Happy Birthday Keith!

Mummy and younger brother flew over to my place;
they took along with them,

THIS!

Ouch,
they brought a Birthday Cake for me!
I love you, Mum!
And of course, my Dad!
Dad was busy with work,
so he couldn't fly over with Mum ...

24th September for 24 years old,
sign of age catching up with me?

It is a Cheese Cake!
My favourite though,
hmm, yummy yummy!
There are still slices in my refrigerator,
anyone want some?

Till then ...
Cheers,
KeithK :)

One Date, Three Stories

16th September 2011 ...

As the title suggests, I will begin the story one by one
First, 5 years ago on this date,
I flew all the way from Kuching
to Kuala Lumpur, after being accepted by MAS
into the Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer
program at Subang.
Five years of endurance, perseverance, strong willpower
have brought me thus far;
I am one
stop from establishing as a LAE.
I have just obtained my LWTR
(License Without Type Rating)
from DCA last month ...
Good thing is, my License coverage
will come in triplets,
Electrical, Instruments and Radio (Cat B2)
Next, to apply for my QA Company Approval!
Here I am coming, QA~


16th September 2011 ...
There is this love story I have just read.
A handsome young man, called Malaya
celebrated his birthday lavishly at 31st August 1957.
Across the South China Sea,
he spotted a beautiful Borneo girl.
He courted her, exchanged vows and got married
on 16th September 1963 in a low-key ceremony.
So, every year, a huge party is thrown
for her husband's birthday, but,
why not his wife?
Well, husbands arent good at remembering
dates, are they?
Happy Anniversary Malaysia!
Came across this short story from
a friend of mine, Suh.
How creative is she!
Nice one :)



16th September 2011 ...
My last night in Subang.
I'm moving to Kota Warisan tomorrow
as I will be based in KLIA
Aircraft Maintenance Unit (AMU)
starting from 1st October 2011.
I will miss Subang here;
the people, the food
and of course Subang Hangar!

Orchid Apartment in Subang ...
Goodbye!


Till then,
will update more once
I settle down at new house later!


Cheers,
KeithK :)

Hello

Greeting! How are you, dear Journals? It has been a long time since I last visited you. Days by days, months by months, many have changed tremendously; not to mention new thing I have gotten, but something I have lost as well ... It is September now, 2011, exactly 5 years of training in the field of aviation. Recall the headline "My Aims" in The Journals? My first target is to " ... Establish as a successful LAE by 2011 ... " Timeline is nearing soon, without realizing. I still harbor and uphold my perseverance and strong will power to achieve my dream, most probably early next year. Guys, do keep me in your prayer. Remind me of my targets and dreams if I ever slack off sometimes!

9M-MMK was the last aircraft I did in Subang before I am officially transferred to Aircraft Maintenance Unit (AMU) in KLIA by this coming October. The difference between Subang, Aircraft Overhaul Department (AOD) with AMU is, in Subang, we do heavy maintenance with complete overhaul while in KLIA, we do lighter check package, more on to defect rectification. In AMU, it is shorter turn-around time, shorter aircraft downtime - everything is very timely-controlled. Dad called me yesterday, telling how "beautiful" MMK is; internally "healthy" and externally "pleasing"! Shortly after taking-off from Subang, MMK goes into the sky with first revenue flight to Kuching, my hometown. So, what did I do for this aircraft that I can remember deeply? Hmmm, I crawled into the main tank for Fuel Compensator Unit replacement, most of the inspection and rectification of defects in APU were covered by myself with my colleagues, trouble-shooting of the Fuel Quantity Indicator internal lighting with Abg TShah, trouble-shooting of Inertial reference System with Abg Farid, etc. It was an awesome experience working in Line 6, with helpful LAEs, Technician and Junior Technicians. Definitely I will miss Subang after this ...


Grandma celebrated her 95th birthday on the 20th of August, a week earlier of her actual birthday. Few days later, on the 25the August, 1130pm at night, she passed away peacefully of aging. According to my Uncle, Grandma didnt suffer much during her last hour; she was complaining of backache in the morning, by the afternoon, she had a fever, and then by 1130pm, she breathed her last breath. Rest in peace, Grandma. You'll be dearly missed from us! Your words, your love, your "cuteness" and your spirit will be with us deep in our heart ...


