Sun N Fun Florida!

At the outset, the title alludes to an aviation event by the same name, that is held in Florida each year. For those who love aviation and for those who like seeing pictures of the Airplanes, you can visit the blog full of pictures by clicking HERE. Enjoy!

AIRLINES IN THE NEWS - INDIA 2012 VERSION

The earlier blog was published in 2006 and available on this link HERE. This is an updated version of the same.

Airlines make news for all kinds of reasons and lately it is all for all the wrong reasons. Airlines Worldwide are having problems compounded by rising fuel prices. Airlines in India, however, face a multitude of problems starting from the promoters own fault of improper business plans and setting out in a business that has generally a very low tolerance for mistakes of any kind to a regulator who believes in reacting to situations than action to prevent something from happening and the problem carries on to poor planning, high cost of fuel, irrational pricing and as one can see, it starts becoming one long endless list of woes.

Now, coming to the story in India, people who made claims that their Airline will make profits from the first year of starting operations, face heavy losses, if one cares to remember flamboyant Liquor Baron Vijay Mallya’s statements when they first launched their Airline. It’s not good times for them or their competition, even though the Indian market has grown tremendously and is set to grow at a rapid pace further.

I don’t claim that I was the only one who saw it coming when I made those predictions in 2005/06 (and got a lot of flak for it back then), about losses in aviation and the need to merge, consolidate and all that, there were a few others, but industry captains at that time were quite smug in their attitude. Not too many of the so-called experts whose sound bites get recorded from time to time in India predicted a bloodbath in terms of red ink. I did, but got ink thrown at me for being overly negative in outlook. Now fast forward from 2005/06 to 2012 and I am clearly vindicated. I never wished something bad to happen, only saw that the learning curve that the Airlines in India were starting on was something we had all gone through and seen in the West. Now who listens to free advice?

One of these Aviation expert organizations even gave away awards for Airlines as being the best in terms of glitz, glamour, quality of service and so on. Of course surveys were conducted using passenger’s feedback and that too in the era before IndiGo came around and offered on time reliable service. Pamper a guy and he'll love you. Ask him about management of the Airline, ground operations chaos, technical deficiencies and he'll give you a blank look. No wonder die hard Kingfisher fans feel let down by their favourite Airline’s dismal performance. Pampering your customer is good but how about running a profitable company? How about getting an award for being the most profitable or even barely viable Airline of the year? First prize goes to so and so Airline for making ends meet. That would be good. I had said in that 2006 Blog that there would be no Airline in India that can claim this prize at the moment. That was before IndiGo started and now quietly going about their business for expanding their fleet and network across India and a few International sectors.

The Captains of the industry only saw roses or fooled the public into thinking that way and made money out of them. Case in point Jet Airways Initial Public Offering priced at Indian Rupees 1250 (was it) and the share value is now down to less than half the IPO amount. This is what I wrote back in 2006. JetAir stock price today in Feb 2012 is approximately Rs.306!  Even less than I had thought it would sink to from its lofty IPO offering that was lapped up by investors. I was one of the few holding a red flag and no one bothered.

Here is a paragraph I wrote in 206 that still holds good, mostly, even now: “Sure there are genuine problems of tarmac space; congestion in the skies, antiquated air traffic equipment and systems, ill-trained foreign (chaps who can't speak English well enough to be understood by ATC) and Indian pilots (who can't land in Delhi in fog because they are not suitably trained), add the lack of quality middle and upper management and the masala becomes a dangerous mix. Add to this broth, the offering of free seats, deeply discounted cheap tickets, free gifts, low cut blouses and short skirts and you’ve got the public salivating and traveling in larger numbers than ever before. Good for the common man and he should make the most of it while the party lasts”. Cut to 2012 and apparently the party is over for many players! Air Deccan is long gone and so is Air Sahara. The party animal, King of Good times Kingfisher, moves from the edge of the precipice being held back  by a single strand of hair.

I wrote this in 2006: That’s when mergers and consolidations become a necessity, and I still predict some large scale bankruptcies that will leave a lot of employees and others high and dry. People who you see on TV sporting large smiles and making outlandish predictions will get out of the business, surely they are packaging the business to sell- cut to 2012- I said this of Kingfisher Airlines who is now banking on foreign Airlines to come in an pump in fresh equity.

