My 47 years in aviation, as an Airline Pilot, Manager, Trainer, and Vice President.
This blog is a reflection of my time in Malayan Airways, Malaysia-Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airways, Malaysia Airline and finally Firefly!
(This blog excludes my time in India serving Jet Airways, Magic Airlines and Go Air for the period 1998 to 2007)
To God be the glory.
CADET PILOT TRAINING
How it all started-
Selected as Cadet Pilot by Malayan Airways ( Final Interview Pan33el consisted of Capt Jimmy Brown, Capt Flack, and Mr Wilfred Antoniz, Personnel Manager ); commenced 16 Apr 1963.
Departure Paya Lebar Airport, Singapore. 16th Apr 1963 sometime in the evening.
Below from Left: Ivan (partly hidden), Terence, Mama, Hilary, Papachen, me, Papa, Francis, TK Pow, Puru, Pow's Mum, Gopi, Pow's brother.
(Photo as be kind courtesy of T K Pow)
A newspaper cutting from Malay Mail, April 19th 1963 published below.
We were the 2nd Batch of Malayan Airways pilots that were sponsored by the company for pilot training in Scotland UK.
The four of us were in Course 19 - Airwork Services Training (AST), Perth, Scotland.
From Left: Roland, Pow T.K, Choo K.L, Foo C.W.
First time in London, England. All excited about it and visiting the the various sites like Piccadily etc.
Ended up the evening at sleazy Soho. Here's what we looked like there.
Foo and me shared the room below, while Pow and Choo were in another.
Below from left: TK Pow, me, Choo Kok Liang and Foo Chee Wah.
Airwork Services Training Perth
Scotland the beautiful was the location of Scone Aerodrome in Perthshire where we were to spend about 14-15 months completing the Commercial Pilots Licence (CPL) with Instrument Rating (IR).
It was an ideal setting for training of cadet pilots and engineers. Scone had 4 runways, all grass strips the longest being 05/23.
Here are some of the photos reproduced to reminisce those difficult but wonderful days.
Our Magazine cover in those days.
An aerial view of the aerodrome and its layout. Our dorms are located in the near foreground.
Below, the students dining room. We soon got sick of the same food week-in week-out, although the Scottish breakfast was a good start to the day.
This a typical classroom for our CPL/ALTP classes.
Below, the building that houses the Control tower, Club house, etc. After one attained a CPL he was admitted use of the facilities at the club house which was like an Officers Club frequented also by our Instructors. Meals were served here and there was nice bar to unwind.
A view of the apron and the flight briefing and control room in the background
It was good exercise walking to and fro from the dorms.
Below, one of the main streets where we used to gather on most weekends, after a night out at the Pub, to catch the bus back to the aerodrome. I think this is Tay Street (after the river Tay which flows through Perth).
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The four of us off to Ground School on a cold morning.
Below: in a Cessna 172
Below from left: CW Foo, Inderjit Singh Sekhon and me
Below photo of the Course 20 trio.
From left:
Tengku Shamsul Baharin, Mohammad Ali Abubakar and Arshad Rahman.
All three ended up as Captains in MAS but sadly all have since passed on.
A typical Dorm' behind us.
From left:
Front row - Me, Foo and Maurice De Vaz.
Back row: Choo, Val (? Burmese), Sekhon, Pow, Burmese, Paul Yap, the late Ng Kah Lok and Len McCully.
I returned from Perth in June 1964 having completed the Commercial Pilots Licence and immediately got into the business of reporting to our Paya Lebar Office and completing all formalities pre-flying training.
MALAYAN AIRWAYS
F/O's Hassan Ahmad (went on to be the first Malay Captain in MAL/MSA) and later F/O Khairi Mohd. Both Hassan and Dato Khairi ended up being Director of Flight Operations in turn.
Ng Kah Lok, Ali, and Tengku Shamsul have passed on.
Below, Malayan Airways Cabin Crew (all females) standing on the pax boarding steps of a DC-3 in 1963:
The pre-1963 route structure for MAL was:
Notice the crew uniform in those days which changed when I joined.
My first training on commercial aircraft began on the DC-3's in 1964.
My gratefulness especially to Capt's Ian Hogg, Roy Nichols, Harry A'court, Leo Hughes and Robbie Robertson the team in Jesselton then.
1964 -Second Officer on DC-3's and later on in the year, F27-200's.
A DC-3 cockpit. To recollect some of the items:
Autopilot controls -the black panel in the centre, the engine controls consisting of 2 sets of Throttles (black), Mixture control (red knobs) and the Prop Pitch control (white). Remember the wobble pump? Gear lever is beside the Copilot, Cowl gills on the right side beside the Copilot. Instruments were basic DG, AH etc with nil navigational aids except for the NDB's which were hardly reliable and always inaccurate during weather, when needed most.
The side windows could be opened in flight and we could get a good dry hair shampoo by placing the head near a partially open window
Lost my black tie through this window once, whilst flying from Sempang (now the Sungai Besi Airport) to Ipoh. Somewhere over Slim River?
I think the Captain was Merv Celand.
Those were days of real flying with no pressurization, no weather radar, and flying through the thick thunder storms. When in rain clouds (cumulo nimbus), water used to pour in.
