Nik H.

It has already started; first flight was 30th October at 1100 from KLIA. Flights will end 13 Jan after a 10 day break midpoint.

Cripple 7 fuselage is significantly wider than the Scarebus 330. In fact the Cripple 7 fuselage shares almost the same dimension as the B747 minus the front upper deck bump.

F/O's PFD is very bright from the angle I'm shooting because its an LCD display. The Capt's side looks good as my shot is slanted from the Capt's side. I don't think I can take this shot with my DSLR. First of all the cockpit jumpseat area is cramped. And i don't think I'll carry my DSLR for business trips as well. Love the G10. Compact but with sufficient manual controls and a good IS system. I don't mind losing a little on the quality side. The only complaint is the expected slowness when shooting, meaning shooting action shots will be difficult. Back to topic, I'm pretty pleased by everyone's commitment to make the TGG flights happen and hope all the preparation will yield the expected results. And who's shooting TGG Hajj ?

Check-in was a breeze. The ATR was already boarding when we arrived. The aircraft came from operating the SZB-PEN sectors. The ATR The Captain, another ex- Transmile pilot invited me to join him in the cockpit, so armed with my new compact camera gleefully obliged. Start up Taxying out Airborne Getting dark as we hit Top of Climb. Approach was for RWY 15. Short Finals Reached home 30 minutes after touchdown. Really great to arrive at SZB instead of KLIA. I'll be leaving for TGG next on the 11th to prepare for the first departure, and am hoping for a trouble free TGG operations. Its been quite a ride to get to this stage. To be continued.

This will be the entrance where the TGG direct Pilgrims will officially begin their journey. At the stadium car park tents have already been ste up for the relatives sending off their loved ones. It is expected about 3500 people will congregate there for each send-off. Baggage hand off and check-in will be done at this foyer before the pilgrims proceed via escalator to the briefing area inside the stadium for immigration, customs and security formalities The cargo will be routed to this exit for loading onto the bonded trucks, and onwards to the aircraft hold. Inside the stadium Immigration counters will be ste up. The customs and security will be occupying the other end at the exit where the Pilgrims will be boarding busses directly to the aircraft steps, bypassing the terminal building. Checking out one of the three portable digital weighing machines to be used. The calibration of the machine was just completed last week After the activities were finished we proceeded to Kompleks Darul Iman, a sort of TGG version of Putrajaya for a final meeting with the involved bodies. With 45 minutes to spare, we rushed to the airport to return with the awaiting FY ATR.

Yesterday morning found my MasCharter Haj team and me on board a FY ATR from SZB to TGG. We went for a day trip for some meetings and inspection of facilities and sites that will be used for the Haj. We checked on the walking time taken by the Pilgrims from check-in to boarding to ascertain our precision timings, drawn up from a T-720 minute countdown to departure of the aircraft. Thereafter a meeting was held with all the involved bodies from Bandaran to Rela to Police etc etc. Rode shotgun with Capt Vinod, an ex Transmile MD11 P2 jockey now flying FY. On arrival the team set down to work..... Bus Drop-off area Measuring walking time from Bus Drop-off to Gate 4. Our Ground equipment in place Meal Carts and Galley Sets Aircraft Dry Stores A short intermission. We played host to a group of schoolchildren and treated them to an aircraft visit using a transiting B737-400. This was prearranged by my office earlier. Always good to bring some joy to the less fortunate schoolkids while we earn our keep. Cockpit visit. A new Captain under training on the left hand seat..... With the Ah Mois Finally a group photo After the feel good activity we treated ourselves to brunch at one of the roadside stalls...goooood fooood We then proceeded to the Stadium, which is about 7 minutes from the airport. This is where the remote check-in process will be held. This is planned such to avoid causing inconvenience to normal passengers. With this system congestion at the airport will be better controlled. All the baggage loading, security, immigration and customs formalities will be done there. Bank Islam will also operate a kiosk there for money changing and other money related functions. More later.....