I said in 2005/06: “Airlines in India have already consolidated in one way. They have formed a lobby of sorts. Long term scenario? Let’s see now. I'l close my eyes, pretend I am a soothsayer and predict that a couple of Airlines are going to go down (as in closing down, don’t want to scare the reader), a couple of them being sold off and a few mergers happening. Result will be that the fare paying passenger is going to have to pay more money, that’s for sure. In any case, running an Airline below cost (or any other business for that matter) is not viable. Don't need to be an expert to say this”.

Also in 2006, I wrote: “There’s another curious activity going on these days that’s also making news. Financial companies, investment firms and other corporate types are buying up small equity shares in some of the Airlines. I don’t know why and some seem keen on picking up larger equity. I don’t know who is advising these guys and I’ll bet there is an army of CA’s and MBA’s in ties involved. Oh, I did hear some sound bites from the “experts” about this and they were saying: “these are very positive a signs indeed, signs of maturity, such an investment lends credibility etc etc” and all that hogwash these guys come up with. And they get paid a mint, mind you, to say all this rubbish”. Remember the late 90’s when over a hundred chaps in ties converged on Damania Airways and the Airline was taken over by NEPC Airlines in what was then termed as the “fastest Airline take over in the history of aviation”. Remember that? What the business magazines, newspapers and TV’s forgot to mention later was, that this was also perhaps the “fastest Airline to go down the tubes after the takeover in history”. Leave the suits and ties chaps who came out Biz schools out of this, they don’t understand aviation. You don’t wear a suit and sit in an office and learn about aviation”.

I come back to the present day and can’t help feeling despondent about what I wrote back then 5-6 years ago. I am not happy at being proven right. Anyway, moving forward, here are things that I see currently happening. Indian Government, after a long stupor has decided to favour some players and permit foreign Airlines FDI in Indian aviation. They have also decided to let go of their Oil companies monopoly to help Airlines import fuel directly and avoid paying taxes. Are these moves going to help? I am left wondering about it too. While these are factors that may help bottomlines, I still don’t see anything but an erosion of values in the Industry.

One can throw freebies and incentives one after another to help the sector but fundamental changes need to take places, starting immediately by professionalizing the DGCA into a Civil Aviation Authority. The Airlines have to go back to the drawing board and put a practical business plan together, one that will help them grow and consolidate steadily instead of a mad ego driven rush to topple so and so from the top of the leader board. Pragmatism must set in. A fundamental shift in the sector must take place. Innovation must be a driver in this endeavour. I see some of them doing this, like IndiGo. Rest of them, including state owned Air India is sleep walking as I see it. Unless they re-invent themselves, Airlines like Kingfisher and others will keep afloat only by kicking the can further down the road. And that is never a solution for an Industry with wafer thin margins. Let us hope that the aviation sector in India and elsewhere have Happy Landings in the future, in the near future. We can only hope. 

100 Years of Aviation in Singapore

It's been a 100 years of aviation in many Countries around the World this year. For us in tiny Singapore, the 16th of March marked the 100th year of aviation here. On 16th March, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore organized a gala dinner program for aviators and Airlines based/operating into Singapore. The event was at the huge banquet hall of the new "Resorts World" at Sentosa. This blog is more like a news report, mentioning the event and the celebrations.


(Bristol Boxkite that flew from Belmont Race Course in Australia, also in 1911)

The evening began with audio visual presentation of what people thought about aviation in Singapore titled "People, Passions, Opportunities". It was on the evening of 16th March 1911 that a French pilot Joseph Christiaens piloted a Bristol Boxkite Biplane. He took off from the Old Racecourse at Farrer Park from an unprepared airstrip, offering rides to many people for $50 a head! Pricey it may have been, apparently it had many takers. Farrer Park is now just grassy area near the Farrer Park MRT station on Race Course Road. There is no Race Course here but the name remains. Race Course Road is now famous for many Indian restaurants and Singaporean Indian restaurants that are famous for signature dishes such as the "Fish Head Curry".