We used to operate the early morning newspaper run at 3am in the morning from Singapore to KL and onward to Ipoh, Penang and return. 6 sectors man!!! They don't make them like they used to! Good foundation for young copilots.
What I loved most was the hot tomato soup served after takeoff by the air hostess just after lift off at 3:35 am. Of course the soup used to spill all over if we ran into weather, invariably over JB. The Air hostesses in those days were so reassuring and capable and made a difference to the whole flight .
Above, a Malayan Airways DC-3, Dakota, flying over Singapore Harbour towards Saint John island?
One of my typical logbook entries:
11th Jul 1964. 9M-ALO - Capt Celand ; ML 106/ 153.
Flight referred to as the newspaper run!
Times in GMT. Malaysia and Singapore were then GMT +7:30.
SIN-KUL, - 1933- 2058 (Start at 3 am in the morning!!!)
KUL-IPH, - 2229-2322 ( Sun has just risen!)
IPH-PEN, - 2332-0006
PEN-IPH, - 0035-0110
IPH-KUL, - 0119-0206
KUL-SIN. - 0229-0305 ( Arrive S'pore at 10:35 am)
Total Duty period- 9 Hours approx and doing SIX sectors.
Mind you with no cockpit air conditioning, no weather radar, and no navigational aids. Navigation was done by dead reckoning, map reading and landmarks.
Note: The turn-around times - 13 mins and 9 mins repspectively at IPH - There is no big a deal about LCC's 40 years later, doing 15 min turn-arounds? We really used to work our butts out in those days. Let this be a reminder to those flying today, including my son Andre, on what work really was in the good ole' days.
We are quite spoilt these days, yes?
@rothomas |
@rothomas |
@rothomas |
Then MAL became MSA!!!
We started off with the Comet 4C, leased from BOAC. These were wonderful overpowered aircraft. Carried 72 pax I think with 4 RR Avon engines. Had a 1st and EY class. Never heard of Business Class in those days. Served as a F/O on these from 1965 to 1968 when I transitioned on to the B707's as a Senior F/O ( obtained my ALTP in 1967)
A video advert of MSA made in the early days - Click 2 Links below to view:-
https://youtu.be/BRUOiwzmkQA
https://youtu.be/IfXGJW2f8Js
In 1966 the Airline was renamed Malaysia-Singapore Airlines after both Governments attained major share holding.
1967- First Officer on a Comet 4C. with the late Capt Tommy Yee Teck Soh.
(Tommy also spent time serving MAS in the early 1980's as Simulator Instructor on B737's.)
@rothomas |
Below: MSA Comet 4C. Notice registration 9V-BAT.
Apr 1968- MSA had purchased 3 brand new B707-312's . I happened to be on the first conversion course conducted in Seattle, Washington. Crew for this 1st course were Capt's Charlie Chen, Douglas Chan, Ken Morley, Tommy Soong; First Officers David Leong, Pow TK, Eric Tai, and me; F/E's Derick Chua, P.S Lee and Danny Cheng and one other. Four sets in each course.
Here are some of the snapshots I have managed to retrieve of an old 8mm movie in relation to this stint in Seattle. Capt Chen, Chan and Morley were management Capts.
Below: Postcard of the Camlin Hotel in Seattle where I stayed 2 months.
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Below: With F/E Derek Chua, Pow in Seattle. F/E P.S. Lee is the one taking the movie.
Below: Breakfast at The Kansas City Steak House with from right: Capt Charlie (SK) Chan, TK Pow and F/E P.S. Lee.
Another photo of the same event.
1968- promoted to Senior First Officer (3-bars).
Below 1969- A MSA B707-312 flight Ex Tokyo Haneda.
This was a an early morning departure ex-Haneda for Taipei, Hong Kong and Singapore. Our night-stop hotel was the Maranuchi, near Tokyo Central Station.
The late Capt BS Gurm was in Command (extreme right) with Capt Lenny How under training. The two hostesses from the bottom are, Dolly (gosh! she was the sweetest then) and Sato (san). I am 8th from the bottom. Notice that Cabin and Tech crew had similar jackets and the girls' their 'Pierre Balmain' designed uniform, which has not changed to this day and has been an established 'Singapore Girl' image.
This is consistency!
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The days in MSA are fraught with memories and in particular the ground staff that supported the flights. Here's a comment from one them who later continued with MAS and rose to the position of Operations Admin Manager. In those days titles didn't reflect the equivalent to today's highly glamorised positions.
Sheik Mashoor Mattar comments on WhatsApp:
"Reading through Capt Thomas's blog, I can personally visualise the actual goings on during the MSA days. I too worked under DFO/Capt Jimmy Brown n Capt Flack.
Our Ops Admin Mgr was Arthur Fishwick.
My immediate boss in Flt Ops was John Meredith.
Flt plans was manual those days and done by Qantas expats.
Local Flt Dispatchers were Dudley Leicester, Yap Kee, Pang tm, Roger Chee n me.
I knew all the pilots mentioned when they were second officers. Those were the days in Singapore.
In 1970 a lot of us came back to join MAS n that was the beginning of another chapter of our careers."
Thank you Mashoor for bringing to remembrance the names of the support team in Flight Operations (4th Floor!)
