Above All

Ever look up at the skies during National Day and wonder where had all the fighters gone? Those sleek, majestic machines, every bit as polished as a Formula 1 car, screaming across the sky and enthralling all in their very supersonic wake. Well this year, they're going to make a comeback. In all their livery. The Black Knights will come back to makes the crowds p*** their pants with their spectacular maneuvers. Dips and dives and rolls and spins, such maneuvers are testament to the efforts these brave men who have put in so much to bring out the very essence in aerobatics.

Which isn't to say we can't be like them. We've some highly qualified pilots around here so we're not that short on talent. Problem is, we're short on planes. And that's where our new Extra 300s come in. Of course they're not as big as the actual F-16s used in that aerial ballet you see. They aren't even real Extra 300s to begin with.

They're made out of foam! Depron, to be exact. And 10 of us Chosen Ones be flying them during our very own National Day in SP. The school however isn't exactly organising things the way we'd like to be so we're making this happen on our own accord.

It isn't easy, this. We've got plenty to learn, not least of which is coordinated formation flying. Anyone who has had to privilege of seeing any of us fly know that our flights end mostly in losing control and crashing sensationally in a shower of Depron and servos. So that's one area we need to improve on if we want to deliver a show worthy of its weight.

Bring on the afterburners.

MST

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.


No duh.


But all play and no work makes Jack even more of a idiot.


As such, SPAVC wishes all our members who are mugging hard for their Mid-Semester Exams GOOD LUCK and we do sincerely wish you score well for these important examinations so that you may advance with the speed of the wind and tenacity of a typhoon in your course.








P.S. If your name ain't Jack then it don't apply.

SPAVC Freshmen Welcoming Camp

Take a look at that picture and tell us you wouldn't like to be part of our fantastic group which over 2D1N's worth of fun and games have bonded into a dynamic and highly motivated group.


Tell us you'd rather have your face painted bright pink with sunflowers and rosebud petals in your hair.

Tell us that you'd rather join SP Drifters.

You wuss.


So then...exactly what is so fun about a group of aviation-crazed guys and gals coming together for a camp? Well for starters, we had something called fun. And fun is what happened...

The first day was especially for ExCos and seniors to bond with each other (Ed: Gay romps in the clubroom are not counted. You know who you are.) and it was spectacularly exciting in every sense of the word. Our secretary's face got painted by Glendon, who busied himself in "face art" i.e. dabbing splotches of black camo paint on any face he could find. He was especially cruel to our secretary who bore the full brunt of his "talent" and who was subsequently the brunt of our jokes (all together now: Yiming is a/The Joker...). We played several games like Trust Fall and something which involved moving a stack of cups from point to point without demolishing them. Some pictures to prove our point that ExCos are not boring...

Multiracial family. There's Gopal on the left, Ahmad on the right, and some random Chinese guy...

Let's all stop laughing at our secretary. We mean it. (Ed: This isn't the worst picture. I have another.)

Gentlemen, start stacking

Armageddon is brought forward a couple of years


Lina turns a blind eye to everyone...


...but doesn't mind a boogie with the woogie.



* * * *

The second day started off with a bang for everyone involved. The realization of the camp actually starting hit everyone hard and we all psyched ourselves as best as we could, ready to face the challenges that they day had in store for us. 16 of you freshmen arrived and everyone did their best to make them feel welcome. As much as we would have liked to give you guys a warm and fuzzy welcome to the camp, it is unfortunately not in our veins. So we decided to shake things up a bit by making them sit on each other and also do the caterpillar. No butts were harmed in the making of this game...

We hate to mention it, but Glendon and Wai Siong look like they're having fun

More "sit-on-me!" looks

This water is really, really cold. Kai Yi's face says it all.

We know a caterpillar has more than a few pairs of legs, but this is ridiculous

Edwin does the smart thing by directing everyone. He got it in the end.

Have you ever felt like the hair on your body was being ripped from its roots? Well actually that was exactly what happened to several unfortunate people while playing this game that involved saying your name while at the same time performing a series of claps in tandem. Get your timing wrong and get your hair pulled off. Problem is, it's not your head or facial hair: it's your legs that suffer. We'll spare you the gory details and instead let you focus on the pictures taken of these victims of torture and abuse. And they say females make better beauticians. Ta.

Clapping hands belie the torture awaiting those legs

Those faces look worried

Self-explanatory. Oh the humanity!

A freshie's leg getting ready to be landscaped.

Hmm...Alex's or that poor freshman's?

Alex relishes the thought of having his manly strands being forcibly removed

After we had finished, well gardening, we made our way to have fun with some more activities before heading for our Amazing Race. Exciting bit that, with many teams doing their best to race to the next station before the others caught up. It went relatively smoothly and all the teams had a great time - either having fun with ketchup or trying to shoot beans onto aluminium plates at the different stations. It was all thanks to Lina and Wai Siong, who did their best to keep everything running smoothly and properly. Though the game progressed with some hiccups, they managed to tide it over. Good on them!

With the race ended, it was time for some nightlife after dinner. Not exactly bartop dancing stripper stuff, more of the scare-me-silly kind that only a Night Walk can give. The freshmen were made to watch the film Shutter, which was obviously meant to scare the s*** out of them before sending them out. And effective it was too. We name no-one but some of us did hear loud screams and cries of HELP MEEEEEEEEEE from the frightened fellas whom we sent out. Either they were really frightened or it was from someplace else...bwahaha.

* * * *

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end and the third day was there for that exact reason. But Aviation Club being Aviation Club, we won't end such a fun day without something really exciting. And that's where the War Games came in. Waterbombs flew, people (and cameras) got hit, a security guard came by and a van got blasted by blue, yellow, green, orange and red waterbombs. What more fun could you possibly, possibly ask for?

Devious masterminds masquerading as Yi Wen and Wai Siong

"...Bomb bay doors are open, we have a clear target"

"I can't believe I'm holding a blue bomb. Like, spiffy, dude."

Yu Ren gets intercepted by a gang of black-clad men, intent on stealing his playtoy

"Mr President, your balloon is in danger"

As the camp drew to a close, we had a closing ceremony for the freshmen, where they were presented their parting gifts in the form of the camp t-shirt, a bright orange affair with "SP Aviation Club '08" printed on the back in stylised form, and where some of them received awards for the Best Glider and Most Good-Looking Glider. Eh, prizes damn good okay. Got potato chips and plane wheels and Milo packets. Don't say we didn't treat you well...

El Presidente presenting some cereal to an unsuspecting soul

El Presidente presenting some crackers to an unsuspecting soul

Pretty much sums up everything: planes, t-shirts and beautiful girls

And hence drew to a close the first ever Freshman Orientation camp ever properly held by SP Aviation Club. Everyone indeed had fun and made some new friends during the course of this camp, and those who already knew each other before the camp got to know a little bit more. No doubt some screwups happened and they affected the course of the camp somewhat, but in the end they were corrected and everything was normal again. In the future, we shall be more prepared, to bring you guys a better oiled and slicker camp, and we hope that we shall see all of you soon again.


SPAVC FOREVER!