It was a pleasure to drive the Ford Fiesta on the scenic route from My Lofty to the Big Rocking Horse and Toy Store.

Apple and cherry orchards and vineyards are scattered throughout the scenic route.

The Big Rocking Horse and Toy Store!

Listed as a ‘must-visit’ attraction in many Adelaide’s tourist guide brochures, this place is actually nothing to shout about. It is a toy factory specialising in wooden toys where visitors can witness the toys in the making.

After a long day we decided to skip the factory tour and just checked out the landmark of the place which is the Big Rocking Horse.

An AUD$2 climb, ready to rock the rocking horse!

We were the only ones climbing at that time.

The easy part…

…the more challenging part….

….the scariest part!

Three sets of stairs brought us to the top of the world.

If it is really a rocking horse, I’m sure it was much scarier to climb on!

View from the top.

And… that’s it.

I was expecting something more interactive or even a better view but it was really nothing big.

Just that little bragging right that I’ve conquered one of Adelaide’s tourist attractions.

One for the album!

To be fair it has quite a cool selection of f&b at its cafe and there are picnic tables for those bringing food which might make the place a bit more interesting. The toy store is quite ok with a wide range of wooden toys for purchase. This is where most of the visitors spent their time. I was told that there are animals at the park within the toy store’s compound but we had enough animals for the day and just left after climbing the rocking chair.

Coming up next, day 2 of our adventure in Adelaide!

After weeks of planning and making arrangements, me and 2 of my buddies, made our way to Singapore on one fine morning.

RM150 for flight ticket per person. With our “kulit harimau” or Harimau Malaya/Muda jerseys, flags, hats, cameras we started our journey in KLIA.

A little news article on The Star sports section that caught our attention.

Building up the excitement towards the game we were heading to!

Safely arrived at Changi Airport.

Time to find some food and a short sight-seeing before the game

12:00noon – 7 hours 45 minutes before kick-off: Lunch at Arab Street, the famous Zam Zam Restaurant

Murtabak and Nasi Briyani to keep our energy level high throughout the game later that day.

“Tiada sepenting seruan Illahi” – Prayers at Masjid Sultan, Arab Street. A beautiful mosque!

A short sightseeing around Arab Street.

3:00pm – 4 hours 45 minutes before kick-off: Check-in to our RM65 per bed per night hostel, the River City Inn.

A laidback hostel highly recommended for those with tight budget. Clean, fun and full with facilities!

4:45pm – 3 hours before kick-off: This blogger and 2 Harimau fans made our way to Toa Payoh Stadium. Wearing our ‘kulit’ or the Harimau jerseys on Singapore’s MRT trains was an experience by itself. Quite a number of people smiled and I can sense that a few was not happy to see us! haha

5:30pm – 2 hours 15 minutes before kick-off: Safely arrived at Toa Payoh Stadium, home stadium for Balestier Khalsa FC, Harimau Muda’s opponent for the night!

It was quiet as ticket sales started only at 6:30pm. It didn’t stop us from taking photos and checking out the Stadium. Hats off to Singapore for having quite a number of football facilities well-maintained throughout the country despite the limited land. You don’t need big stadiums to do well in football! *hint hint*

5:45pm – 2 hours before kick-off: we were busy snapping photos when I saw a bus coming in. It was the players arriving at the Stadium! Teamwork spirit can be clearly seen as players helped each other unloading stuff from the bus.

Captain, Mahali Jasuli and Thamil Arasu, 2 out of many star tigers of Harimau Muda!

No, they were not there for the Netball Super League

Since it was an away game, Coach Ong Kim Swee was quite surprised to see three fans wearing the Malaysian jersey waiting for the team way early before the game. We had a quick chat with him and it is true that Coach Ong Kim Swee is a very down-to-earth and humble person and even spent some time asking about our trip.

Datuk Afandi Hamzah, the team manager was also very friendly spending a good 45 minutes talking to us while the team gets ready in the dressing room.