Fokker Captain
[Later on, when in MAS, we maintained this minimum age (26) for command as the basic criteria. When I joined Jet Airways as Deputy Vice President Flight Operations and a year later as Vice President, there was no age limit. Pilots were promoted even at the age of 23! The Jet Board of Directors were appalled by this and requested me to re-examine the criteria for Command. I introduced the minimum age of 25. There was strong resistance to change from the pilots initially but then, as with all changes, it was gradually accepted.]
These photos taken by my JB classmate Wong Choon Leong, who was a passenger on this flight.
1970 F27 9V-AOJ - (Looks like) transit PEN, with the late Capt Mohd Ali. In those days we use to 'double-up' as Captains either due to the shortage of copilots or roster constraints. The late Capt Johnny Osmond (wondeful man) was our Fleet Captain.
[I have included a shareable Link below for you to view a 1972 MSA Video Advert. I was on the B737-200's at this time]
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-dHocxugW8RM3NJRmZFdURUU0E/view?usp=sharing
In 1972 the split of the Airline was looming, MSA into SIA and MAS. The Malaysian Government had decided that they wanted to form their own National Airline rather than being a part shareholder of MSA.
While the complex process of separation was taking place we senior pilots for MAS, namely Capt Hassan, Capt Khairi, Mohd Ali, Tengku Shamsul and myself were involved in numerous meetings. I was also the Secretary to the Pilots Association then and involved in the set-up of a seniority system for those joining MAS. Capt Dick Evans was the President who eventually joined MAS too. At an Association EGM, the majority of pilots joining MAS accepted the proposed "straight-line seniority system"- based on the date of joining. This created a lot of disgruntlement among some pilots who stood to loose out - affecting mainly the Ex-Airforce (RMAF) pilots who were already Commanders in MSA but with a lower date of joining.
(This straight-line seniority system exists even today in MAS/MAB)
Below: A photo below reminiscing the get together we had pre-MAS days in Singapore.
Capt Hassan (the one with the 'PoP') was the first Malay Airline Captain and the most senior.
Below From left: Tengku Shamsul (partly hidden), Capt Mohd Ali, me, Capt Hassan. The first two have since passed on.
MALAYSIAN AIRLINE SYSTEM (MAS)
Arrival of our first B737- 200 aircraft from Seattle.
Capt Hassan was in Command. Notice how Capt Dobson (he was our first Head of Flt Ops and under train during the ferry) is eyeing Hassan. Lol
In the meantime MAS had already been formed but the majority of pilots had yet to be released by MSA to join MAS.
The pre-operational MAS team prior to the startup:
Below photo of the young Senior Managers, Managers, Controllers we had at pre-startup - no Pilots yet. Qantas was the main stay behind the set-up of the Airline.
Our GM Manager was Tan Sri Saw Huat Lye who became an excellent Head of the Airline. In fact most of the Managers were of high quality and dedication.
Some of those in the photo are:
Seated: Lee Siew Poh, Md Shah, Tan Sri Saw HL, Tan Sri Aziz, Samsuddin and ?.
Others seen in the photo are Ramachandran (IR), Cess Morgan (Tech Services), Edmund Read (Inflight), Poobalasingam (Econs), etc.
[Post Script: Our first GM, Tan Sri Saw Huat Lye passed away on the 11th Oct 2016. Below a photo of him (centre), with Tan Sri Aziz (extreme right) who took over, and Dato Kamaruddin, the last of these three great leaders of MAS during its glory days.]
Senior Malaysians pilots were expected to be the foundation of the airline with the assistance of expatriates from Qantas. Captains Hassan, Khairi, Ali and me, joined MAS as Captains with B737 experience. The rest were Expats who had to be converted and then trained on route by the three of us.
While Capt Hassan performed the first ferry flight under supervision from Seattle to Kuala Lumpur, Capt Khairi and me performed the remaining 6 ferries.
Our Logo then:
I am standing 3rd from left.
Recognise any of these Cabin Crew pioneers?
Spring George, Edmund Read, SEP Instructor Theena' Naidu.
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Above: Official launch of MAS by the Dy PM YAB Tun (Dr) Ismail, with our first Chairman MAS Raman Iyer (pre-operational) on his right and on his left YB Tan Sri (later Tun) Sardon the Minister of Transport.
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Photo below My first International ferry in Command - Arrival from Seattle of our 3rd B737-200 (9M-AQP) at the International Terminal in Subang. The ferry had layovers in London, Athens and Delhi.
[After 1 month in Seattle and being exposed to Aircraft Technical Acceptance by Capt Laurie Clark of Qantas, it was great to be back, especially to see the family again.]
Above: Aircraft Tails of our B707, B737 and F27.
Below a collage of the above:
30th Sept 1972.
The blessing ceremony of our 1st B737-200 by Yang Behormat Tun Dr Ismail our Deputy PM and the Minister of Transport Tun Sardon.
Back to the story
Then came the introduction of the B707's soon after. MAS purchased "2nd hand", but very well maintained B707-338's from the Qantas fleet. Spurred on by Qantas expertise and our desire to go International after just more than a year, the Airline commenced 707 operation in January 1974.
To anticipate this, in November 1973 the lead pilots of Hassan, Khairi, me and Ali had to commence B707 training with Qantas in Sydney and then flight training in Avalon.