This has to be one of the greatest match of all time between Manchester United vs Arsenal. In front of eighty thousand of spectators, the Red Devils ran riot thrashing The Gunner by 8 goals to 2. Rooney hit hat-trick, Ashley Young hit a brace; very entertaining, full of excitement; I really enjoyed the game. Haha ... Who wouldn't be shocked to see such a scoreline? It is Arsenal man, you are playing with. Haha :)


See, yes, it is for real! The sacred RED BOOK is finally here after much of tussle and hassle. This is my Aircraft Maintenance Engineer License issued by The Department of Civil Aviation of Malaysia (DCA). I am qualified for Category B2 (Avionics). The Red Book was issued to us on the 17th of August, phew, such a relief after waiting for close to a year for me. My License Number is E 3728. Nice number huh? Hit 20 points! So, I am the 3728th people in Malaysia who hold this Aircraft Maintenance Engineer License. I am proud, I shall live up to its legacy. This will be a stepping stone for me to apply for my B737-400 Company Approval in MAS in future. At the moment, I cant certify for MAS aircraft yet until I have gotten the Company Approval issued by MAS Quality Assurance Department. It is time to brush up my skill and knowledge now. After my Departmental Visit in October, things will get serious! Time is catching up; I know a lot of people around are looking on me, especially my Dad and Virtualmystic ...

Moon Cake Festival is coming - on the 12th of September, it is the 15th day of Eighth month in Lunar Calendar. My Uncle gave me this Tiramisu Moon Cake from Starbucks; first of this kind I have seen. Haha ... Yummy :)

My Mom gave me two hard boiled eggs for my birthday, according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar. My actual birthday falls on the 24th September. Hey, mark in down into your calendar. Remember to send me a present ya? Haha :)

See you soon, guys!
With love,
KeithK

My Dear Daddy

Daddy,

He will drive me to school everyday without being late even though he is occupied with his shift work in the airport. Despite the hassle, the rush, and the stress of being caught in the traffic jam, for the last 13 years, he never breathes any words of complaint. I promised myself; by the end of every year, without fail, I will ensure he will be invited for my school's prize giving ceremony. As he looked as I stood up on the stage to receive my academic trophy, he smiled and cheered for me from below. He would take leave on that particular day, put on his best dress. He knew his hard-work and sacrifices had paid off well ...

Daddy,

We share the laughter and passion together while watching football on TV. Ironically, we do not support the same teams; indeed our teams are bitter rivals of all time. He cheers for Arsenal while I sing Glory Glory Manchester United! No matter what the outcome of the match for our teams, we toss the Beers and cheer for the time we have ...

Daddy,

He is the one who introduced me to Aviation ever since I was a little kid. He taught me "A for Aeroplane", unlike most other parents will teach their children, "A for Apple". Occasionally in the evening, whenever he was not working, he would drive me in his creamy white Toyota car to the airport. He would park his car beside the road, overlooking the long runway, holding me tight around his broad arms, whispering softly into my ears, "Son, this is an aeroplane, and this is where your destiny begins!". The joy of seeing the aeroplane took off with its wheels departing from the ground was overwhelming, even though it was just a split moment. As I grew up, I developed deep interest in aeroplane, as if there was a strong bond and fondness between us ...

Daddy,

You are the Hero for all us,
You work hard, day and night,
in rain nor under the sun,
so that, we can have hot meals
three times a day on the table,
so that, we can have a shed under the roof
from the ferocious wind and burning sun,
so that, we can have books to study,
clothes to wear and money to spend!

We love you, Daddy!
Happy Father's Day!

Love always,

Keith, Karen and Kelvin

My Dear Mum

Mummy,
She will occasionally open my wallet,
and secretly put inside some money notes
if she found I have an empty one ...
When I asked her why, she said,
"I dont need them, you can keep them."

Mummy,
I recalled I told her I wanted to buy myself a pair of sport shoes
for badminton and jogging.
The next thing in the afternoon,
she surprised me with a new pair of shoes in front of my eyes!

Mummy,
Whenever I called her on the phone,
I told her, how much I missed her home-cooked food;
now, every time I am back home,
she will have all my favourite food served hot on the table without fail ...

Mummy,
She always accompanies me along the way;
be it hot or cold, stormy or windy outside,
no matter how ferocious the sea may be,
how rough the wave may hit, she will hold my hands tight,
tap me by the shoulders to push me up!

25th of May - It is my Mum's birthday!
I once asked how would you want for this year's gift?
She humbly replied, "As long as you all come home!"
That's the only thing she is asking for - simple yet meaningful!
My heart touched;
I hugged her tight, kissed her on her forehead,
and wish her a "Happy Birthday!"


