Attan

The cameras were installed from inside through he fuselage floor, so only the lenses and some parts of the equipment would be visible from outside.

TK, thanks for the shots. That reflection pic of your T7 is worth a lot of money and also that of the vortex climbing up your slat. Wow!. The pimple cloud at 3000 ft is probably covering some heated air underneath as suggested by Pieter. BTW, have you ever NOT used your APU before a flight, depending on just the GPU for your bleed/electrics from cockpit checks to start-up? Keep you stories coming, mate.

Hisham Wondering what the 3rd passion is hah hah hah!

A Nomad was many years ago used for aerial mapping in Malaysia. I used to see the all white aircraft being serviced at the RSFC hangar and IIRC it was powered by 2 PT6's. However I can't recall the rego. The cameras were mounted on the fuselage floor and IIRC they had a lot of problems with these cameras.

Well done, Sandeep. To me there is only one word that can make a difference to KLIA (and many other Malaysian institutions) and that is MAINTENANCE which you properly addressed. When Malaysians budget for anything, maintenance gets the least funds and new constructions the most. Why? Maybe because you can pad the expenses more on construction projects whereas for maintenance it is easy to compare this year's budget to what was spent last year and spot the sharp increase. Maintenance is an operation requiring close supervision and inspection. Most Malaysians hate supervisory jobs (except for the pay) because they don't want to reprimand their subordinates for fear of getting their cars scratched or the subordinates happen to be their own cousins and they don't want to cause a family squabble. that is why many hotels employ expatriates to fill supervisory positions. Look at how these hotels are maintained and compare this to our KLIA, Museum Negara, National Art Gallery, etc.. BTW I once went to KLIA straight from a drive down the North-South Expressway. I used the loo at one of the rest areas along the highway and later went to the loo at the KLIA - what a difference! The PLUS loos are way much cleaner than KLIA's.

Wow, you're lucky to catch those rare Russian birds, Radzi. Mmmm, the Citation on rendition mission? My guess is as good as yours :-)

Guys To discuss currency valuations will take more than a PhD thesis as it involves interest rate policies, balance of payment dynamics, money supply policies, etc. IIRC, Kuan Yew went for a strong currency with every SGD being backed by foreign reserves (USD, JPY, etc.). Malaysia went for a flexible valuation taking into account price levels (inflation), interest rates, money supply, budget spending, balance of payments, etc. and the MYR value is then a result of these decisions. In other words, Singaoore always had a strong currency backed by foreign reserves while Malaysia allows its currency to strengthen and weaken in response to trade balances and foreign fund movements. That is why interest rates in Malaysia is the lowest after Japan as Malaysia (like Japan) want its citizens to borrow and buy to keep the economy active. To foreigners, low interest rates give poor returns to their money and so they put their money elsewhere. This means MYR is not attractive to buy and therefore its price (the exchange rate or the value of the currency) is low. That is a quick and simple explanation for the SGD/MYR currency split and as always quick and simple explanations don't explain everything.

KC That's the best short and sharp analysis I've come across so far. Hope the powers that be read it and take note.

Lovely pics, Norman. My favourite's the PAL with flaps down and ground spoilers up.

Thank you Chuah for sharing. Must have been a wonderful tour.

Thanks Imran and Radzi for the tips on Penang spotting. I think a ladder is a necessity. I actually went round the whole perimeter and found that many of the best spots (facing touchdown points) are actually the kitchen doors of the squatter (?) houses because they built these houses inches from the fence. There are many open spots along the fence on the Rwy 22 end but as Rwy 04 is normally used the airborne/climb shots are not too appealing there. The cleanest shots in my opinion are those at Ptg Damar Lautt as the aircraft approach Rwy 04 but the touchdown point is too far away and you're looking at the tailpipes by then. As for Azahan's question on the greaser, you have to ask Pak Brahim because he was in the right hand seat. Yes Tsen Tsan, the normal approach is Rwy 04 but then I was coming back from LGK and Rwy 22 was clear.

Tsen Tsan Roughly where in this pic were you spotting at? If you can tell me the name of the road through which you reached the perimeter fence, better still.