Below Dec 1973- We stayed in the Crest Hotel throughout whilst undergoing Ground school and Simulator at the Qantas School. It was a again a lonely period for us, away from family and friends - especially for me as it stretched through Christmas and New Year.
Below, 43 years later: Mashoor with Ashok Kumar, at a MH gathering Sept 2016.
Below - Dec 1973 - Final phase of my B707-338C training by Qantas - doing circuits and landings at Avalon (near Melbourne).
The Qantas owned airfield is located top right corner ('we are on a wide left downwind')
Capt Eric Chaseling (Snr Flt Inst, Qantas) conducted the check. Our legs were weak at this stage due to the amount of constant rudder we had to apply to fly with simulated engines out! One Aussie Instructor over drinks told us that the only way to have strong legs was to eat more sausages!
From Left: CFE Ragunathan, Capt John Downie (I did his line training on B737's), Naban (as a young boy then), Nyanam, Mrs Downie, and me in 'pink'. Incidentally the other lady in pink seen seated between Naban and Nyanam is my ex-wife Ann.
Capt Downie was an ex-PNG pilot.
At the same function we see from left, Capt M.S Leong (Uncle Leong SQ), me, Paul John, Capt Winkie Ho (Daddy SQ) and Ragunathan. Paul and Ragu had just left SQ and joined the young MAS team as Flight Engineers on the B707's.
PS. Regarding the only B737 Hijack in our history (the 2014, MH 370 disappearance though, could be a skyjacking yet to be determined) as Fleet Manager B737's I was very much involved. The DCA Investigator, Col (rtd) Charlie Quek was in charge and provided me a copy of the Voice Recorder transcripts for analysis. It was quite chilling listening to the recording and placing oneself in the same situation. The recording didn't have much clarity as there were a lot of background noises. It was only after this crash that it became mandatory that the Cockpit voice recorders (CVR's) be also hooked on to "hot mikes" ie our pilot boom mikes. This allowed cockpit recordings to have many more pick-up points for clarity and accuracy.
March 1974 - Below: In the cockpit of a B707 conducting route training on another Captain. (I was an Authorised Examiner on B707's. They call it TRE/TRI these days)
For this King's Charter all other Departments got involved to ensure the safety and operational success. The areas of Engineering support, Flight Planning, Operations Control, Catering, Cabin Services, and others. The King's visit would be to Bangladesh (Dacca), India (New Delhi) and then Pakistan (Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi). His Royal Highness was the Sultan of Kedah.
First stop was Dacca and then New Delhi.
Below: we had just arrived at Delhi and our King is just about to walk down the steps to be met by PM Indira Ghandi (left of the red carpet) and the President of India, V.V. Giri.
Below: The Agong's son in the cockpit with us from Lahore to Karachi. Capt Tengku Shamsul is flying this penultimate leg. I wonder where this young Price is now?
Back in Seattle, for my 4th B737 Acceptance and Ferry. It would be MAS's 9th B737 which was a QC (Quick Change) version allowing us to carrying cargo in the upper deck if so desired.
Below Boeing Field - Delivery Line- Seattle; planes ready for Acceptance and fly-away. MASs' is the 3rd from right. The scene was in 1975 but today this whole area is bigger and able to accommodate more aircraft.
Below: Pax and my children Ann (ex-wife) boarding the aircraft.
From Left: Boeing guest, Sean, Ann, Guest's wife, Andre, Gene.
Notice how the first two are rushing to enter first
All ready to go.
Bye! "Off chocks at .." Route was Seattle- Gander- London. Night stop
Below: Capt C.Y Chong who performed F/O duties. Capt Wong HH was the navigator, to meet legal requirements.
A brand new B737, 9M- MBI
London - Istanbul- Bahrain Night stop.
Below (L-R): F/O Wong HH (Pilot cum Navigator), Capt Jack Bird, Capt Chong C.Y, and me. Notice the side cargo door open for cargo off-loading.
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Our Director of Engineering and me as 1st Class passengers. Yes in those days smoking was allowed on aircraft in specific areas provided the No Smoking sign was OFF.
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I had the daunting task to achieve this; and completed training on all crews.
Training of MAS crew was conducted at the Douglas Training Centre in Longbeach, California.
Some of us resided at the Red Lion in and some at Oakwood Apartments. A lovely place.
Our 1st DC-10 was now ready for Acceptance.
Below: Below we waiting for aircraft to be ready for Acceptance Test Flight. The person in the centre is Kean Engie our Technical Rep'.
The waiting for aircraft readiness for Acceptance Tests, was the taxing part of it all. Test flying on the other hand was so satisfying.
After Aircraft Acceptance our crew had to undergo Flight Endorsement Training (circuits an landings x6) in Yuma.
Below: Our DC-10 at Yuma, Arizona during Flt Testing; awaiting Takeoff Clearance.
There's only one way of describing Yuma, and that's captured in this Postcard below.
Conducted a total 3 flights (C3) before accepting the aircraft.
A few more photos of the ccassion.3
From (L-R): Cess Morgan - Tech Svcs Manager, Myself, Capt Hassan, John Brezendine, Tan Sri Aziz (who was then our Company Sec), Tan Sri Zain Asri, Tan Sri Raja Mohar, Board Member Zaidin ( who later become Chief Justice I think), ?, Capt Dato Khairi, CFE Ragunathan.
