, to see the world through my eyes, in the hope that I might be able to inspire or guide you along the way to passing the interviews. And if I might so one day, be able to fly with you as well.
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