The Bristol Boxkite was first built in 1910 by the British & Colonial Aeroplane Company (later known as the Bristol Aeroplane Company). The Boxkite was powered by a 70 horsepower "Le Rhone" rotary engine. First flight of this model was on 29th July 1910 and later on became a highly successful model selling units around the World.


(Bristol Boxkite)

The program was well conducted, as expected, everything works with clockwork precision in Singapore. There was an aerial symphony with dancers climbing on long curtains and conducting graceful movements set to music. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who is also a former PM spoke on aviation and Singapore, keeping the speech brief and relevant. Then they collectively pushed a button to launch the start of year long celebrations called as the Singapore Aviation Centennial Celebrations which will end next year at the Singapore Air Show and that's going to be something special for sure. Watch this space for reports and pictures/videos that event.

Soon after the Minister's speech, another video presentation was shown on large screens set up throughout the vast hall, this one was titled "Our dreams, Our journey". This is particularly relevant to us here in Singapore, for growth of aviation here in future and for all the success of the past. Yes, its been a 100 years and tiny Singapore catapulted into the World stage far better than most other Countries with among the best Airports in the World in Changi and among the best Airlines in the World with Singapore Airlines.


The newly expanded Seletar Aerospace Park where yours truly has spent the last 4 years, is going to be the showpiece for General Aviation and Aviation technology leadership in the region. For Singapore to continue as a leader, it will have to innovate and come up with new concepts to forge a competitive aviation hub in this region. I suppose we all need to pull our socks up and get to work!

There was a musical finalé to the evening, songs were sung by locally famous artists Dick Lee and Ms Julia Abueva and she did sing very well indeed. All this while we ate a four course meal with free flowing drinks. As we left the hall, there were CAAS representatives who handed out large gift bag with a box in it, that turned out to be a scale model of the original Bristol Boxkite, made beautifully out of wood and thread. That's sitting on my desk right now as I write this piece. A fitting way to start off the Centennial year of Aviation. Cheers!

Cross posting

I have been blogging on my other blog: anupmurthy@blogspot.com. Here are the link addresses. Blogger in Singapore acts crazy and does not let me insert links and once again does not allow me and many other bloggers to insert pictures and videos. Something to do with my ISP Singtel (sounds of me banging my head on the wall).

Latest one about Mysore Airport:

http://anupmurthy.blogspot.com/2009/09/saga-continues.html

This one is about the YSR Chopper crash:

http://anupmurthy.blogspot.com/2009/09/sad-questions.html

This one is about the swine flu masks and the humor side of it:

http://anupmurthy.blogspot.com/2009/08/masks-everywhere.html

This one is about the Mysore Airport July update:

http://anupmurthy.blogspot.com/2009/07/mysore-airport-latest-as-on-jul-2009.html

News since then about Mysore Airport is that no operator has agreed to start any flights yet. The Airport is still on course for an opening ceremony on 15th September. State Government does not have any refueling facility at this Airport for now but in future when they actually get the storage tanks built and fuel available, they will supply at a reduced sales tax of 4% in order to encourage operators to fly into Mysore. I hope to do more updates on this soon.

For those following my blog, I apologize, you have already read all my blogs and did not need these links. I had resisted the idea of tweeting for a while, don't know why, finally I am on twitter with the handle: airplanetalk
Happy tweeting all.

MACAU, MY FAV PLACE IN EAST ASIA...

I have been to Macau three times in the last two years and first wrote about it in my blog on April 21st, 2007 that one can read here and did a follow up on the same trip that can be found here. On my second visit there, I got to visit more of Macau (I spelt it then as the Portuguese had done-Macao) and posted a new blog called Return to the dragon which can be read here.

(At the start of the town center)
In 2008 I went there again because I do enjoy going there. As I had written earlier, Macau is not just about the Casinos although it has positioned itself as a country (China S.A.R.) promoting it's casinos more than anything else. This has actually led to a downfall as their tourism numbers have progressively gone down. In this economic down turn, China has put in restrictions for their nationals going to Macau and possibly prevent people from gambling away their money! This was on local news in Singapore recently. However, I think there is still a lot to do in Macau and is a perfect weekend getaway from SE Asia. If one is fond of colonial architecture and Heritage buildings, this is the place to see some fine restored samples, like the picture below illustrates:


I think one will find better room rates and lesser crowds now and therefore a good time to visit. While one is there, do make it to see The Venetian and enjoy the delights of being able to go on a Gondola ride inside the large complex, on waterways/canals built indoors with boutique stores lined on both sides. The Venetian is located in the Cotai strip and one can find free transportation from Macau ferry terminal to and fro The Venetian. One can shop, dine, gamble, take a gondola ride or just enjoy the many free performances that this place has to offer, all indoors and in air conditioned comfort. Take in the regular paid shows as well, this is the Las Vegas of the East.