Our US Ambassador then was the late Tan Sri Zain Asri was also present - he later became the Chairman of MAS, after the departure of Tan Sri Raja Mohar.
Below: Messages from our Chairman, Raja Tan Sri Mohar, and President of Douglas Aircraft Company, John Brizendine.
(Extarcts from the Promotional Magazine "The DC-10 and You" produced by DAC for MAS)
Assembly milestones of our 1st DC-10-30.
Bottom Left Photo: Our Tech Rep Kean Engie, Bernie Parsch and LAE Chong.
The Acceptance and Ferry crew of our 1st DC-10. we also achieved a non-stop record for the DC-10 flying from Honolulu to Kuala Lumpur Direct in 12 Hrs 26 mins on the 14th Aug 1976.
Below: The DC 10-30 cabin
Chairman's Dinner invitation to all those involved in the Acceptance and Delivery.
1977- Year of our second DC 10-30 delivery from Longbeach, California.
Group of Cabin Crew Instructors on an earlier General Familiarisation Course were;
Chris Addis, Spring George; Viswam, KS Tan, Jayapala, late Antony Dris, and YW Ng.
1977 was also the year when our B737 was hijacked and crashed. See another Video on the Hijack. Click Link:-
https://youtu.be/dH8vdywr6TM
Our International Route Structure with the introduction of the DC-10 below:
Below: Our DC10 at Kai Tak International Airport, Hongkong
1978- 5th August. Redisgnated as Chief Pilot (Tech Development) Capt Khairi as Chief Pilot (Tarining) and Capt Hassan as the Chief Pilot.
Click on Link below to view one of our early Commercials with introduction of our DC-10's.
1980 MAS Advert
1979
In early 1979 our GM, Mr Saw Huat Lye (later Tan Sri) made a bold decision that MAS should acquire A300-B4's to compliment our DC-10 fleet. We had only 9 months to plan and put into effect the Introduction of the A300's. It was no easy task especially in respect to spec'ing the aircraft, crewing, planning the crew training courses and the Acceptance and ferry of 3 A300's. (Later we added another)
Some photos of the signing ceremony for the A300 Purchase Agreement by Mr Saw our General Manager in presence of the negotiating team.
Below: At the Mercure Hotel. Happy Hours with Peter Thaldorf ( Director of Customer Services AeF) and wife Rosy, Aziz Othman and the Mercure Manager.
Peter became a clse friend of ours in later years.
Below Bartender was Jean-Pierre, and this time with Ragunathan joining the fun.
Mercure Hotel was home to me for about 6 months over seeing the A300 endorsement training, and handling the various problems that crop up with introduction and delivery of the aircraft. I also had to spend hours with the Performance Section of AI finalising our Takeoff derate policy and customising our Flt Ops Manual SOP's. An overall tight scheduled.
Below: Mr Ding, our Technical Rep shows up at the Mercure
Ragu, not very good at playing pool; with the balls flying out of the table.
Below: At Wilson Square Toulouse - Statue of the Poet Goudouli
Jean Pinet was also a current Concorde Test Pilot.
Photo below taken after completion of A300 Training. Capt Ng CA is on the extreme left with Capts Tony Chan and Aziz, and FE BH Tan partially hidden on the right. The Champagne flowed.
Below: From Right, Capt Jean Pinnet, Head of Aeroformation, with Peter Thaldorf (Director of Cust Services), Passaneu (Instructor FE) and FE BH Tan.
Capt Pierre Baud Vice President of Operations was the one who conducted my final check including stalls (at night!!) on the way to Tarbes (Lourdes) for circuit and landings. Pierre was a fine Test Pilot for Airbus and very active with development and testing on all AI types. We have had quite few flights together.
[A year later I flew left hand seat on a A 310 Customer Demo flight KUL-BKK with him on the right. The first time that it was pushed to above max ceiling to 41,000ft.
Pierre was also the AI Capt with me and Ken for a A320 demo to Customer in Toulouse.]
I have lots of respect for him and Capt Bernard Zeigler who both promoted the 'Side Stick' and Fly-by-wire concept. It was a big challenge and they had to convincing the European Aviation body on the new concept and saw through approval and certification. We today see the rewards of their efforts by having one standard concept for all Airbus aircraft even up to the A380. Pierre was also Test Pilot for the A330 and A340.]
Our first A300 was now ready for Customer Acceptance. This is the long awaited moment for the Acceptance crew and the fun part- we could test the aircraft to its certified limits. Flying the A300-B4 and being the first to do it was a proud moment for me personally.
MHA Acceptance: Nov 1979.
Below: After C1 (Customer 1 flight) the team on the acceptance.
From left: Me, Yves Benoit, the late Capt Tony Chan, CFE Ragunathan, AI Test Engineer, FE Daud, Capt Lars Larsen.
Note: The CAA UK, then, required that the A300 go through the full stalls. We had to comply. Full stalls resulted in violent shaking of the whole aircraft during stall!
(An ANZ DC-10 also doing full stalls had fuselage distortion at end of the test. We have since done away with full stalls during Test flights.)
1979-27th Oct after completion of Customer1 flight on MHA.
Below: Out comes the Champagne!
The person next to lTony Chan is Yves Benoit who was a brilliant Flight Test Engineering Manager. Partly hidden on the extreme left is our Capt Jamil from our DCA Malaysia.
