State Flag Flypast charts new path

With the National Day Parade (NDP) returning to the National Stadium this year, the much-beloved State Flag Flypast will be making fresh changes to bring the celebrations closer to audiences outside of the parade venue.

For the first time, the flag will fly past the Kallang Basin, entering the basin from the south of Singapore.

The last time the NDP was held at the National Stadium in 2016, the flypast flew along East Coast Park to Marina Barrage.

Go behind the scenes and find out what it takes to execute the perfect State Flag Flypast!

10am

Before starting their long day of rehearsals, the team at Sembawang Air Base performs thorough maintenance checks on the helicopters to make sure that the aircraft are all good to go.

The full flypast aircraft fleet comprises the CH-47 Chinook that carries the Singapore flag and two escorting AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, as well as three helicopters serving as backups.

11am

Once all six aircraft have been checked, the flag party loads the furled flags onto the helicopters to be transported to three pick-up sites located across the island.

Each week, up to 90 personnel are involved in the preparation work for the State Flag Flypast.

The flag party is staffed by a core team of Regulars and Full-time National Servicemen (NSF) and supported by augmentees which include Operationally Ready National Servicemen and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Volunteer Corps members – who are participating in the flypast for the first time.

The Singapore flag used for the State Flag Flypast weighs 700 pounds (317.5kg) and measures 30m by 20m.

Military Expert (ME) 2 Soo Yi Xun, the Flag In-charge of this year’s flag party, feels an immense sense of accomplishment when he sees the flags picked up by the helicopters.

The 30-year-old said: “We won’t be able to see the actual NDP State Flag Flypast itself, but when the CH-47 picks up the flag at Sudong, watching the flag unfurl in front of our eyes is always a proud moment for me.”

12:45pm

The six helicopters take off from Sembawang Air Base and head to flag pick-up sites. The primary pick-up site at Pulau Sudong, a small island south of Singapore.

1pm

Once the helicopters arrive at Pulau Sudong, the flag party stationed there starts work immediately. With one main flag and four backup flags to go through, the flag party toils under the hot afternoon sun to carefully check through and ready the flags before the helicopters return to pick them up.

2pm

The flag party must rig up the flags with cables so that they can be attached to the CH-47.

They also attach ballasts to weigh the flag down and ensure that it straightens out and does not tangle or fold in when unfurling.

The flag will weigh about 3,000 pounds (1,361kg) combined when fully assembled and rigged, and the rigging process for each flag takes about 14 people around 1 to 1.5hours to complete.

3:30pm

Before the helicopters arrive on Pulau Sudong to pick up the flags, the flag party conducts a Foreign Object Debris walk, a safety inspection process in which they form a line and walk across the runway to find and remove loose debris that might affect the aircraft’s landing and take-off.

5:30pm

The helicopters land at Pulau Sudong to get ready for the flag pick-up and hook-up.

6pm

The CH-47 takes to the skies with the Singapore Flag attached, and the flag party holds their breath as they watch it unfurl gracefully and perfectly in the air.

6:30pm

This year’s new flypast location is a fresh take on an annual tradition.

Flying in an anticlockwise direction, the flag will enter the Kallang Basin from the south of Singapore and make a series of left turns to go around the basin before it exits from the south.

For State Flag Flypast Lead Pilot Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Cai Weijun, the biggest challenge is navigating the number of left turns while staying in formation.

The 38-year-old Chinook pilot explained: “As we are making our entrance into the Kallang Basin through a series of left turns, it is a challenge to manage the distance between the helicopters (while turning).

“This series of turns also give us little time to stabilise before we cross the show channel and present the flag to the audience at the National Stadium.”

6:38pm

The aircrew onboard the Chinook must make sure that their Apache escorts fly close by but at a safe distance in order to present the best viewing experience for Singaporeans.

They also monitor how the flag is flying and relay information swiftly to the pilot to make adjustment to the flight speed. Flying too fast or too slow may cause the flag to fold.

The year’s NDP holds special meaning for flight engineer ME2 Premraj S/O Royston, 28: “It’s my first time being involved in NDP and it has been my dream since I was young.

“As I’ve also spent the bulk of my career (in the Republic of Singapore Air Force) overseas, I haven’t seen NDP back home in a very long time. Looking at the parade this year, it has touched me in a way that makes me very emotional.”

6:55pm

As the National Anthem plays, the State Flag Flypast makes its grand entrance past the opening of the National Stadium’s roof, bringing the Singapore Flag to audiences watching the parade inside the stadium.

With such a short window of exposure, the pilots and air crew must time their approach to the Kallang Basin with precision, even amid ever-changing weather conditions.

To give audiences the best view, the Singapore flag will be flying at a height of 950 feet (290m) this year.

7:15pm

The “show” is over, but the work is far from done.

After completing the flypast at the Kallang Basin, the CH-47 drops off the state flag at Pulau Sudong.

The flag party recovers the flag and ensures that it is safely and cleanly stored for next week’s use.

7:30pm

The flag party starts to derig the cables and ballasts from the state flag from all five flags that were prepared for the day’s rehearsal.

NSF 3rd Sergeant (3SG) Isaac Lee, 21, who is part of the flag party’s core team, says that it takes roughly 1.5 hours to complete the entire derigging process, as they must do it for all five flags that have been deployed to Pulau Sudong.

8pm

The sun has set, but the flag party continues to clean and fold the state flags meticulously to ensure that next week’s rehearsals can go smoothly. This is their final task for the day.