Speech by Senior Minister of State for Defence, Mr Zaqy Mohamad, at the Singapore Youth Flying Club Private Pilot Licence Wings & Aviation Awards Ceremony 2026 on 04 Jul 2026 at the Air Force Training Command Auditorium

Major-General Kelvin Fan, Chief of Air Force and Chairman, SYFC Board of Governors

Brigadier-General Ho Kum Luen, Chief of Staff – Air Staff and President, SYFC Management Committee

Mr Sarbjit Singh, President, Defence Aerospace, ST Engineering

Distinguished Guests,

Principals, Teachers, Parents,

and most importantly today, Graduands, Students and Staff of SYFC,

INTRODUCTION

A very good morning everyone. For many of my generation - and I suspect a few of the senior pilots in this room - the dream of flying did not start like how our young graduands spoke of in the video just now. Very likely, it started in a cinema when Top Gun came out in 1986. I can hear the laughter, so you all understand this. Overnight, every teenager wanted to become Maverick. Very few wanted to become Goose, for whatever reason. It is quite common knowledge, pilot applications spiked across the world. And then Top Gun: Maverick came out in 2022, and did it all over again for a new generation. There is something about seeing someone defy gravity on screen that strikes youth idealism - that maybe they thought they could do it too.

But long before Hollywood made it look cool, one man had a quieter, less glamorous plan. In 1971, Singapore's first Minister for Defence, Dr Goh Keng Swee, founded what would become SYFC. It was not about fighter jets, it was not about cool Ray-Ban glasses – it was just an early conviction that if you gave young Singaporeans early access to aviation, some of them would never look down again. It was not sexy then.

But it worked for 55 years later. As you can see, some of our graduands receiving their Wings today are children of another generation - and possibly even the grandchildren - of earlier SYFC alumni. Dr Goh's seeds have been growing for generations.

Today, we have 22 young graduands of the Singapore Youth Flying Club (SYFC) who will receive their Private Pilot Licence (PPL) Wings. This year’s ceremony is particularly special, as SYFC celebrates its 55th anniversary. To mark this milestone, SYFC will unveil a new corporate video on 1 December - do look out for it and if you have not done so, please go and mark your calendars in your phones right now.

To our graduands, my heartiest congratulations. Completing the year-long PPL course while balancing your studies is no small feat. It demands discipline, perseverance, and grit – qualities that you have clearly demonstrated. Well done! Let us give everyone a round of applause.

To the loved ones, principals, teachers, flying instructors and SYFC staff with us this morning, thank you for your unwavering support and dedication. Your presence reflects the strong community that stands behind every young aviator.

EARNING YOUR WINGS – A JOURNEY SHARED WITH MANY

Behind every set of Wings lies a year-long journey — countless hours in ground school, in the simulator, and in the air, and sometimes in Perth experimenting with the Pilatus PC-21, as Kelvin was just sharing. The experience changes many of the perceptions of flying too, going in a quicker, faster aeroplane. But at the same time, they were managing demanding academic schedules too. That is not easy, especially for those doing their A-levels and Polytechnic studies and that is why no aviator flies alone.

Each of our 22 graduands has been carried forward by family, friends, and dedicated instructors who believed in them even on the hard days. And as Gareth said just now, even when they do not understand what they are saying in the car. That shared effort is what SYFC is all about.

I commend SYFC’s Board of Governors, Management Committee, instructors and staff for their dedication.

A PATHWAY TO SERVING IN THE RSAF

SYFC provides a strong foundation for students who aspire to serve as military aviators in the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). I am heartened that of our 22 graduands, all 9 who have completed their studies have applied to sign on with the RSAF, with more intending to apply after graduation.

One of them is Gareth Ang, who receives the Best-in-Flying award today. Gareth's passion for aviation was ignited ten years ago, as an eight-year-old at the 2016 Singapore Airshow – where he felt the F-15s before he heard them, a deep vibration in his chest that he never forgot.

When his first solo flight was postponed twice due to inter-monsoon storms, he stayed the course. And when he finally flew alone, he said: “With only the sound of the engine and the empty seat beside me, all the nervous energy, the checklists and the what-ifs melted away. I will never forget how free I felt.”

Gareth has since applied to join the RSAF as a pilot, and I wish him every success.

In an unpredictable world, a capable and ready RSAF remains Singapore’s first and fastest line of defence. Pathways like SYFC’s help inspire and nurture new generations of aviators and sustain the vigilance that keeps our skies safe.

STAYING RELEVANT FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

To inspire future generations, SYFC continues to innovate and refresh its programmes:

a. The Aviation Exploration Programme (AEP) and refreshed PPL Course are now fully implemented. Through the AEP, interested youths can take their first step into aviation, learning aviation knowledge and fundamental flying techniques on advanced flight simulators. Those with potential and aptitude can then progress to the PPL Course on the DA40 aircraft.

b. SYFC is also exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence to refresh ground-training materials and support self-paced learning, through flash cards, lesson videos and quizzes.

Through the journey of learning and discovery, some of these things can also begin even earlier. Through its aeromodelling CCA, conducted across 17 Secondary Schools and the SYFC Open Unit, SYFC gives Secondary School students early exposure to aviation.

Reid Matthew Jette, another of today’s graduands, shows how far that early spark can go:

a. Reid first joined the SYFC CCA in Secondary School, where the Flight Experience Programmes and Radio-Controlled Fixed-Wing flying deepened his interest in becoming a pilot.

b. He joined the flying course at 16, and this morning he receives his Wings. I hope his journey, like Gareth’s, serves as an inspiration to the SYFC students here today to pursue your own dreams of flight.

CONCLUSION

55 years ago, Dr Goh Keng Swee planted a seed. Today, 22 of you are proof of what grows when young people are given the chance, the training, and the community to reach for the skies. To the students here today — your spark might have come from a film, a model plane, or a flyby at the Singapore Airshow that shook your chest. But it does not matter how it started. What matters is what you do with it.

Congratulations to all our graduands, and to SYFC on 55 remarkable years. Thank you.