Below: Our MAS Customer Representative Mr Ding (from Engineering) and his Secretary Michelle.
Nov 1979 - Pre-delivery Ceremony for our 1st A300.
Below: Having a chat with Jim Conrad (Head of Tech Trg AeF)
More photos of the Acceptance ceremony in Toulouse.
Below our Chairman signing the Delivery Documents with the President of AI, Bernard Lathiere.
Below front row from Left: Jeyakanthan, Saw Huat Lye, S N Ding, Tan Sri Raja Mohar, Selma Osman, Rahman (AI Rep for Malaysia) and Ranjit Jeyaretnam the one who did the Sale with MAS.
Below: After Acceptance Test Flight of our No2 A300 B4, 9M-MHB.
With Capt Pierre Baud again, Capt Aziz and FE BH Tan.
It was quite tiring both mentally and physically.
From left: Roland, Tony Chan, Ragunathan, Capt Jamil (DCA Malaysia Examiner)
Jun 1980. Attended the Cranfield College of Aeronautics Aircraft Performance Measurement course. I am 6th form right.
Below to London in a DC10-30 with I think with Andre in the cockpit.
Hardly had we introduced the A300's and DC-10's in quick succession, the Company then decided to look at the B747's. Within just 5 years I had to once more put my hand on the plough for yet another arduous project. The team commenced contract negotiations with British Airways who had offered us two of their three brand new B747-200's which they decided were in excess to their fleet requirements.
"Hi Roland, this l think is wth British Airways when we bought the first two B747 -200 Rolls Royce powered aircraft. BA was having financial difficulties and we took over their orders from Boeing. The deal was for BA to ensure Boeing redo the spec to meet MAS spec which we had worked out with Boeing. They did it including the straight stairs, larger galley lift cutout, cockpit changes and all MAS planned BFE. We had hard negos wth BA, Boeing and ROLLS and got what we planned for with a saving of abt USD30Mill per aircraft for MHI &
MHJ. You, Kenneth and Ragu did the delivery flt together wth me and Rosley Kassim my project engineer.
Wow, brought back good memories. "
The Board finalised the deal at a bargain hard to believe price
Now the work of revising some of the BA cockpit layout and systems lay in my hands.
I had ensured that there was very little cockpit layout differences between our A300/ DC-10's and these new B747-200's. The idea being adaptability for crew to transition from one type to another and that SOP's were similar. Our pilots could transition seamlessly from one type to another.
After a lot of resistance from BA, as the cost of a new cockpit panel layout would have to be manufactured and cost enormous. I stood ground and with the backing of my boss Capt Hassan and the Engineering head Resham Singh (now Dato) BA agreed to it at no additonal increase in price.
(On technical details: I got my vertical Radio altimeters, a new FRATTS system, pedal nosewheel steering, RTO and the basic instrument layout similar to the DC-10.
I also adapted the FRATTS to be able to provide the same amount of derate as on the DC-10. These were all approved by Boeing and TSO obtained)
B747-200 training with British Airways.
Capt's Khairi, Ali, Ken Chong and me commenced our BA course late 1981. We had to undergo ground school, simulator training followed by line training on BA routes. Crew stayed at the Sheraton Hotel Heathrow for about two months.
On completion we were checked out as qualified BA Captains fully equipped to train our own crew.
My final line check from Seattle to Heathrow was in actual Cat 3 conditions and it was quite an experience. See photos below
Now that I was qualified to fly the B747-200 my next assignment would be to perform Acceptance Test Flights.
Below from Left: Dev F/E Karunyam, Dev Capt Kenneth Chong, BA F/E Instructor, Capt Mike Webster and myself ( I think I needed a haircut).
Here again am flying the beautiful machine below for the first time; RT 021, MAS's first B747-200 (MHI) on Test Flight with a chaser plane below taking photos and videos. Another first! To God be the Glory.
The Boeing designation by tail number indicates that RT 021 was one of the earliest in production.
Continuation to Page 1 above.
19th March in Subang where both of us were conducting aircraft training on the recently converted Pilots in MAS. The Line Pilots were trained by Qantas utilising the training entitlement from BA.
On a lighter vein: The team decided to through a dinner party for our BA team in appreciation for the work they had done for MAS It was held in Capt Ken Chong's residence. I decided to introduce them to "Toddy" from Klang. In the evening the Toddy had fermented slightly but still great. Being polite Englishmen they consumed it with ardent curiosity.The next day they all ended up with loose motion.
Now back to Simulators and this time assessing a Visual system for our B737, DC-10 and A300 simultors.
Below: St Louis with Larry Cheah, my Dev Capt B737 - Meeting with our Simulator Visual Manufacturer, MDEC. (Vital IV system I think)
1986.
Below: In the Boeing 'war room' after conducting the test flight. It is called war room because its where disputes with Boeing over snags; and sometimes there can be a stand-off. The responsibility rested with me and sometimes ended up being the unpopular guy.
July 1986 - B747-300 Combi Acceptance.
Performing normal flight duties on a B747-200
With (from left) Bahtair, Sharil, Me, Singh; and seated, Hairun Nisa, Tan Sri Aziz, President of Fokker, and Japp Bakar of Fokker.