Assistant Coach Hassan Sazali even gave us a few free passes to watch the game. Thank you very much!

7pm – 45 minutes before kick-off: doors were open. Carnival ambience with free cotton candy, pop-corn, DJ, music even for the away supporters!

Toa Payoh Stadium – view from the away fans stand

Players warming up!

7:30pm – 15 minutes before kick-off: Harimau Muda players ready to come out from the changing room led by Captain, Mahali Jasuli

About 30 Harimau Muda fans consist of mainly Johoreans, Malaysians working in Singapore and 3 of us that came all the way from Shah Alam!

All for one, one for all!

The Harimau Muda team played well on the first half but got shocked by the early goal from Balestier Khalsa. The team went all out attack but Balestier’s defence was too solid. Good performance by their defenders.

The Harimau Muda came under pressure on the second half and eventually let go of another goal, making the final scores Balestier Kahlsa 2 – Harimau Muda 0

Despite the disappointing result, we had fun watching the game and it’s a different kind of thrill cheering for your favourite team on away ground. Players were very down after the game but the fans stayed on to cheer for them!

Coach Ong Kim Swee left the field 30 minutes after the game after entertaining the reports. Despite the disappointment, he actually thanked the fans for coming and when he saw 3 of us, he even said “Sorry la you all dating jauh-jauh”. No problem Coach, it was an honour to be able to meet you and watch the game!

One last photo, I made new friends on that day. We have one thing in common, the love for Harimau!

All the best Harimau Muda! Let’s organise another trip later this season to watch them in action once again

Located about 30 minutes from the city, we chose to drive our rented cars to the wildlife park. It was my first experience driving in Australia and both the new Ford Fiesta and the scenery make it a very enjoyable experience.

The award-winning Cleland Wildlife Park is listed as one of South Austlia’s must-see attractions. I always admire how modern countries are able to combine conservation efforts and tourism making it a viable investment with sustainable returns.

Back to nature! Despite the sun was out, it was a comfortable 24 degrees making it a great day for outdoor activities.

First up, the cute Koalas.

Visitors are able to get up-close and hold the koalas but the queue for that was quite long with a school-bus load of kids in front of us. Perhaps some other time.

Wetland. The photo below showing a dedicated area to watch birds feeding and how they use their beaks.

Unlike a zoo, animals roam free within the Cleland Wildlife Park and visitors can expect little surprises here and there  No it’s not your imagination that something is touching your feet.

Strategically located signage to help educate visitors about the animals

The stars of the Cleland Wildlife Park in my humble opinion are the kangaroos and wallabies.

Cute…

… and lots of them!

The cool thing about this park is the fact that it allows the visitors to feed the animals. Of course you can only feed them with the animal food made available at the counter but still it’s a unique experience.

It can’t get any up close and personal than this!

“Tak menang tangan…!”

With over 130 species of wildlife within the Cleland Wildlife Park, the best way to spend your time here is to take it easy and allocate a full day for the park. There are plenty of areas where you can just relax and take a break from walking.

Minutes away by car from the Cleland Wildlife Park is our second destination for the day, the Mount Lofty Summit.

This is the peak of the Mount Lofty Ranges in the Adelaide Hills and at 710 metres high it provides spectacular panoramic views across Adelaide’s city skyline to the coast.

It’s a nice scenic location but I can’t help to wonder what actually we were looking at down there. Maybe the fact that there’s no major landmarks like high-rise buildings or bridges in the city that we can look for.

One for the album.

We had our home-made packed lunch at the car park area before heading to our next destination…

Ready to go…

Up next, the Big Rocking Horse!

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The Parafield Airshow is a small scale biennial airshow that is run by a committee made up of volunteers from a wide variety of backgrounds, including local charities, airport management staff, marketing experts and pilots. It is in my opinion an aviation event by aviation people that has been successfully run for years and is not one of those business-minded/commercial airshow that a lot of major air shows are becoming into.