Nice pics Tsen Tsan. Can you post a map of the place here?

Rozhan Unfortunately no private aircraft can operate into WMKF without prior approval from Mindef. The reality is the RSFC property there belongs to RSFC and the airport facilities to the DCA. TUDM is just a squatter but now controls all movements on the ground and in the air there. The C172's I fly belong to or are operated by the Royal Selangor Flying Club (RSFC). As for the blackouts, the beacons are supposed to be backed up by battery/generator so that the obstacle lights are always on. In any case the obstacles are all mapped out in the DCA's AIP and NOTAM which every airman should keep up to date with. Even a crane doing work near any airport is reported in the NOTAM's. Teoh, Min Chun Good idea for spotting at PEN. PM me your mobile no.'s and I'll contact you when I arrive at PEN (going there on AK on Jan 29 morning). Mr Ooi? Probably in the terminal building, not in the tower. Airport is run by MAB but tower is still under DCA. PR NDB is actually near Bagan Serai (not Parit Buntar) and VFR flights used to report there. Nowadays we are told to go for Tg Piandang by Butterworth Approach and switch to Penang Tower from there. Chaity Great shots there. Love the OS pic, leak or no leak.

Bet you the cargo will include briyani for introduction to the Malawians - anytime better than sweet corn.

Many thanks for the wonderful pics, Denny. Just curious, how did you manage to get so close and all over the airport?

So sorry, Min Chun, can't help you there. I was just visiting PEN when I took those shots. Was in PEN Dec 30 to refuel my C172 and then off to LGK. Popped into the Control Tower to submit my flight plans but didn't have time to "sembang" with the controllers but maybe next time when I'm there I'll casually ask them for the traffic flow pattern at PEN.

CH Mighty glad to read anything from your side as I believe there are some differences between SQ and MH SOP's.

Min Chun The Fedex and DHL a/c were coming in to PEN around 1800 but the China Airline Cargo came early afternoon. Most of the time Rwy 04 in use, so you either get landings if you're at Ptg Damar Laut or landed aircraft turning off the runway if you're at Sg Nipah. Will be in PEN for Chinese New Year but no car this time, so no spotting lah.

Min Chun I tried spotting at PEN three weeks ago. No really good spot. Here are some shots taken at Sg Nipah and Ptg Damar Laut. Cheap film camera, wrong time, poor weather and novice cameraman can only produce these. Have to save up for a DSLR lah. Maskargo Long Shot B734 MH taking off Rwy 04 T7 SQ turning off active Fedex A300? DHL B732? China Airlines Cargo B743? Another shot of B734 MH just landed Sorry I don't have a long lens - only 200mm.

Have been reading some old issues of "Asian Aviation" at the Flying Club - they're good material. "Flying" is still my favourite but that's because I'm a GA jock. Bought two books at RM12 each at Popular Ampang Point two weeks ago - "Blue Max" by Jack Hunter and "633 Squadron" by Federick E. Smith. Both were made into movies. My best reads were "Samurai" by Saburo Sakai "Fate is the Hunter" by Ernest K. Gann "Flight of the Intruder" by Stephen Coonts "Fly the Wing" by James Webb - highly technical but useful "Baa Baa Black Sheep" by Greg Boyington "Lindbergh" by A. Scott Berg If you want extracts of the best aviation books in just one book I STRONGLY RECOMMEND "War In The Air" by Stephen Coonts (Pocket Books, New York) which includes stories from some of the above listed titles and those as far back as World War 1.

Whooaa Iggee, fantastic A320 shots! Thanks a lot from an airbus fan.

Thanks again, TK. Look forward to more lessons from you. BTW, are these things taught as you fly with the captains or covered in the type conversion sessions? Happy New Year.

Nice pics, Norman. Is that YOUR Waja? All it needs are 2 P&W's on both sides of the trunk.

Sandeep, Here's one that backfired on the Pommie: A British light aircraft pilot was approaching Sydney when the Captain clipped "Sydney, we have your island in sight and request a visual approach". Tower: "G-XXXX, please orbit the island to allow aircraft ahead of you to land."