INSPIRED TO SOAR FROM YOUNG

"I wanted to show those people who thought that I couldn't make it that they were wrong," said Ameerhan bin Amran when asked what motivated him to press on despite all the challenges he has faced.

Mr Ameeran, one of the three winners of the Singapore Technology Aerospace Engineering Excellence Award for "Best in Flying", was first exposed to flying at the tender age of six when his mother brought him to his first airshow. He received the award along with his Private Pilot Licence (PPL) at the Singapore Youth Flying Club (SYFC) on 13 May.

"I was inspired to be a pilot there and then because I didn't want to be stuck in an office doing the same thing over and over again. I wanted to experience the adrenaline rush and the excitement of flying."

However, the 20-year-old's journey in SYFC has not been smooth because he had to take seven months off his work to give all his attention to studying for the PPL course.

"It was tough when I first started the course due to the steep learning curve. We only had a few weeks to memorise all the checks, such as the pre-start checks, take-off checks, and taxi checks, and to be familiar with the procedures for flying solo," said the Temasek Polytechnic Aviation Management and Services graduate.

At the SYFC PPL Wings and Aviation Awards Presentation Ceremony, Senior Minister of State for Defence Mohamad Maliki bin Osman presented 33 junior college and polytechnic students with their PPLs.

The trainees are only awarded their PPLs after completing three phases of training on the Diamond Star DA-40 trainer aircraft.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Maliki emphasised the importance of developing a talent pool in view of Singapore's lack of natural resources. "Therefore, we need to constantly upgrade our people to ensure a steady stream of young, vibrant and passionate citizens to step forward and contribute to the nation."

Dr Maliki also noted how SYFC has been instrumental in providing talented pilots for the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) by producing close to 1,100 PPL graduates more than 80 percent of whom have joined the RSAF as pilots.

"The PPL course serves as a first encounter with flying, and sets a critical foundation for many of our RSAF pilots. In fact, close to a quarter of our RSAF pilots first learnt to fly at SYFC, and many more alumni serve in the RSAF in various other vocations."

A fellow graduate of the PPL course, Ms Novia Wong, was also inspired to become a pilot since young as her father, a former RSAF pilot.

"My dad always tells me stories about his flying experiences, like describing to me in exciting detail about how fun flying at such a high speed on a fighter jet can be and how pretty the clouds are."

But Ms Wong never expected that she would be able to experience flying for herself: "I didn't do as well as expected for my A Levels and started to consider other options after graduating from junior college as I couldn't get into the course I wanted in university.

"Therefore, I decided to take a leap of faith and fulfil my dream as a pilot by joining Singapore Polytechnic in order to participate in the PPL course."

During her first flight, the Year 2 student in Singapore Polytechnic Tourism and Resort Management course was thrilled to see the whole of Singapore from an entirely different perspective.

"It was a magical moment for me. I could see all of Singapore below my feet and it felt like a whole new world from up there. It was truly amazing."

As thrilling as her first flight was, it also made her realise how small and vulnerable Singapore is. "Singapore is such a small country and we really need all the help we can get to defend our home. Therefore, I hope that I can join the RSAF and fly for as long as I can in order to do my part as a Singaporean and protect my nation."