Aviation Legacy - 15 Dec 2011

We visited RMAF (Royal Malaysian Air Force) Museum at the Sungei Besi Air Base yesterday. This was the first international airport in Malaysia before Subang and Sepang. The main attraction is the array of aircraft in display, which was once the pride of the nation. We were also fortunate to catch the air force's Nuri (transport helicopter) and the flying practice in the nearby runway.

We have the privilege of Encik Rashid, a staff member of the museum to brief us on the aircraft in the museum compound and the hangar.
The first aircraft of the early years was a Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer. It was named Lang Rajawali by Tunku Abdul Rahman, our first Prime Minister of Malaya.  
Future pilots in the cockpit....

"Control Tower, request clearance to cross the runway!!"

What's inside the "skin"?

Hands-on experience on the working of a rotor blade helicopter.

Kids would love to explore the interior of the large wing Caribou, and when standing in the narrow cabin, we could still feel the adrenalin rush of a paratrooper waiting his turn to jump off the plane.

The only indoor hangar for the smaller and delicate aircraft.

The A-4PTM Skyhawk - the supersonic fighter jet that once ruled our skies in the 80s now greets visitors silently.  
Kids having a field day discovering more about the aircraft in the hangar. With their ambitions high in the sky, what is dust, dirt and mud!!

It would be a shame to lose the historical RMAF Museum over to the redevelopment of the Sungei Besi Air Base land. This is a great educational opportunity for the future generations and a piece of our colourful aviation history. 

Not to be missed some souvenir keychains - these were the fighter jets after the Skyhawk era, ie MiGs, Hornets and Sukhoi.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Al-Attas Garden in Janda Baik - 4 August 2012

Image
Besides being a well-known contentious writer, little do we know that Syed Hussein Alattas is also a self-taught gardener and an architect. He had built Taman Hana in Janda Baik from scratch and named after his wife.  Taman Hana sits on a 8-acre plot of land in the quiet village of Janda Baik. It boasts a collection of 1,000 species of plants including fruit trees, more than 700 big flower pots and five buildings that include the home of the Alattas family.  The good news is that it is open to visitors every day.  As we made our way past the entrance, this place appeared unkempt. It was well beyond its heyday (in 2008) but still showing off its faded beauty. Some parts were badly neglected, which was so unfortunate, because it originally was to be a quiet kampung retreat. A mix of traditional Malay, Peranakan, Indonesian and colonial British architecture and a Minangkabau styled roof. Syed Hussein had actually started building the structures in 1982 and he spent a lot of time
Read more

Spilling the Beans in Ipoh - 6 Apr 2012

Image
Ipoh's familiar specialty - Nga Choy Kai or the Taugeh (Bean Sprouts) Chicken. What else to accompany the poached chicken than the fresh, fat and crunchy Ipoh famous bean sprouts!! The bean sprouts are served blanched, with a dash of sesame oil, white pepper and soy sauce. Ipoh is a well-known food haven in Malaysia, and most will agree that Ipoh's bean sprout is the best in Malaysia. The premium-grade bean sprouts come from the Buntong New Village, which is also my husband's hometown. Growing bean sprout requires only water and more importantly, watering techniques. Madam Toon told us that there were at least 8 operators in Buntong. They were all family-owned businesses, and the three Toon brothers have been growing bean sprouts for more than 70 years.  Bean sprouts are grown from black mung beans imported from Myanmar. The beans need to be watered every 4 hours throughout the day for 5 days, no shortcut, otherwise they will be not be fat and juicy. At
Read more

A Potter Village in Sayong - 30 May 2013

Image
Pit Stop at the Perak royal town, Kuala Kangsar. The 1st rubber tree in Malaysia was planted in this town. That's about all I knew about this place. Labu Sayong or water pitcher from Sayong village, known for its health value to help migraine, lower blood pressure etc due to the special properties inherent in the local clay. Before this, we didn't know much of labu sayong.  We didn't go to the village or plan this visit. Out of curiousity, we bumped into this unassuming workshop at No. 3, Kg Setia, Enggor, run by Mohd bin Harun.  Pakcik was very open and gave us a tour of his workshop and how he makes labu sayong. His warm, friendly welcoming people made a lasting impression on all of us - a trait that we've lost in the big cities. The traditional way of making labu sayong uses hands to mould the clay into the shape of a 'labu' (gourd-like vase) but this is too slow. Now, the clay mixture is poured into standard mould blocks. It's
Read more