Love you always, Mum!
Keith

Pengantin Baru

Saturday, 12th of March 2011 was Che Azahar's big day. On that eventful afternoon, he tied the knots with his fiancee, taking their oath to love each other for the rest of life in front of hundreds of friends and relatives. Che Azahar, my colleague and my batch mate, was all excited and in high spirit as we took turn to take photos with the bride and groom. The wedding reception was held in Gombak, so, Wen Jie, Nicholas and I headed down by lunch hour. Selamat Pengantin Baru, Che! May you live happily with your loved one!

TAME 71 Batch mates - (L-R): Nadwa, Your truthfully,
Che, his wife, Anisah, Nurlin, Ayu and Ewin

Greetings from METC


Congratulations again, Che!

Cheers,
KeithK :)

Pre-CNY Dinner in Klang

Chinese New Year is all about gathering with family, friends and the loved ones. Ever since we were assigned to different lines for our practical, we rarely have time to catch up with each other on a meal. Therefore, as Chinese New Year is just around the corner, we decided to call for a dinner; away from PJ and headed toward Klang for a fresh, tasty Seafood Dinner. One and a half hour drive plus a minor traffic congestion here and there, we finally reached the Klang Family Seafood Restaurant by 9pm. Off, we go ...

Thai Style Crispy Chicken

"Kam Hiong" Fried Crab with Curry Leaves

Fried Mantis Prawn with Cereal

Fried Squid

Fried Oyster Omelet

There were 11 of us, ordering humongous 14 dishes,
namely a few; Singapore Bee Hoon, Claypot Red Wine Chicken,
Mix Vegetable and Claypot Seafood Tauhu.
Ouch, it was a lot to eat; Wen Jie was afraid we could not eat enough,
so he kept putting down orders.
Haha :)

Finally, it was the symbolic Yee Sang to kick off the New Year!
Huat! Huat! Let's prosper together!


Photos were courtesy of
Ewin Ee.
Thanks for the pictures!
Chinese New Year is coming
to an end soon,
it is time to back to normal routine!
Hope for the best to come soon,
there are some important points
that I need to hit for my own
personal goals.


Gong Xi Gong Xi,
KeithK :)

Let's Prosper for the New Year!

Am flying back to hometown, Kuching tomorrow night after work,
Wooh, cant wait to get back home,
Dear Kolo Mee, how I miss you dearly,
Dear Mum and Dad, I'm home!
Will be on leave for 1 week, starting from 1st of February ...

Happy New Prosperous Year to All!

HapPiness
FRiendship
LOve
Satisfaction
Peace

AbundancE
ShaRing
FamIly

AffecTion
JoY

Here is a video to share with you all,
a song by Timi Zhuo Yi Ting with the title,
Mum's Reunion Dinner
It is a very significant song, as,
it reminds us to return home to visit our parents,
especially every Chinese New Year for the
much-waited Reunion Dinner on the eve.
Enjoy! :)

Cheers,
KeithK :)

A Day at Workplace ...

Early in the morning, we were dispatching a B737-400, with registration 9M-MMB after completing an A4 Check with AD/SB Modification. Initial supposedly 3 days check has been prolonged due to unforeseen reason, however, by the end of the day, each of us was glad as the aircraft soared high into the sky in a safe and soundly manner.

Phew~ Besides the A4 check packages, one of the major tasks that I had involved was the replacement of the Leading Edge Flaps and Slats Proximity Sensors. Basically, these switches provide positional indication to the pilots in the cockpit, whether, the Flaps/Slats are in the extend/retract position. Total of 8 sensors at each side of the wing were removed and replaced with new S/N complying with the AD/SB instruction. It was a first time experience for me; rather tough due to limited access area, but, eventually I managed to get the hang of it with some helps from my fellow colleagues. I was very grateful to have the opportunity to do this task, as, from what I heard through my Technician, the next aircraft coming in for similar check will not be doing this modification again due to time constraint. This task has been withdrawn from the check packages. Haha :)

Here are the pictures, enjoy!

9M-MMB on the tarmac, prior to departure.
The guy on the headset was communicating
with the Pilots in the cockpit.
From far end, some maintenance crews
were doing pre-departure check underneath the aircraft's lower fuselage.
Probably, they were checking if the
Thrust Reversal Bypass Pins have been removed or otherwise.
For your information, if these bypass pins were not removed,
the Thrust Reversal of the Engines
will not be able deployed once selected.
Ouch!