Good on you Capt Azmir. Air Asia X is really good on its flt recovery actions and they spare no expense to ensure their passengers get to their destination in the most humanely expeditious time. MasCharters have already operated two B744 charter flights for them to Australia in the past few weeks. In my dealings with the AKX operational team I found them very professional and pleasurable to work with. They also pay on time everytime. The problem with their inaugural flight is just pure bad luck and they have my sincere sympathies. It can happen to any airline.

5 hours dual? I thought with a Malaysian PPL flying a Malaysian Reg a/c a quick 1 hour would cover it. Wouldn't that be enough to cover EFATO, PFL, Flap and Flapless T/O and Landing, some steep turns and stalls clean and dirty? When I was learning to fly, boys were sent solo in less than 10 hours total time.

OFF TOPIC Gosh I used to go spear fishing there during my F27 days. It was a beautiful place and we had fish spawning in the area. All sorts of wildlife can be foud there. No more i guess, with the kind of development.

Extremely good points put forward. Kudos Ryan. However in the context of Hajj flights the scenario is vastly different. A Hajj flight is organised in an exclusive manner that encompasses as much Muslim values as possible, from halal food served by cabin crew in appropriate uniforms to the IFE content that has a Hajj flavor to it. Mascharters have through the years managed to refine these 'little' features into a seamless service delivery for Hajj flights. Going via BKK means using normal scheduled services, and the pilgrim is just another passenger. We'd like to think that this once in a lifetime journey for the majority of muslims starts when one steps into the aircraft. Every year the muslims of Southern Thailand face uncertainty insofar as having a reliable Air Transport provider for the Hajj season. All sorts of aircraft from all sorts of 'wet lease arrangement' provider turns up, and there have been occasions where the aircraft turns up late, or out of specification or sometimes not turn up at all. Every year my office receives numerous requests for us to fly ex HTY or HKT from various parties there to mount Hajj flights. We have also 'bend' our Jeddah scheduled flights to pick up/send off pilgrims at these stations. Sometimes it works for them, sometimes it does not. As for flying through BKK, the connections may not actually meet the movement pattern of the Hajj as organised Hajj movements are timed from the moment they leave home till the moment they arrive at their temporary residence not at Jeddah airport but at Makkah or Madinah. There are logistics movement involving the buses for mass land transportation and also synchronised check-in and check-out of pilgrims at their temporary residence in the Holy land. On a door to door basis, going from AOR may be faster ; Leave home 6 hours before departure, hop on the 8.5 hour flight, reach Jeddah, hop on a 2.5 hour bus ride to Makkah and check-in the hotel. Or leave home 3 hours before departure, hop on a 1 hour flight to BKK, wait another 3 - 6 hours for connection, then another 8.5 hours to Jeddah...... Besides, its always better to fly direct non stop as any involvement of a stop means the risks of disruption is much increased. And disruption for Hajj movements will trigger a huge chain of logistic events at the other end. Those who have been to Hajj will understand this well. Although there may be a slight cost increase on the face of it, the intangible benefits especially from a reliability and strategic angle far outweighs the money issue. Furthermore, dealing with Mascharters means all costs are upfront as there is no hidden costs. Prices are nett and do not normally come with add-ons unless clients are made aware at the negotiation stage. I'd like to think that the AOR program will allow us to make a small headway into this market over the next few years. Its not going to be easy, but more importantly, its not impossible. There are many more compelling reasons that cannot be put forward as this is and OPEN forum. Whatever the case, as per my last post, we have found a way to operate Hajj out of AOR ( subject to commitment from key dependencies) without a huge investment outlay, and at the same time maintain the airport as a 'black' elephant by skinning the cat differently. I'd always like to tell my Hajj & Charter clients whenever cost comparison issue comes up the following; Cheap not good, good not cheap.

After much thought over the past few days i now have a workable solution to make what was impossible become difficult without the pain of too much investment. Will be presenting my case to both MH Management and the Kedah State Government by first week December. I think many people will be happy but those required to work hard to make this happen may not share similar sentiment. Its gonna be another fun ride and I think I'm gonna enjoy myself immensely.