(Inside The Venetian-apologies for the blurry picture, taken around midnight but looks like day time due to the artificial sky and lighting)


The above video was taken late night, indoors, in The Venetian.

On mainland Macau, here are some more options of things to do or places to go to, other than those mentioned in my previous articles. There is the UNESCO heritage town center that needs more exploration than I did last time. There's a typical 19th Century (Built 1889) Chinese house called the Lou Kau Mansion. Visiting the house gives a glimpse of how a typical wealthy trading family lived in those days.

(Inside the Chinese Mansion)

Another good place to visit is the A-Ma temple (featured in my April 21, 2007 blog) and I watched a Lion dance performance this time, something that one can catch during the Chinese New year time. A video of the area around A-Ma temple featuring a Lion dance troupe is featured below:


Right next to the Am-Ma temple and also visible briefly in the video above, is the Maritime Museum of Macau. This is a fascinating place for me, being a lover of the sea, ships and of course seaplanes.

This museum features models of old ships that plied the waters around Macau and also when the seaport was used for take off and landing of seaplanes in the 1940's.

Cathay Pacific offered Seaplane service between Hong Kong and Macau during that time. In 1948 Cathay Pacific seaplane service to Macau became infamous for the first ever hijacking of a commercial Aircraft by Chinese bandits who eventually shot the pilot and crashed into the water killing 26 of the 27 people on board the Catalina Seaplane. The lone survivor was the leader of the gang! Pictures below are those of the seaplane service and a data plate illustrating some of the history of the origin of aviation in Macau. Click on image to read.




All in all, another enjoyable trip to the Pearl River Delta, I made it back to Coloane' that sleepy village I talked about in my earlier articles. There's more to Macau!

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM

Towards the end of the year 2008, I made a trip with golfing enthusiast friends to check out what was available for golfing, in the Vietnam central coast area straddling the South China sea on one side and the Danang river inland. Danang city came to mind and we headed out there on a three hour flight from Singapore. Danang is famous for China Beach, a popular hang out place for American GI's during the Vietnam war and the location for an evacuation hospital made famous by the TV series that was aired in the United States in the 1980's called, what else, "China Beach". Danang was also a major Air Force base during the war, for US Aircraft based in Vietnam.

(Danang city area)
We arrived quite late at night. Danang is a small town and late night food options (or even entertainment options) are quite limited. We looked around for places that had been recommended by forums on the net, only to be disappointed that these were really non existent. Driving by a typical Vietnamese noodle soup shop, we decided that our real Vietnamese experience should start with a noodle soup dinner at a local shop. Ordering food was a challenge since no one spoke English there and none of us knew a word of Vietnamese. Payment was in US Dollars, change given in Dong-their currency. They convert at fair market value. Anyway, either we were really hungry by the time we used sign language and finger pointing to order food and it being past midnight, or the soup was really good, I don't know, but we gobbled it up hot and scalding before continuing on to our lovely hotel, The Furama Beach Resort.

(China Beach early morning)


(Golf course near the driving range)

The next morning we were up early, I was at least, and quick breakfast later, got a chance to wander around beach side taking in the early morning sun and cool breeze. I imagined Robin Williams shouting "Gooood moooorning Vietnaaaaam" like he did in the movie of the same name, except that it was real real quiet.The only sound you hear on the video is that of the crashing waves. The weather was nice, cool but not nippy and definitely not humid like Singapore was when we left. Here is a video of the South China Sea, the beach, pool area and the hotel Furama where I stayed:



Our first stop was to check out the golf course, signature one at that and went around the first nine, the back nine being under development, we only got a tour of that, on their golf buggy. Leaving the golf course, we went into Danang town to have some lunch and visit the Cham museum.