Remember this guy?
He was the person on headset
in the previous picture,
introducing, Iskandar
who works as Mechanical Trainee.
Bon Voyage MMB!
Took off to KLIA at 0900 hours ...
Have a safe flight there :)

Will be going on leave next week
for Chinese New Year ...
How's your CNY preparation so far?

See ya,
KeithK :)

Firefly to KCH via KLIA

Firefly's B737-800 is coming to Kuching!
15th of January marked the first maiden flight by Firefly,
a budget airline under the subsidiary
of its parent company, MAS.
The aircraft was given a water-cannon salute
by the Fire Engine upon arrival to Kuching International Airport.
They are now offering one-way ticket
as low as RM59 for Kuching-Kuala Lumpur route,
4 flights per day.
Today is the last day of promotion.
So, what are you waiting for,
log into here to book your flight now.
Happy Flying with Firefly!

New Livery

Decided to change The Journals' Headline
for something indifferent
Instead of the previous B777 Heliconia,
am using the B737-800 New Livery now!
Wanna something fresh to kick off for the year of 2011!
From now onward, beginning with 9M-MXA,
the new generation of B737 purchased by MAS
will be painted in this new colors design,
yet still retaining the old colors of red, blue and white.
I am doing this aircraft type now,
hopefully, everything will be smooth and fine.
Cross my fingers and pray hard!

Here is a video of MXA at
Haneda International Airport, Japan;
making its maiden commercial flight from Kota Kinabalu.
Very beautiful and such an awesomeness right?
Enjoy :)





Happy Weekend there!
Cheers,
KeithK :)

Now, I dare you to fly ...

Hello guys, I'm back! It has been such a long time since I wrote in The Journals. Phew~ Somehow or rather, I found out it is kinda hard to start a piece of writing, what to say to come out with something lengthy as before? Hmm, is that a sign of language rusty of me? To blast off, that's why I opt for something I am more familiar with, comfortable with ... My field of study, yeah. Aviation.

If you have been watching TV or read newspapers 2 days back, I bet you wont miss out this. Everyone is talking about it from mouth to mouth, even in Facebook; it has been a hot-cake discussion. Haha. On the 10th of January 2011, just days into the New Year 2011, the whole Malaysians were shocked to learn that an aircraft had crashed landed on the runway threshold prior to landing at Kuching International Airport. It was Flight AK 5218, which bear a tail mark registration of 9M-AHH from Air Asia.

The incident occurred at night, in the midst of heavy rain and ferocious wind at the airport. Flight AK 5218, an Airbus 320 was believed to have crash-landed and skidded off runway to the right before coming to halt on the pavement beside runway. As a result, the airport's operation was closed for 1 day, causing up to 80 flights to be disrupted especially departing and arrival B737-400 flights by MAS. A comparatively smaller aircrafts, ATR-72 operated by MASWings were more and less affected. It was not until 2000 hours the next day, the airport's operation resumed back to normal.

It was indeed something unusual for Malaysians, considering the numbers of serious incident involving civil aircraft is so much lower in our country. Yeah, thumb up to all the Engineers and Pilots who take so much care of the aircraft and its passengers! The main cause of the mishap is however still unclear, but, according to early reports, it may be due to bad weather conditions at the time of landing. A sudden and strong cross-wind may blow the aircraft to the right, plus, wet and watery runway contribute to a phenomenon called "aqua-planing"; thus the aircraft skidded off the runway. The actual cause of the incident will be revealed only after completion of thorough investigation. For more information, click here.

A friend of mine sent me some real-time photos taken from actual scene of Kuching International Airport. Here a glimpse of what had happened! From my point of view, as a person who works in the aviation industry, I definitely do not hope such incident will repeat itself again. Imagine if this aircraft skidded off runway, suffered severe damage and caught fire. What would happen to the passengers on-board? You wont want to know ... Thanks God, all the 129 people on board escaped safely without any critical injury. Four were admitted to medical assistance, but later were released after check-up. Hope it will not occur again, otherwise people will have trauma boarding on a flight! Haha :)

Flight AK 5218 skidded off runway to the right

A closer look! Ouch, that's pain -.-"

The Nose Landing Gear had collapsed,
both engines were severely damaged

An aerial view of Kuching International Airport.
The red-marked cross was the location of the incident - Runway 25


Chinese New Year is just around the corner,
everyone is planning for their journey
back to home town.
Wish everyone has a safe and smooth
journey back home for re-union dinner!


Cheers,
KeithK :)