I was lucky that the 2012 edition of the Parafield Airshow was held on March 25th, the same weekend that I was in Adelaide. Putting aside jetlag and fatigue after the long 7-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur, I made my way straight to the Parafield Airport equipped with the pre-purchased ticket, sunglass and camera.

Immediately after entering the airshow compound, I can sense the relaxing and ‘homey’ feel of the event. No business trades, deals, negotiations, conferences. Purely flying and static aircraft displays and lots of love and passion towards aviation. This is a true airshow!

I was greeted by this striking yellow Pitts S-2C Special, a regular ‘star’ at Parafield Airshow.

One sexy bird! The Yakovlev Yak-52 (Bacau) with Parafield Airport tower in background

VH-BIY and VH-AAZ. AAZ as in Azuan Ahmad Zahdi?

Yakovlev Yak-18T. My first time seeing so many Yakovlev aircrafts

Air Tractor AT-502

The stars of Parafield Airshow, The Roulettes aerobatic team: Royal Australian Air Force.

Seen here in this photo, the support crew giving away goodies and answering questions.

In big air shows there is no way you can enjoy all these up-close interactions.

Even the autograph session was simple and not overcrowded.

The ace pilots!

Souvenirs to bring back to Malaysia!

Time for the flying display!

Chris Sperou, 16 times National Aerobatic Champion

Awesome moves by this world class aviator!

This classic bird also took the sky in style with some awesome moves.

Followed by my favourite plane for the day, this North American T-28B Trojan.

Gliders are cool. I wonder if there is any gliders club here in Malaysia.

The crowd started to build up after lunch time.

Visitors were seen enjoying the good weather with good displays and delicious food. A carnival ambience!

Unfortunately the effect of the long flight started to kick-in for me and before the Roulettes took the sky, I made my way back to the city.

Not before snapping one photo for my personal album

and grabbing more souvenirs!

Parafield Airshow, AzuanZahdi.com has landed!

Kudos to the organizer of the event and what a great way to start my 1-week tour of Adelaide! Up next kangaroos, dolphins, strawberries, trams, beach and of course more aviation stuff, all from this short Adelaide trip. Exclusively on AzuanZahdi.com

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In conjunction with the arrival of the first Malaysia Airlines A380, the airline is organising a unique YouTube contest with the winner getting the chance to fly on a special A380 joyride flight.

AzuanZahdi.com has been chosen to participate in the bloggers category and just like anyone out there all I have to do is to submit a simple short video (maximum of 2 minutes) showcasing my unique skills/talent and why I deserve to be on the A380.

It’s so simple. At least simple enough for those with hidden unique talent. So if u can juggle balls or do magic tricks or eat fire it would be simple for you!

Instead of trying to be someone I’m not, I decided to keep it simple and highlight the one thing that I feel strongly about which is my love towards aviation.

Afterall who is crazy enough to fly to Kuching and Mukah for no reason but to just try out the Twin Otter, or crazy enough to try a new route just to get the chance to fly on an empty cabin, or never had enough of flying? The answer is me!

and my love towards the A380 is not something new. Back in 2005 when the A380 first came to Malaysia, I stood outside the airport perimeter just to get a glimpse of the A380. Such a beautiful sight.

After a couple of days working on a video, here’s my 2-minute amateur video on why I should be given the chance to be on the Big Flight. As there are scores for creativity, I decided to ‘act’ a bit in the video

A good friend of mine has even thrown in an additional challenge to me.

If I win a spot on the joyride flight, for every 10 comments that I receive on this blogpost comment section below, I will snap a photo with one stewardess on duty on that day. So if I have 100 comments I’ll challenge myself to take photos with 10 different stewardess. Deal? So start leaving your comments below.

It would be even better if my blog reader (yes, you!) can join me on the joyride flight. Under the general category for the Big Flight Competition, there are 8 passes to be given away so what are you waiting for? Click this link here – http://bit.ly/MYA380Azuan and go submit your entry. I’m sure you can produce a much sleeker video than mine

A380, I look forward to see you!

