How fast is a commercial airliner? Captain Lim Khoy Hing explains this and other issues related to airspeed. Image source: Travel 3Sixty First successful flight by the Wright Brothers took 12 seconds. Just little over a century ago, the first successful flight was launched by the Wright brothers, and it took all of 12 …
Is a gentle landing always desirable? Captain Lim Khoy Hing explains how pilots handle this important phase of flight. Source Travel 3Sixty Upon landing, the pilot slows down the plane by applying reverse thrust My first attempt to land a plane happened years ago and involved a Chipmunk – a tailwheel plane, also known …
Even planes need some Tender Loving Care. Captain Lim Khoy Hing explains the strict care required to keep aircraft airworthy. Image Source: Travel 3Sixty Engineers working on a jet engine during routine aircraft maintenance. I remember a British TV station once broadcasting footage showing how AirAsia X’s Airbus A340 executed an efficient turnaround and …
Captain Lim Khoy Hing talks about the stringent tests imposed on the modern aircraft before it is declared fit to fly With rapid technological advancements, commercial jet planes are continuously being improved to fly safer and better. Today, the hardware testing on a plane is incredibly stringent, especially on the engines and wings. Heart of …
Captain Lim Khoy Hing delves into the simple (and complex) truths about piloting different types of aircraft. Pilots in the cockpit of a Boeing aircraft – Image Travel 3Sixty Can an Airbus pilot also fly a Boeing plane (or vice versa)? The simple answer is, “No”; at least not without appropriate training on the different …
In recent years, flying has evolved with unprecedented safety standards. Captain Lim Khoy Hing explains how. Image: Travel 3Sixty According to a recent news article (2017 Safest Year on Record for Commercial Passenger Air Travel: Groups, Reuters), 2017 was the best year on record for safe commercial aviation. Though today, technological advances in aviation …
How high should a plane fly? Captain Lim Khoy Hing explains optimum cruising altitudes. Image: Travel 3Sixty All planes generally have a preferred cruising altitude, and frequent flyers will notice this when their captain makes an inflight announcement, or when this information is displayed on the video screens. The cruising level is normally chosen for …
Captain Lim Khoy Hing has a favourite. Read on to see which is his preferred aircraft, and why. Having piloted both the Airbus and Boeing aircraft, I am often asked which airplane is better. From a passenger’s perspective, both are equally safe and comfortable, effectively getting you from point A to point B. From a …
Can an airplane be put into reverse? How do planes make a turn? Here is the inside scoop on steering a plane. Source: Travel 3Sixty A push back truck is used to manoeuvre an aircraft on ground Once the engines are on, an airplane can actually be put into reverse. This happens on the old …
An Air Traffic Control Tower. Xanadu 212 – this would be a call sign specifically used by AirAsia X pilots on a flight to a destination in Australia (AirAsia X has designated that flights into Australia begin with the number ‘2’). A call sign is an alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies a carrier, and is …
I was born in Klang (Malaysia) about 6 months after the Japanese Occupation had ended in 15 August 1945. My father was a carpenter who migrated to Malaya from Guangzhou, China around the 1930s. Fast forward to the sixties… I completed my initial education at the Klang High School in 1964 and started my Air …