(Cham Museum with Shiva Linga and Goddess Uma below-click on pictures to enlarge)


With Hanoi in the North and capital of the country and with Ho Chi Minh in the South (formerly Saigon), Danang comes in as the fourth largest city in Vietnam. With less than 800,000 population and fairly spread out, it appears as a well planned but old and quiet city. The lanes and bye lanes reminded me of old Bangkok. Some similarities apart, this is a different town in many ways.

(Entrance to Cham museum)
I found the Cham museum to be particularly interesting because it contains archaeological artifacts and relics of an era when Vietnam was ruled by the Chams, a Hindu Kingdom! It boggles the mind that the concepts of Hinduism traveled this far in it's purest form thousands of years ago, as did Buddhism that followed it. The museum contains what was removed from dilapidated temple complexes found during the various expeditions in the Vietnam jungles. Some pictures of the sculptures housed in the museum is displayed here.

(Lord Ganesh above)
Having hired a car, it was a piece of cake traveling around except that our driver was excruciatingly slow and almost everyone except those on pedal driven cycles passing us left and right. When challenged, the guy mentioned that he stuck to the speed limit! The ride to Hoi An took us nearly 45 minutes, on country roads. Hoi An is 30 Kilometers south of Danang. Now, Hoi An is where most travelers end up. Backpackers are aplenty. Decent hotels with cheap fare and even cheaper beer can be found here lined up along the riverside. One can bump into really ancient looking people in row boats offering rides up and down the river, wearing that quintessentially native conical hats to ward off the sharp sun.

(Hoi An street walk route)


One must walk around the UNESCO protected city center where it is pedestrian only and streets contain boutique shops selling art or tailor made suits or cafe's and so on, interspersed with a Buddhist temples. I know many in Singapore who pick up paintings from here real cheap. Vietnamese art isn't all cheap by the way. A few artists here from this town have made it big on the World stage and command good value for their works. It is a real treat to walk around old Hoi An and to stop by a local coffee shop to sip the famous strong Vietnamese Coffee while watching the sun go down on the far end of the river. Another popular site is an old Japanese covered bridge built across one of the arms of the river and a place most visitors love to take pictures of themselves.


It was back to Danang for the night, and like I said before, we scouted around for some "lively" places where one could enjoy the night life and it just wasn't anything close to lively. I'd rather say that come nightfall and Danang just goes to sleep. There are a few beach side cafe's lit up with neon lights like throw backs from another era and these are good places to tuck into fresh seafood. Guess what, that's exactly what we did, quaffing down the local brew along with steaming hot seafood. We left the next day after lunch time, having had a splash at the local spa at the hotel that I would rate first class in terms of facilities and three star when it came to service.

Before traveling to Vietnam, check the entry requirements, most countries except ASEAN nationals need visas prior to arrival in Vietnam. Ports of entry are the airports of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Danang. Ho Chi Minh is brand-spanking-new and has beautiful terminals. Vegetarians beware, if you are the finicky kind, Vietnam can be a real challenge. Bread and milk is available if one can just live off that! Climate varies, check before you travel. New golf sites are coming up, even signature ones, so if you are a golfing enthusiast, keep an eye open for news from that part of the World. Vietnam is a long country North to South and plenty to see and do. Some parts are OK communications wise and in most parts one would have to do with sign language and pointing at things. But its still great fun.

MIDDLE EAST BUSINESS AVIATION SHOW DUBAI 2008

Before I start on this blog piece, let me just make a statement about the recent terror attacks in Mumbai. Bloggers everywhere have flooded the Blogspehere with condemnation and justifiably vented their anger and frustration at such an open attack being allowed to happen. To the people who lost their lives and to those who escaped with psychological scars that will remain for a very long time and to a nation that withstood such an attack, I salute them. I salute the people who bravely faced these attackers and who laid down their lives or ended up with injuries in the effort to save the rest of us from these monsters. Nothing more I write can extinguish the depressed feeling that we all suffered from this onslaught that was broadcast around the World.

In my last blog I had written about my trip to Dubai to attend the Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) event, an air show held once in two years and showcasing the latest in business and corporate aviation. My participation was also to gather information on how the market was moving for aviation products and to know the pulse of the aviation scene as it is currently.