Sorry Hj Maarof for missing out TH. In any Hajj scenario, TH's involvement is a given that is why its not mentioned. However, I am not aware of any significant foreign movement being handled by TH. Umrah yes, but Hajj I don't know.

Fuel efficiency by way of new aircraft procurement is no rocket science. All the experts here know about this. There are however other ways of achieving fuel efficiency even without the obvious change to newer type. Maybe via operational improvements. It could be via research on how much boundary layer adhesion contributes to profile drag. It could be better alignment of aircraft control surfaces. Constant washing of turbine blades. Some too trivial but no less important however may be to boring to discuss here. Many more little ways of doing things that can overall contribute to reduction of fuel consumption. 2% of reduction may not seem much, but what if the fuel bill was RM3 Billion? never underestimate the power of stupid people

There will be issues that will make the venture difficult. Difficult is good as it will keep the pretenders out. Difficult also means that with hard work, it can be done

Its about policies, and decision making process on the allocation of funds, not about basic economics. Despite what seems apparent from an economic and financial angle, the issue of intangibles are also considered. Being an open forum, there's a lot that cannot be said here. It is not an entirely bad idea. For sure, as long as ther are muslims, the Hajj movement will repeat itself yearly. Also consider, Southern Thailand is only 2-3 hours away. Every year 6,000 Muslims are available to be tapped as passage from HTY and HKT is at best, unreliable. If an investment in a one time upgrade is about RM10million, and it adds another 10% for maintenance upkeep, but enables about RM 40 - 60 million worth of Hajj business annually, what would you do? While Malaysian Politicians may not be the sharpest in the world, there are still the honest and intelligent few who can make a difference. And they are quietly doing so. An idea which at a glance seems stupid may not be entirely so with further diligent study.

With all the political comments that were posted ( anticipated ) do bear in mind that this state is now run by the opposition. He He.

Checked out the old apron to see if the area is big enough for a B747 to go in, park, and exit safely. The apron however, as it is is large enough, but with a PCN of only 41, the B747 will probably sink into the concrete. We then proceeded towards the Runway, but not after waiting for 15 minutes at the holding point as the RMAF PCs were doing TaGs. The RMAF 'hangars'.... The PC7s.... We then entered the Runway...and I saw 300 meters ( 1000ft of wasted pavement ) beyond threshold Rwy22..... We then drove on the full length to the other end.... The view from Runway 04 end... After which we drove onto the primeter service road back. The HIAL for Rwy04. After that I went to the meeting with the local State officials to discuss direct flights for next year...... So, MWingers. my question is, what are your opinions as to... a. Can do or not? b. Shall do or not? Do you think AOR will see a B747-400 proving flight like the one we did in TGG? Do you think the locals will get to see the low fly-past as well as the B747 over the skies of AOR town.....? And if its gonna happen, would any of you guys wanna cover the event, even fly on the First Flight......? We live in Interesting times No.......?

