Speech by Senior Minister of State for Defence, Mr Zaqy Mohamad for Singapore Youth Flying Club Private Pilot Licence Wings & Aviation Awards Ceremony on 27 May 2023

MG Kelvin Khong, Chief of Air Force, and Chairman SYFC Board of Governors,

Distinguished Guests,

Principals, Teachers and Parents,

Graduands and Students of SYFC,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

A very good morning and thank you for inviting me to this joyous occasion. I am reminded that these graduands are not just young, but the experiences they have had during their course, has allowed them to see significant growth in themselves. For them, it is not just about flying or getting their wings, but it is also about growth and the experience.

I am glad to be here today to recognise and celebrate the achievement of our 21 young graduands from the Singapore Youth Flying Club (SYFC) Private Pilot License (PPL) Course. My heartiest congratulations to all of you. Your commitment and hard work have paid off.

Attaining the PPL is not an easy feat. Not only did you have to pass the rigour of the year-long flight training programme, you have had to balance that with your school work and time with family and friends. Well done to all of you!

I would also like to thank the loved ones and teachers of our graduands. Your strong support provided the strength and encouragement for our young graduands to help them soar. Without your support, and confidence, the SYFC would not have been able to accomplish its core mission of promoting aviation and infusing a strong passion in flying among our youth.

The Mission of SYFC – Inspiring Singaporean Youths to Take Up Flying

The SYFC was first set up in 1971 by our first Minister for Defence, the late Dr Goh Keng Swee. It was then called the Junior Flying Club.

At that time, Singapore was a young nation with a need to build up our own Air Force. The Junior Flying Club was set up under that backdrop, to infuse an interest in aviation among young Singaporeans, and to encourage them to serve in the Air Force.

The Junior Flying Club started with a handful of flying instructors, operating eight Cessna 172 aircraft. It was later renamed as the Singapore Youth Flying Club. Over the past five decades, the SYFC has constantly transformed itself in order to stay relevant and to better fulfil its mission. Today, it operates a fleet of 13 Diamond DA40 aircraft, providing quality flight training to Singaporean students from Junior Colleges and the Polytechnics. Since the time SYFC was established, over 7,500 students have passed through its flying training programme, with more than 1,200 of them attaining their PPL. Not less to say that we have had many prominent graduates.

The SYFC also collaborates with the Ministry of Education to offer a CCA programme to secondary school students. Through the SYFC secondary school CCA programme, students can participate in activities such as aeromodelling, flying quadcopters and PC-based flight simulators. To keep its CCA programmes updated and engaging, SYFC recently introduced Drone Coding as part of its CCA activities. Leveraging Virtual Reality (VR) technology, SYFC has also introduced formation and aerobatics flying using VR equipped flight simulators.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend SYFC for your efforts in inspiring and grooming our next generation of young aviators. I would also like to thank SYFC's Board of Governors and Management Committee for your leadership and guidance and for helping them to continue achieving the mission that it was set up for.

It is my hope that SYFC's programmes continue to inspire and nurture our youth to become our next generation of pilots to join the RSAF.

The Need to Continue Inspiring Singaporean Youths to Join the RSAF

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the global geopolitical developments pose great uncertainty and security challenges, particularly for a small nation like Singapore.

Singaporeans must not take our peace and security for granted. It is important for us to maintain a strong defence force to be ever ready to respond to any threats and safeguard our security and sovereignty, even in peacetime. You may recall that in Sep last year, there was a bomb hoax on the Singapore Airlines flight SQ33. The RSAF scrambled its fighters and responded swiftly to intercept the aircraft, and escorted it to land safely at Changi Airport. We were fortunate that there was no incident but it shows that threats can come anytime.

The RSAF is a First-Class Air Force, committed to keeping Singapore's skies safe, 24/7. It is imperative that we continue to nurture and encourage young Singaporeans with the right aptitude, like our graduands today, to join the ranks of dedicated RSAF airmen and women in defending our nation.

I am heartened to see that some of our graduands today have applied to join the RSAF for pilot training. One of them is Eugene Ong.

Eugene shared that he had an interest in aircraft since young. He thus joined SYFC's CCA programme to pursue his interest. When the opportunity came, he eagerly signed up for SYFC's flying course. Learning to fly had its fair share of challenges. However, Eugene was determined, worked hard and successfully attained his PPL after 15 months. To Eugene, attaining the PPL is just the beginning of his flying adventure. He is currently serving National Service and hopes to continue his flying journey with the RSAF.

I hope that other students going through SYFC's flying training would be inspired and encouraged by the experiences of our graduands, and strive hard to pursue their own dreams of becoming pilots.

Conclusion

Once again, congratulations to our graduands for achieving a significant milestone in your flying journey. The attainment of the PPL is a strong testament of your capability, aptitude, and character.

I hope that during your time here in SYFC, you had also built strong and lasting friendships with your course mates. Such bonds will serve you well in the future.

Maintain your passion for flying and continue to soar high. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Thank you.