An accidental experience of flying a small plane and the feeling of flying freely in the air made Oscar, who was still a middle school student at the time, determined to become a pilot.
He is not the only one who likes flying and has the dream of being a pilot. There are also two former students, Vanessa and Nick, who studied in the Higher Diploma in Aviation and Flying at the University of Hong Kong.
The three graduated from the academy last year and progressed to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University respectively.
Although the new crown epidemic has lasted for more than two years, Hong Kong's aviation industry has been hit hard, and airlines have laid off employees on a large scale during the epidemic. The scene of the airport being deserted seems to be the norm, but this group of college students with pilot dreams still believes: " Even during this period of the epidemic (during this period), everyone will not see the dawn at all, or it will be close to zero... The aviation industry will definitely recover."
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I love flying to give birth to the dream of a pilot
Oscar, 21, fell in love with flying in the air because of an experience in a small plane when he was in middle school, and began to plan to become a pilot in the future.
When he applied for JUPAS, his first choice was to fill in the courses of aviation operations and systems, but unfortunately he failed the diploma examination, and he only got level 2 in Chinese, so he was not able to enter the university.
In order to continue his dream of being a pilot, he enrolled in the Affiliated College of the University of Hong Kong, and after graduation, he was successfully promoted to HKUST.
Vanessa, who is the same age as him, was planning to enroll in the Affiliated College of the University of Hong Kong when she was taking the HKDSE exam. She said that she grew up in Australia since she was a child. A flight attendant, with the encouragement of her mother and friends, she dreamed of becoming a pilot. She chose to study in the Diploma Examination, and she chose to study aeronautics in the Applied Learning course.
Vanessa said that she had no interest in other subjects, except for aviation.
(Photo by Li Zetong)
Vanessa said that he was not interested in other subjects, and the textbooks were always "too lazy to reveal", but he read the aviation textbook with more than 300 pages with relish, "I was thinking about it at the time, anyway, I can't pass the Chinese language, so I might as well bury my heart in it. Water, entered the Hong Kong University Affiliated College to study the Higher Diploma in Aviation and Flight, which is a subject of interest to me anyway.”
Nick and Vanessa were classmates for six years. They took aeronautics as an elective in the Diploma Examination, and then took the Advanced Diploma course together. After graduation, they were promoted to PolyU. The origins of their pilot dreams are also similar.
Nick lives near the airport. He also looks up and sees planes from time to time. As he travels more and more, he says, "I've been enjoying the enjoyment process, and the more I travel, the more I think I won't get tired of it. I want to keep staying here. It's fine to ride and do something on the plane, I want to keep the plane on the plane."
After enrolling, it opened my eyes and wanted to join the aviation industry even more
With their love for flying, the three enrolled in the same course. They have experienced social movements and epidemics in the past two years. They have not had many days to go back to school for physical classes, but they all said that studying in the academy has opened their eyes. Under the guidance of teachers in different positions, they realized more about the operation of the aviation industry, which made the three of them want to enter the industry even more.
Nick mentioned that even though there is an elective in aviation in middle school, due to the limited class hours and depth of content, he still felt like a "blank paper" when he entered the advanced diploma program, and the study of the course really expanded what he had learned before. Books and classes will teach you how to deal with emergencies during the flight. In the course, there is a practice of simulating the flight of a small aircraft.
The small aircraft simulation driving class in the course, from learning to take off, keeping the aircraft stable, turning, flying out of a rectangular trajectory, and landing, although only four lessons, left a deep impression on Vanessa.
In the final assessment, Vanessa encountered an emergency in the simulated driving, remembered the theories she had learned in the past, and responded with a different method from what the teacher taught. After the assessment, the teacher said: "I have never thought that you will know What kind of wild things are you doing... how much potential do you have." It made her more confident to become a pilot in the future.
Realizing the dream of being a pilot
However, the road to obtaining a pilot's license is not easy. There are not many places in Hong Kong where you can "learn to fly". In many cases, you have to go to a foreign country to obtain a license. Moreover, there are many variables to take the test, such as physical condition, on-the-spot performance, etc. Wait.
Vanessa and Nick only knew how to pave the way for themselves once they failed to become pilots because they knew different positions in the aviation industry.
Vanessa admitted that she didn’t think about this question at first, and didn’t think about it until her mother asked. In addition, she will also read airline operations in the course at PolyU. She said that in the future, she would not mind working as a clerk or ground handler in an airline, and then look for opportunities to continue taking the exam. Pilot; and Nick said that he read a subject related to ground operations in the course.
I really want to be a pilot, I really want to have a card, I really want to be a professional, but there are many factors in the department, and this position (ground operation) makes me think a lot.
When I'm really a pilot, I'm old enough to fly again when I'm in my 40s or 50s, and I can do it when I get there, all of which are a good direction.
Nick
The aviation industry has been hit hard by the epidemic and still believes that "the aviation industry will definitely recover"
The epidemic has lasted for more than two years, and Hong Kong's aviation industry has been hit hard, but the three still have confidence in the future development of the aviation industry.
Among them, Oscar mentioned that the airport was building a third-run airport when he was enrolled, and the aviation industry also emphasized the training of local pilots at that time, "I am sure that the aviation industry will recover in the future, even if we can't see the light of the epidemic at all, or It's good to be close to zero."
Under the new crown epidemic, the flow of people at Hong Kong Airport has been greatly reduced.
(File photo / Photo by Yu Junliang)
Oscar's dream of being a pilot is actually more than just being a civil aviation pilot. He said that it is meaningful to transport passengers safely from one place to another, but what he wants to do most is always to be a pilot of the flight service team. The meaning of the service team is to integrate the pilot with the rescue." His father, a firefighter, also supported his ideals, and every time he saw news related to the aviation industry, he would forward it to him.
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The course is expected to accept 20 students this year, and the average score for the previous year's admission is about 15 points
When asked how the fresh candidates should decide their way forward, the three of them all suggested that students should consider their interests. Nick believes that "reading the fields of interest that you are interested in will give you a heart." Vanessa continued: "There is a large group of friends who are interested in me (the aviation industry). I think it’s a lot of blood to move forward in this direction.” The Advanced Diploma in Aviation and Flight they are studying is expected to have 20 places for admission this year, and the minimum threshold for admission to the course is 10 points. The diploma for incoming freshmen in the 2021/22 academic year The average test score is about 15 points.
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