Last month, I headed to the RSAF (Republic of Singapore Air Force) open house preview with Shaun and Hui Yan. It’s one of the most anticipated events in the Singapore Public calendar!
It was an extremely hot and humid day but the displays made it all worthwhile! We got to view, learn and get close and personal with a whole line up of air crafts and weapon systems with the experts on hand to answer our questions and guide us through the various uses and functions.
I headed first to view all the popular aircrafts! I sat in and took lots of photos with the F-15SG fighter aircraft, F-16C/D fighter aircraft , AH-64D attack helicopters, as well as the AS-332 Super Puma and CH-47 Chinook helicopters. I guess that since it was preview, there wasn’t much crowd and we could see almost every aircraft on display.
And showing for the first time during the RSAF Open House 2011 is the F-15SG fighter aircraft, Gulfstream 550 Airborne Early Warning aircraft, S-70B naval helicopter , the Surface-to-air Python-5 and DERby Radar – Short-Range (SPYDER-SR) ground-based air defence system and the Agile Multiple Beam Radar.
Entering into the cockpits to view the controls from a pilots view was such an eye-opener. The friendly RSAF personnel were also more than willing to share their experiences and different components of the aircraft.
We caught some of the aircraft weapons loading demonstration on the F-15SG, F-16D and AH-64D and am impressed at how fast it takes to arm the aircraft!
In addition, the F-16D Blk 52+ fighter aircraft , AH-64D attack helicopter, Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) were also on display and I got to try my hand on handling some of the coolest weaponary!
Some of the weapons were really heavy and I was a little hesitant to try them but the crew were all so encouraging and obliging, tell me to give a go and that they would offer me assistance if I can’t handle it! Fortunately, I didn’t have much trouble at all.
Other than lunch, some carnival games, I got to try flying the F-15! Simulator, of course! The Boeing staff guided me through rolls, flips and engaging targets with missiles and bombs. So much fun!
And here is how I look like in a pilot jump suit.
Lastly, I have to mention about the aerial display. It feels almost like national day again as all the planes whizzed past us in formation, helicopters hovering around and the red lions performing their free fall!
Photos can’t tell much about the dazzling display of how Our Fighter Aircraft Defend Our Skies so here’s a short video below of my day at the RSAF Open House 2011 🙂
Youtube link : http://youtu.be/BieVRoCt1kw
Towards the end of my stint in the air force, I came to the curious realization that the air force is not in the defence, but, courier business.
It’s our core business to deliver our expensive explosive payloads, free of charge, right to our highly deserving party’s doorstep, right on time. We even waived the shipping and handling charges! Such is our generosity, calculated to make an impact.
The air force: full of hot air and full of force.
Hot air? Try standing behind an aircraft exhaust during take-off.
Force? Experience being the recipient of our free gift by air-mail.
Both are guaranteed to take your breath away…. :p
Towards the end of my stint in the air force, I came to the curious realization that the air force is not in the defence, but, courier business.
It’s our core business to deliver our expensive explosive payloads, free of charge, right to our highly deserving party’s doorstep, right on time. We even waived the shipping and handling charges! Such is our generosity, calculated to make an impact.
The air force: full of hot air and full of force.
Hot air? Try standing behind an aircraft exhaust during take-off.
Force? Experience being the recipient of our free gift by air-mail.
Both are guaranteed to take your breath away…. :p