Even for someone that is not a big fan of pets and animals, I find this wildlife park as a very interesting alternative to an actual zoo. While it is not as big as the National Zoo, the condition of the animals are good and thanks to the income from the ticket prices the overall condition of the park is well take care off.

Here are some random photos of our 90 minutes tour of the Wildlife Park @ Sunway Lagoon.

Life must be tough as a guinea pig.

Birds

Up close at your own risk.

Info on the animals are strategically displayed and updated.

Red Iguana

Crocs

Plenty of animals to see. I highly recommend this park to those visiting Sunway Lagoon especially those with kids. At least there’s some ‘learning’ element to your trip to Sunway Lagoon.

Highlight of Sunway WildLife Park is the animal show.

One for the album!

Next time you are looking for a place to chill out on a weekend, head over to Sunway Wildlife Park for some greenery and nature right in the middle of the city. This place is also auite a nice place for a ‘get-to-know-each-other’ kind of date as well

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And today 10th March 2012, a lovely Saturday, I had successfully made a deal with my better half.

A few hours of me accompanying her through the horror of Charles & Keith warehouse sale and in return she need to accompany me to check out the RMAF Museum. Somehow I survived the warehouse sale and we got ourselves to the entrance of the RMAF Museum at noon (with lots of shoes in the car!).

The RMAF Museum has been around since 1985. 27 years! I felt for so bad for not visiting this awesome place way earlier!

The museum is actually a small area within the Sg Besi base and it showcases a variety of retired aircrafts which are displayed at either the open area or inside a hangar converted into a museum building.

The first bird that caught my attention, this M20-05 Aerospatiale chopper.

Cool cockpit.

The beautiful Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer FM1001 – named as ‘Lang Rajawali’ by the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tungku Abdul Rahman.

Rajawali from a different angle.

FM-1051 De Havilland DH 104 Dove 8

Located at one end of the museum is the Grumman HU-16 Albatross, a unique large twin-radial engine amphibious flying boat. I always find planes that can land on water very sexy!

Is it just me or the photo above shows the plane with a frowning face! Perhaps she is missing the action being on air (or water!)

One for our album.

De Havilland Canada DHC-4A Caribou M21-04.

A beautiful bird.

Interior of the aircraft.

Cockpit.

It’s a bit sad to see the conditions of some of the aircraft. It is true that all these aircrafts have been phased out but it would be nice to at least restore some of the gauges to make it more like an aircraft on display rather than aircraft in a graveyard. Funding issues perhaps?

Another VIP transporter aircraft.

Sabre Aircraft.

Another cute chopper.

Played around with some of the switches.

Despite the hot weather, visitors ranging from school children, tourists kept arriving to the museum making photography quite a challenge. There was even one group of photographers and 2 ‘model’ girls doing photo outing.

Malaysian Air Force F-5E Tiger II, s/n: M29-12

The aircrafts inside the hangar are in a better condition with a mixture of transport, training and fighter jets.

Douglas A-4PTM Skyhawk, M32-29.

The classic Scottish Aviation Pioneer 2 FM-1016.

Besides the aircrafts on display, info on TUDM is also shared through posters and displays inside the hangar.

Kids having fun being up-close with the aircraft despite the barrier. Good or bad?

We had a fun 90 minutes visiting the RMAF Museum and I highly encourage any aviation and military enthusiast to pay a visit to the museum at least once.

The recent renovation has made the displays more organised and I’m really hoping that despite the upcoming closure of the Sg Besi Airport the museum will be remain alive or at least to be relocated to a new place instead of just quietly disappears. Well done to RMAF for all the effort put in to ensure that this part of our aviation history remains preserved for future generations.