To those of you who have traveled on Emirates Airlines, you’d have been lucky to have entered or departed through the spanking new Terminal 3 at the Dubai International Airport. The sheer size of this new terminal and the opulence that goes with it makes one wonder if they have overdone it. For those of us used to Indian airports and even new ones such as the sorry one at Bangalore, cannot but be wonder struck at experiencing just one terminal in Dubai. One thing noticeable is that the airport is filled with foreigners, mostly Filipinas working in all departments except immigration! For a moment it looks like one may have landed in Manila by mistake.


The much awaited high speed train network that I saw them building during my last visit here a year ago, is not complete yet and passengers still have to take taxis to their venues. There is a slow down in construction projects in Dubai and the region, the low price of oil adding to their misery. Low oil price means great news for aviation generally and I thought that the market as we knew it was bottoming out in all spheres and perhaps there was still hope for aviation.


(Chalets were occupied but saw few serious visitors)

The MEBA event started with little fanfare and the first day saw very low turn out in terms of visitors. The event was well represented by manufacturers of various Business Jet Aircraft. The only problem that there was a sever lacking of potential buyers. I have never been to an air show that looked so bare. One could stroll around the booths indoors and among the many Aircraft outdoors that were flown in to the event for display at great costs, without running into a sea of humanity.


(Business helicopters on display)

I had reported in this blog, during last year’s Dubai Air Show and this year’s Singapore Air Show, that I had seen frenetic buying and selling of Aircraft and equipment. I had experienced so much positivity in people who came to do buy Aircraft and announce mega deals during that time, unsuspecting that the economic situation of the World would, in a few months, would be like someone pulled a massive rug from underneath their feet, leaving everyone scrambling to save themselves. That showed clearly during this event with even participants from the countries that were relatively better off, failing to make any impression. My first video on my blog below shows many Aircraft on display and few visitors and this was during peak hours.


(Aircraft display at MEBA)

What I would report from this trip is that aviation, which usually is the first industry to suffer during any economic downturn anywhere, is in the doldrums. That was reflected during this trip. But opportunists will see this as a great time to consolidate and buy Aircraft. New Aircraft positions are available and many without the premium attached to it. For those who invest in used Aircraft, there are tremendous deals out there to be made. It is a veritable buyers market driven by the fact that there are very few buyers out there.

(Sunset over the Dubai skyline with the new Burj Towers that will one day be the World's tallest building)

As I conclude this blog, I’m making plans for acquisitions, best time to get maximum value for money. Watch this space next month, when I think Aircraft values go further South, and I make a beeline for a good deal. Wish me luck!

WORLD WAR TWO HANGAR

(shrapnel damage-note the door is thick steel)

I promised to post pictures of the hangar door of my hangar at Seletar Airport, Singapore but never really got down to doing any blogging. It's been busy here lately, despite the gloom and doom that most people seem to focus on. Everyone knows that Second World War saw a fair bit of action in South East Asia and the Japs over ran the British base at Singapore quite easily, taking them by surprise, using cycles to come in from Malay peninsula. The British had moved their (by then already obsolete and slow) Aircraft out of Seletar Air Base, further down to Indonesia.


(Bullet holes perhaps from a field gun)

Seletar is in the North Eastern part of Singapore and the air base within shelling range from the Malay peninsula and therefore saw a lot of damage inflicted on the facilities there. I am now occupying one of the hangars that was then a storage area and apparently had British troops occupying the place. The Japs attacked with guns and mortar and inflicted damage and casualties. Going on a search of the world wide web, one can read into great detail of what went on. Wikipedia has some details, a bit old but interesting pictures of the place and also interesting links and pictures of the airplanes that used to operate in the days of the Second World War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Seletar).



About a year ago, the previous occupant of the hangar where I have my offices now, came to me with an interesting story of a British serviceman, now really old, who came to see the hangar. He had been inside it when the Japs started pounding them with artillery and guns. This old man was surprised to see that the back door of the hangar had never been changed or even repaired since the Second World War! As for me, I am not going to cover it or repair it although many people suggested that I cover up the "ugly" door. It's a part of history. When they tear the hangar down in two years to pave the way for new facilities as part of the Aerospace Technology Park, I hope to bid for the doors and keep them in our new facility, as a reminder of what happened those many years ago and how people died saving the place.