Way back in 2003, after we won the bid to operate the Hajj from AK, I was summoned by the then MB of Kedah to look into the possibility of operating the Hajj directly from AOR to the Holy Land VV. With the runway and airport being what it was then it was a non-starter. However, the State Govt still insisted that some if its Jemaah be given a smoother passage on the faith driven journey, and I proposed 5 dedicated connecting Charter flights from AOR to KUL and back scheduled to ensure the jemaah have minimum waiting time for at KLIA. This arrangement have been going on since then. And Every year I was summoned to explain on why direct flights still could not be mounted, but i managed to convince them that operational viability was suspect, similar to the financial angle. However, with the widespread publicity of TGG Hajj plans reaching the ears of the Kedahans, and with the recent completion of upgrading work on the airport, I was again summoned to explain how was it that TGG managed to do what the Kedahans initiated...... That was why yesterday I found myself on board an MH B737 to AOR for a few hours...... Met Capt HJ Daud who was flying the plane.... Significant improvements were made to the AOR Airport. But a 9006ft Runway meant that the B747 will be significantly payload restricted should the wind be -10kts on take-off. This is not good as AOR is a one-way out airfield. Then there's the issue of a building that is within the take-off path acting as an obstacle...... ILS....man, pilots nowadays are really spoilt....I remember my B737-200 days of Vor/NDB aproaches onto a Runway slightly more than a mile long without benifit of Map display nor GPS navigation.... Good thing though as there were low clouds with base of 3-400 feet around the airfield... The view on approach The F/O was flying the sector......and doing a damn good job. We broke cloud at minima......335 feet above the surface.... Lucky we had ILS otherwise we could have had to go to PEN.... On arrival the DCA Pajero was on hand to take me around as i wanted to view the airport personally. Nothing like having a close look when planning something as critical as this.... AES setup.....Cat 6 only...we need Cat 9. The Control Tower I found out where the DCA's Cessna 206 and BN2 went.... and also saw a couple of Bulldogs there. An American registered Cessna Citation belonging to a local.... The Old Terminal The Hajj Terminal, built in 2003 to cater to the Direct Connection Pilgrims, now in a state of disrepair

Some Charter flights have a non-disclosure clause built into the contract, normally required by the Charterer.

Looks like its gonna happen after all. 4 meetings, numerous emails, a few hundred phone calls, some fairly strong reminders delivered. The hard part is over. The agreement is signed following MH proposal and friendly negotiations with a very dynamic Menteri Besar who has done what others only talk about.... Signed....RM4.69 million Looking back just 12 weeks ago the runway extension was only some sand in the sea. Now the airport has a 2 mile runway, there's fuel, ILS, HIRL on both ends, Cat 9 AES, widebody aerobridges and all the necessities to support large aircraft operations. Increadibly, it required only a few good men and one or two sharp ladies to get this done. There's still work to be done to get the 13th November show on the road. Its gonna be a nice ride getting there.

I can only theorize on what I'll do should the one in a million chance happen to me when I'm on the left seat, ....but you have gone through it and brought the pax and plane safely. You've earned your lifetime's pay on that single occasion. A Pilot's job is a continous routine of almost absolute boredom interrupted by one short moment of sheer terror. You've had your share. I hope I'll never have mine.

WiFi......dunno guys..... During the Man Utd Charters the players were playing the PSPs against each other while seated all over the airplane. No issue at all. I'm pretty sure any pilots who have flow FBW a/c must have gone through at least a fleeting moment of unexplained anomaly and will feel ; "what's it doing?" "why is it doing it?" "what's it gonna do next?" Most of the time the anomaly may clear itself after a reset and will not ever happen again, leaving the Pilot thinking " why did it happen?" Just like computers, brainy FBW aircraft may develop a mind of its own.... If i was the one in the left seat of the QF A330, I will be fairly traumatised as i did not understand why the plane did what it did, and how it later returned to normal.

For the First B744 flight we've managed to coordinate with a generous sponsor to have 40 lucky orphans to fly from KLIA to TGG. Sponsorship is by Inai Kiara Corporation with the cooperation of the Hajj and Charter Department. The children will be bussed by coach from TGG to KLIA and will board the B744 at KUL. They will be chaperoned by two Hajj & Charter Stewardesses. Our two MWingers will do the photo duties for the group. I hope all arrangements will work out as planned.

Uncle Norman will be there.

Been flying the "Cripple" 7 up and down the same route for years but never had any significant turbulence. Our fellow MWinger Norhisham K had some sort of computer problem within probably one hour of the same position the Qantas "Scarebus" 330 had their event. Norhisham K heroically brought the plane back to Perth without further incident. Aircraft was grounded while Capt Norhisham K was commended for recovering from the potentially hazardous situation. This is very strange. Two FBW aircraft experiencing FCC related anomalies within an hour flying radius of each other. Very interested to know more.