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After reading a few trip reports online, I was made to understand that the ex-Firefly Boeing 737-800 planes and crew of Firefly jet services are still operating but under the banner of Malaysia Airlines. That’s right, these days even if you pay Malaysia Airlines fare but you might end up in an ex-Firefly Airlines plane, operated by Firefly Airlines crew. I find it perfectly normal. However for some, it is a big deal in terms of confusing products being offered by the airline.

I personally had the chance to try this ‘hybrid’ product/service out on my recent Johor Bahru – Kuala Lumpur flight and this is my honest trip review.

*****

My boarding pass. All set for the short 40-minutes hop on Malaysia Airlines.. This trip was made possible thanks to my 2-years’ worth of Enrich miles that were redeemed for 2 return tickets to Johor Bahru (JHB).

MH1058, I’ve flown on this particular “6:40pm” flight more than 10 times in the last 4 years and it has always been a Boeing 737-400 flight. When the check-in guy mentioned that it’s going to be a Boeing 737-800 flight I was delighted hoping that I would finally get the chance to fly on a MAS Boeing 737-800 with its nice sky-interior and all.

I walked to the plane anticipating a stylish MAS Boeing 737-800 in its new livery.

Only to be disappointed with this sight.

A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800 with an old livery.

That could only mean one thing which is an “Operated by Firefly Airlines” flight! There goes all my hope of flying on MAS’s sky-interior 737-800. Oh well, I had good experience with Firefly Airlines crew in the past so I was quite sure it’s going to be the same experience.

A closer look of the plane, 9M-FFD. We meet again. Last time I flew on FFD, she was still wearing the ‘orange skirt’

Judging by the clouds, I was expecting a bumpy climb right after take/off. I was relieved that I chose jet over prop on that particular day with that kind of weather! Haha

Boarding process was done by rows but as always people just rushed in. I was the last few to board.

“Operated by FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd” sticker at the door.

I was greeted by the rather expected “Selamat Datang” wishes by the crew which at one point I candidly replied “Welcome Aboard” which got the crew laughing and my wife giving me ‘the look’ hehe

As I entered the economy class section walking towards my seat on the second last row, I can’t help but to notice that the seats are still the same. Black leather seats all the way to the back.

Déjà vu?

Compare the above photo with what other MAS 737 aircrafts are offering:

The seats on this ‘converted’ Malaysia airlines 737-800. Fair? You be the judge.

To be honest, the seats are not too bad. I had no complaints travelling on these seats when I flew with Firefly last time so I still find it acceptable for a short hop but the bigger concern is the expectation of passengers when they pay the usual MAS fares and expect the best of Malaysian Hospitality. Will this affect the premium image that the airline is trying to project to the market?

We were lucky to be seated at the back as there were no passengers on the last two rows.

No inflight-magazine at the seat-pocket. I had to entertain my wife with my stupid jokes for a good 40-minute. Ok I lied, she never asked for it.

The seat-belts no longer have that unique Firefly logo.

The flight took off on-time despite the almost full-load, hats off to the all-female cabin crew that managed to get the cabin ready on time for take off.

The flight was quite bumpy due to bad weather but service was fast and efficient. One good thing about all 6 stewardess on-duty on that day is that they were able to shoulder such a big expectation that comes with wearing that kebaya. I’m not sure whether they have been re-trained with MAS SOPs but they have shown that they got the Malaysia Hospitality skills

While the crew service is up to mark, the inflight refreshment is another confusing thing.

I was confused when I got this packet of salted peanuts. I would understand that changing seats to MAS seats would be costly but why can’t they serve an actual MAS peanuts?

We arrived in KLIA on the dot as per scheduled.

And our bags were at the carrousel waiting for us. Awesome.

Overall, I would say that the cabin crew was up to the MH standard and friendly enough to accommodate my photo taking throughout the flight, however some of the ‘touching points’ products are rather confusing especially for those passengers wanting the usual 5-star treatment.