In my hurry to blog, I did not take my camera and used my phone to take the pictures that appear here. The picture above, is of my plane taken from the back door area of the hangar.



Despite the gloom and doom that plague aviation in many places, the middle east is still seemingly the only place where activity is still on the upswing. Dubai is hosting the Middle East Business Aviation event from the 16th to the 18th of November and yours truly is going to be there. I will know the pulse of the market there as well as interact with aviation experts in all areas of expertise. That will be a blog soon, once I return.

MILESTONE REACHED

I am pleased to report that on 23rd of April 2008, yours truly became a proud father of a baby jet aircraft. On what looked to be a dull, overcast, rainy day in Kansas, we took off in the Cessna caravan shuttle from Wichita to Independence. My last post gives more information on Independence, a little town now on the World map for manufacturing the highly successful Cessna Citation Mustang Aircraft, also featured in my previous post. Waiting for me and my Aircraft acceptance pilot Andre' was the Aircraft delivery team. The sun was suddenly shining, I kid you not, and things seemed pleasant, even the temperature. I was first taken to what is known as the delivery room (sounds so much like a maternity event, right?) where there are amenities to help do the documentation and acceptance of the Aircraft and a place to relax in between, if there was any time to relax, that is.

(The baby with the red carpet-before delivery)

I was then introduced to the entire delivery team and that includes the folks who look after CESSCOM, Pro-parts Pro-advantage programs for the Aircraft. To those who are not in aviation, CESSCOM is a maintenance tracking/reporting software that is provided to new Aircraft owners free for one year. They'll make me pay a fee for it for subsequent years, it's all in the game. There is a delivery hangar attached to the delivery room (makes sense does it not?) and they had already wheeled in my "baby". We were ushered out to the hangar where a Cessna Professional photographer made your truly stand and pose all around the Mustang that I was taking delivery and it was a scene straight from FTV (except it was me in a suit instead of models in their birthday suits on FTV). He kept clicking away and promised me a CD full of pictures that he'd make into a portfolio. I assure readers of my blog that when the professional photos come in, I'll splash them all over this article. Meanwhile, you'd have to do with the pictures from my camera, some of those that make me look like an ant in a suit. The big event was when the delivery manager handed over the keys to the Mustang and more pictures of that were taken.

(Me in a suit is an unusual sight to most of my friends)

An extensive pre flight of the airplane was carried out with the delivery pilot and technical manager from Cessna walking self and acceptance test pilot Andre' from my company. They wheeled the airplane out to the tarmac and we took off for a flight that last a little over an hour, taking her up to 34,000 feet. The Aircraft performed very well indeed, better than expected. Although it is a shiny new Aircraft, there are usually some surprises and squaks (maintenance problems) during an acceptance. Not in this one, behaved flawlessly. A few issues with paint touch ups were the only thing we could report.

(None of my photos are brilliant but here they are anyway- N235SS is the registration of my Mustang SS stands for SEAJET Services, my Singapore company)

Going in for a spot of lunch, we had a good time with aviation related banter. In a room full of aviators, it's usually a laugh fest when there are tall stories told and jokes being passed around, all of them real life incidences. Some aviators I know, should write about all their experiences, if not for selling books, at least something to remember by and share with others who'd be interested in such tales. I'd be one of them. I digress, unfortunately, and let me continue the events of this day.


Post lunch, there was documentation to do, signatures to be affixed, to have titles passed, escrow accounts released, the airplane paid for etc etc, the usual stuff that one has to do when one buys an airplane. The Mustang was represented to me after they had polished and buffed up the portions we had asked for and I was headed into a large room full of manuals, equipment and other loose items that go with each new airplane. Going through lists, more signatures and they loaded up the Mustang with the freebies. I was presented with a Sheep Skin jacket with the Mustang logo and serial number of my Aircraft embossed on it. It's so heavy that it felt like I was wearing the whole sheep, not just the jacket. I'd cook in Singapore if I wore the jacket but it will come in handy when I go across the pond. For non aviation guys, going across the pond means crossing the North Atlantic. I'd be making stops for refueling in Greenland and Iceland before crossing over to the U.K. and through Europe, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, India, Thailand and finally home in Singapore. I'm going to blog about the ferry.