Oct 1988 - Taken in Lancing at the Singer Link Miles Office. I was there to finalise the Technical Spec for our B747-400 Simulator (the Company had ordered B747-400's by this time and we needed to obtain a Sim being one of the first few operators) Our first 7474-400 was a No 21 in the procuction line and ahead of Qantas.
Back Row (from left) : Boeing, Mrs Ganapathy(?), Boeing (?), Walt Neilsen (Boeing Sales Director handling MAS), Singh(NT), Resham Singh, Zainnudin (NT), late Bahtair (Coy Sec), Sitham Nadarajah - Engineering, Sharil (NT), Boeing, Hairun Nisa (Headed of our Team), Nadimah (Legal Affairs Manager, NT), Roland (Flt Ops, NT), Saw LB (Corporate)
The work load during this period was high especially during negotiations where we would work till the wee hours of the morning.
Below: On board a flight to London Heathrow bound for the Simulator Manufacturer's plant. Preparing the Technical Spec' for our 1st B747 Simulator after the above contract was finalised.
Note date is also May 1989 - same period as the above. Heavy work load.
While pre-delivery preparations were taking place for the induction of our first B747-400, our Queen of the skies then was the B747-300 Combi. Here's a rare video of 9M-MHK taking-off from Los Angeles Intl RW 24L. Click on Link below to view:-
B747-300 Combi (3H6 M) - Visit Malaysia Year 1990
July 1989: Signing for the Purchase of A-330 Aircraft and the dinner that followed it. Head of the Negotiating team was Hairun Nisa. (Sad to say that Puan Hairun passed away recently)
In Aviation though, there is never a stage where one knows everything. You learn everyday and on every flight. Otherwise its like just 'punching holes in the sky'!
9M-MHL arrived in KUL in Oct 1989. The pride of MAS.
Our Prime Minister, Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was present for our customary Demonstration flight for the public. (See below)
19th Nov 1989- our 2nd B747-400, 9M-MHM, delivery flight took off from Everett Field, Washington BC.
With me in the cockpit is Capt Ken Chong.
During this period Subang Terminal 1 below, had expanded to cater for the B747-400 operation.
During this busy period we were also involved with the Acceptance of a B747-400 Full Flight Simulator and also a B737-400 Simulator. Challenges were many and the airline was going places and staff dedicated and proud of the airline.
Below: The combined B 737- 400 and B747-400 project team of Thomson-Link.
Specifying 3 simulators and then conducting acceptance checks on the B747-400 and F-50 FFS's.
1990 saw us conducting Acceptance checks on our B747-400. A good 3 months of intense checks in the box.
Below: The Singer- Link Simulator Assembly Plant at Lancing, UK where our B737- 400 and B747-400 FFSs' were being built.
6th Mar 1990 - Progress Inspection by Customer of our B737-400 FFS.
In the skeletal cockpit of a B737- me grinning like a Cheshire cat.
All major defects cleared with only a few minor ones not effect Training left in abeyance.
All these activities were accomplished in a period of less than 2 years.
Age was on my side to cope, although family was neglected.
A furutistic Advert for Malaysia Airlines in our hey days - 1992
Prior to the above:
Below: the F-50 Simulator (FFS) being used for training. This was our best buy as this Flt Simulator is to this day being used by operators of the F-50. F50 FFS's are scarce - around 3 only in the world.
Its use by MAS Wings is continuing until such time the F50's are phased out by the ATR's. Firefly however has already decided to order ATR's..
1991 8th Nov B747-400 Purchase Agreement Signing.
A 1991 commercial on our superb in-flight service even other airlines talked about - click on the link below.
B747-400's In-flight Commercial
1992- 30th June. Promoted as Dy Director of Flt OPs (Technical).
I was requested by DE Resham Singh if I could be MAS's representative at a farewell retirement party for Doug Scott in Sydney. Doug was ex-Qantas Director of Engineering and Doug was our 1st DE at inception in 1972. He laid the foundation of a solid Engineering division which grew under his portege's until the airline declined in the mid 2000's. We used to work closely together in the 70's and hence an honour to wish him a well deserved retirement.
MAS was at it's peak of success as an airline under the leadership of our MD, Dato Kamaruddin.
Our adverts too was at par with the rest of the world airlines.
Have included below a Link for a futuristic Video Advert made for the Airline.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-dHocxugW8RTWNpM29aU053WkE/view?usp=sharing
23rd Sept 1993- On my 50th birthday giving a pep talk to the BKI Flight Operations.
1994 8th June: Being Head of Technical, Safety & Training part of my duties involved the Training of our Cadet pilots with Malaysian Flying Academy in Malacca. At that time MFA was the best Flying School, comparable to UK schools.
1993 Commercial. Just Brilliant. Depicts the Airline in its hey day until someone came along and ruined it. MAS has never recovered since - even till today 9th Sept 2016. My heart bleeds for the state of this once great Airline which many of us built through our blood, sweat and tears. Even at the expense of neglecting our families and growing up with our children.
Click on Link below:-
Space Age Commercial done for MAS
1994 - Acceptance MPH. 23rd Sept again overseas. My birthday cake - 51 years old.
24th Sept 1994
My penultimate Acceptance of a B747-400- 9M-MPH- Everett Washington BC. For this one I trained Capt Ishan and Tharma to conduct Acceptance Checks on a 744.