In my opinion, the airlines need to be careful in managing expectation of its customers. I would not complaint that much if I knew from the point that I redeemed my ticket that I would be flying on a ‘operated by Firefly’ kind of flight. Nevertheless I’m sure there are good reasons behind all the arrangement and as a loyal customer of MAS and Firefly; I’ll just take this as a temporary discomfort during this turbulent time.

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Disclaimer: This is a personal blog/blog post. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.

“If you’re ashamed to stand by your colours you better seek for another flag”

- Allahyarham Mokhtar Dahari.

Be proud of our colours, even when we are down losing!

Being proud of Harimau Malaya includes coming to the stadium for their games and rooting for the team even though there is no possible way for Malaysia to qualify for the London Olympic games after losing the five earlier matches. This blog post is dedicated to all Harimau Malaya fans out there. We lost 4-0 but we definitely stood strong behind our boys throughout the 90-minutes!

Game Day – 22nd Feb 2012

A middle-of-week game is always a challenge, but it did not stop me from planning early and be ready for the day with both sets of attire – work and play!

5:30pm, time to change role – from a corporate tiger to a Harimau Malaya!

Among the early birds at the Stadium, TM’s Team Malaysia fans!

Ticket counter at 6:30pm.

Football is about unity. Even for these merchandise sellers. No harm selling the ‘away team’ merchandise. Seen in this photo below, a Japanese family being treated with Malaysian hospitality

While waiting for my friends to arrive, I spent some time enjoying the Ultras jamming away with their various chants.

The strong voice of Harimau Malaya support. All unite as one.They were literally seen singing before, during and after the game. Something that I believe not many countries have. Well done Ultras and also not to forget Team Malaysia and other fans in the stadium on that day.

One out of the 15,000 fans that came to the stadium.

Also this dude. Steady la Wak bro. Lawa seluar.

Stadium Bukit Jalil, home of Harimau Malaya

Face painting anyone?

Tigers got hair.

Air horns, use these horns wisely. Go along with the chants and not against them. Air horns create the unique ambience and feel of being in a football stadium.

Stadium food = oily, so-so quality, expensive food. Still it’s worth a bite since there is no other choice available.

My dinner, chicken kebab.

First thing first, Maghrib prayers. Note to Stadium organiser, throw in some canvas next time for the fans as the prayer hall cannot fit a large crowd!

Ultras ready at their ‘fort’

We were seated in between Team Malaysia and Ultras so we got to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Right behind us, a friendly Japanese couple wearing the Malaysian jersey. My guess is that they are Japanese who has been staying here for quite some time.

The rest of the Japanese fans. Welcome to Malaysia!

We lost 4-0. But we played well in the first half and occasionally in the second. My view is that we can only go one way from here which is to be a much better team thanks to all these competitive games. With some luck, hopefully players like Nazmi Faiz, Wan Zaharul Nizam (Kechik), Mahali and Fadli Sas will get spotted by scouts and receive a chance to spread their wings outside. Only that way we can ensure that we are developing the future version of Safee Sali for our ‘coming soon’ version of Harimau Malaya!

One funny thing about yesterday’s experience was the part when I was interviewed by Harian Metro TV (online-based) on my expectation before the game. I t was totally a random moment! Haha Here’s a youtube version of it. From 0:38 onwards.

Till next time, Malaysia Boleh!

My other Harimau Malaya blog posts:

Harimau Malaya: Dulu, Kini dan Selamanya! – Click here to read.

Harimau Muda Weekend: Malaysia u23 (4) – Laos u23 (1) – Click here to read.

Malaysia 0 – Arsenal 4: An Interesting Lesson – Click here to read.

Asian Games: Malaysia 0 – China 3 Thanks to Ben Williams Red Cards! – Click Here to read

After attending the 2010’s edition of the Singapore Airshow (click here to read), I’ve become a big fan of this biennial event. It is by far the biggest aviation event in the region with a great mixture of general, civilian, business and military aviation action throughout the week.