(Andre' and me)

It was time to bid farewell to the guys at the Mustang facility in Independence as we took off into thunderstorms and headed back to Wichita. My Mustang is in the service centre as I write this, getting the documentation for an export certificate of airworthiness. The work should complete in a few days and I'd be ready to leave on the ferry flight on the 1st of May. I went to the service centre hangar today as well, saw my Mustang and met with people who got me enrolled on the CESSCOM program. I'll be going there again tomorrow, more meetings, more stuff to do in preparation for the ferry and export paperwork. What a day it was, a day that I'll never forget. It hasn't sunk into me yet, that this lone Mysorean becomes the first Indian, Mysorean and Asian to get the first ever brand new Citation Mustang to the continent of Asia. There's more to come for sure but the first one will always feel good when I remember the events in my later years.

VISITING CESSNA

I went back to Wichita, Kansas to check on the progress of our first Citation Mustang. The Airplane has just been painted and the interior components have arrived. Cessna says that the Airplane will be ready for delivery on 22nd of April. I went to visit our chief pilot who lives in the Tampa area. He is now contracted to us and is currently at FlightSafety International Citation Learning Center where he will be doing the Mustang Pilot Initial training.


(Me and the Mustang I flew to Independence, on Cessna tarmac at Wichita)

The Citation Mustang production is located at Cessna's facility in Independence, Kansas and we flew their demonstrator Mustang from Wichita to Independence. The weather has been real nasty in that neck of the woods and as this goes into posting, the weather has worsened and large parts of the US midwest is literally underwater. Heavy rains has caused extensive flooding. When I was in Wichita last week, there was enough indication that the weather was going to get worse. The good thing is that we flew over to Independence when it was still marginal.

(On the way to Independence,taxiing out of the Cessna tarmac)

Our Mustang is painted Sterling silver and Blue on the outside and Sterling interior. It's new Garmin 1000 all glass cockpit suite is a cinch to use. The large panels PFD and MFD makes it easy to use and bring up everything from weather radar to Terrain alert and Traffic Alert system. Moving maps make it easy for navigation. There are several nice features that include airport situational maps that can be used to navigate around an airport easily. A little airplane pictogram on the airport map moves along taxiways and indicates actual airplane position on the airport.

(Our Mustang is serial number 70-at the paint shop they pencilled it on the masking)

(At the paint shop-our Mustang)

The Citation Mustang is a short take off and landing airplane. It's twin Pratt and Whitney jet engines allow good cruising speeds of 340 Knots and the airplane can make a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet. I made friends with a good guy who delivers Mustangs World-wide and also acts as a FlightSafety instructor. Andre' and his lovely wife Sarah are good people to be friends with and it was fun talking about aviation experiences. The day I returned from the Independence trip, Andre' was kind enough to take me to the FlightSafety Simulator for the Mustang and demonstrate the same. My experience with the simulator was a fun one, Andre' simulated single engine failures for me during take off and I had to bring it back in for a single engine landing. The Sim is actually a lot more sensitive that the real airplane. This is supposedly an FAA requirement to ensure that pilots can handle and skiddish situation in the airplane. The Mustang sim at FlightSafety is a new technology full motion three axis facility that operates on screw jacks rather than the hydraulic ones used before in other simulators. This is smoother and more real in feeling when the sim is operated.

(Our new cockpit and unfinished interior)


I'm headed back to Independence sometime towards the delivery date. The delivery of a new airplane comes with it's paperwork and ceremony. Photo sessions and handing over, acceptance flights and other fun stuff becomes a part of the process. Needless to say, yours truly is as excited as a 10 year old with a new airplane toy. I plan on adding more airplane to the fleet this year and the next. Back in Singapore, it's back to business and this week will see me going to Jakarta and Bangkok. There's loads of stuff to do in preparation for the arrival of our new airplane and it's tough to find time to blog. However, I will blog about the delivery of the airplane as it happens and subsequently during the ferry flight. Cheers.