Below: Aug 1995 Kuala Lumpur to Johannesburg three crew operation with Capt Ishan.
- Our meagre facilities for Flt Ops.
- The chilling reality of our own B737 being hijack just 4 miles (less than 2mins) from touchdown RW 15.
- The Red Army stand off (1975) and also a Cabin Crew Work to Rule. The brave actions of our then PM Tun Razak and Hussein Onn respectively, to deal with these situations.
- JAL DC-8 in 1977 and our A300 Dec 1983 CFIT (Controlled Flight Into Terrain) accidents on the approach to RW 15.
- In Feb 198, Flying Tiger 747 Cargo, Flight 66, that also had a CFIT accident inbound to RW 33.
- The sad B707 arrival from London bearing the remains of our PM Tun Abdul Razak in Jan 1976. It was a sombre occasion indeed.
- A destructive fire we had along the passage-way to aircraft Bays - thank God it didn't destroy the main Terminal.
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A comment from Jason whose father Dougie was an adorable MAS traffic executive working at London Heathrow.
Used to assist me in checking in my sons when they were at Brentwood Grammer.
Most of us would remember Dougie and the others mentioned by Jason.
Hi Capt. Roland,
My name is Jason, my Father Dougie worked for MAS LHR from 1974-1990...loved reading ur blog as I have many memories flying DC-10-30(9M-MAS/T/V) and 747-236B(9M-MHI/J) on my many trips flying to KL and onto SYD on holidays and very privelidged to accompany many Flt crew in cockpit for take-off and landing...many names I would remember if they were mentioned. The 1st Station Manager at LHR was Alf then Wong TK, with Abi as ground engineer and Ramla,Judy,leonie,Anita and of course Dougie...Happy Days and memories I will cherish for ever..If you remember me then I hope your enjoying your 2nd retirement...!!!
hi Jason. Of course I do remember you and dad. You must be a grown up lad now. Did you pursue a aviation career? Warm regards to the staff mentioned above, if you are in contact with them.
We had effeciant devoted Airport/ Station Managers all over our network. To mention a few who got on well with Flight Crew before my memory fades:
An email comment from Wong TK above. So nice to hear from him after 25 years!
The Airline from here onwards were run by a new Management team under Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli.
My official retirement age was due in September 1998, and although at age 55 one could continue flying till 60 (later this age was increased to 65 subject to stringent medical fitness), I decided to move on when Dato Gurucharan Singh offered me to work with him in Jet Airways Ltd, India.
Although loath to move from comfortable surroundings and loved ones, I decided to accept the offer. Dato was the first MAS staff to move to Jet Airways and later on many other MAS personnel from Engineering, In-flight Services and Customer Services also held positions in Jet Airways.
As Qantas laid the foundation for MAS we pioneers laid the foundation for Jet Airways which to this day resembles the MAS quality of old.
(Editors Note: As of 2019 Jet Airways folded up. How very sad)
Below a video clip of retired planes of Malaysia Airlines. Click link below:
https://youtu.be/8s865idlRcg
With Jet Airways (India) Ltd, based in Mumbai - 1997 to 2003.
Together we achieved a lot. He retired just before I did and is currently either residing in the USA. Amazingly fit for a then 76 year old.
Regina, My loyal and faithful Secretary for the 6 years I was in Jet Airways - 1997 -2003.
Below: View outside my apartment along Juhu beach during one of the 6 monsoons I experienced.
With young Capt Sudhir Guar in my office. Sudhir was also my Development Capt handling other Technical matters.
VP's Office at Jet Airways.
Part of my team, from left:
Our cozy 2,600 sq ft Apartment. It was Dato Guru who managed to obtain this location just by Juhu Beach. Most of the other expats were housed elsewhere.
Gateway of India
Photos below: Diwali Celebration at Naresh Goyal's place.
Naveen Malkani and Jeya
With monster ex- Lt General.
Fireworks on Diwali.
2002: Contract Negotiations with Embraer from Brazil.
Below: I am with Steve Forte our CEO, and SK Datta the E.D, having discussions over dinner.
Me with Embraer VP and Steve Forte.
My good friend from Delhi - Capt Rakesh Kapahi.
Flight Operations cramped offices
North-East Operation during the Monsoon. Real fascinating! Credit due to all those wonderful Calcutta based pilots who had to operate in marginal conditions each year.
Magic Airlines: Delhi
Firefly Sdn Bhd (subsidiary of MAS)
And last but not least, back in the MAS fold; joined Firefly on August 2007. 10 years after retiring from it
We commenced Contract and Tech Spec definition for the ATR 72-500 immediately with ATR.
Below with our MD Eddy Leong, MAS Legal and ATR Francois Leneveu. Extreme right is Christophe Potocki marketing salesman extraordinaire for ATR.
2008. Below Arrival of our 1st ATR on 11th Aug.
21st Dec 2008 - Phase -out of the F50's form Firefly.
(Continued as consultant to Firefly from then on.)
For more details on my life in Firelfy go to my Blog labelled such.
Comment from 'Darren' on the 18th Sept.
I was looking for information on the F-27 which my former company used to charter, and came upon your site by chance or destiny. What an amazing career/life you have Captain, and an incredible testament to your wonderful faith in God. It was timely for me. Thank you and God bless!