Despite the usual beginning-of-the-year workload at the office, I’ve ensured that the weekend of 18th Feb 2012 is reserved for the Singapore Airshow. After purchasing the ticket online and collecting it at a local ticketing agent in KL, I was all set for the 2012 Singapore Airshow.

Unlike in 2010, this year I made my way to Changi Exhibition Centre for the Airshow via a different route.

KLIA – Johor Bahru – Woodlands – Changi T3 – Changi Exhibition Centre

On the morning of the 18th Feb 2012 I find myself crossing to Singapore, experiencing Singapore’s efficient public transportation. It took me a total of 60 minutes to travel from Johor Bahru to Changi Exhibition Centre.

Welcome to the 2012 Singapore Airshow!

Bigger and better

It is unfortunate that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner did not stay on as a static display aircraft during the public days. Nevertheless I was still excited to check out the other static displays including the Queen of the Skies, SIA’s Boeing 747-400, Bombardier and Learjet!

The first catch.

I arrived at the exhibition very early to capture better shots (less people) and also to get this, the limited edition Boeing 747-400 tour and freebies!

I’ve flown on numerous 747 flights but never on a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747.

Unfortunately I was queuing at the wrong queue (freebies instead of boarding pass for the tour) so by the time I got to the right line most of the tour slots were no longer available . Oh well, not my luck! Still it was nice to be so close to the 747 and shot the beautiful queen of the skies from different angles.

At the end of her life cycle with SIA but still looking good and ready to serve for other airlines for many more years to come!

Size doesn’t matter; other smaller aircrafts are equally sexy and attractive.

Gulfstream Aerospace G-IV-X Gulfstream G450

Bombardier Learjet 60

An aircraft that I think is attractive is the Embraer Lineage 1000, a variant of the Embraer 190 regional jet airline

The CRJ-1000.

Some helicopters for those who love to go around and round! :p

The coolest looking aircraft for Singapore Airshow 2012 must be this amphibious beauty, Beriev’s BE-200! Unfortunately the interior is not open for public viewing. I would love to check out the cockpit of this bird!

Although I’m not a fan of military aircraft, somehow this year I was impressed by some of the ‘war-birds’ on display.

US Air Force KC-135

US Navy’s P-3 ORION

Cool looking UAV

The highlight of the show is always the thrilling aerobatic flying displays.

This year the action showcases combination of RSAF Singapore F.16C + F-15G, RAAF Australia Roulettes, Blair Aerosports Australia Rebel 300 and the one that i’m so proud of RMAF Malaysia Smokey Bandits.

The Smokey Bandits in action!

One comment that I made about 2010’s edition of the airshow is the absence of Malaysian participation. Thanks to the Smokey Bandits, we are now part of this great event! Well done. I was so proud to see them in action especially the part with M Nasir’s Mantera Semerah Padi accompanying their moves.

Even these Singapore girls were mesmerized for a good 10 minutes!

The RAAF Australia Roulettes show were awesome as well with some daring moves and tight manoeuvres.

B-52 Bomber did a flypast…. again! Similar to the 2010’s edition. Boring!

After a few hours under the blazing sun, I made my way to the indoor exhibition area to check out the booths. Typical of a public day, not much was displayed and very few freebies were given away.

But still there were some interesting booth like the one from Changi Airport Group.

…with its Butterfly Garden.

Being the largest aviation show in the region, it is high chance that you’ll meet a familiar face, thanks to fellow aviation enthusiast and blogger @adameben for accompanying me towards the end of the show.

Overall it was another satisfying outing for an aviation enthusiast like me. 6 hours of fun staring at various types of aircraft and learning new facts and of course capturing many great shots on my camera.

The only complain is, where is the Malaysian flag? Aren’t we represented by the Smokey Bandits?

Thank you Singapore for a great Airshow. As I was walking away from the event venue, I cannot help but to mention deep inside of me, “How I wish LIMA is half this good!”

Something for us Malaysians to ponder upon.