Thursday, February 26, 2004

Asian Aerospace rocks! Had a great time today at the trade show, thanks to Wilson who informed me that SAF personnel supposed to get free tickets. Its nice to have friends like that! Thanks to my powers of persuasion and the grace of God, the kind young lady at the ticketing counter agreed to give me a ticket, if not i would have to go back to camp to get one, which is 101% impossible cos i'm on att c and not supposed to be at the aerospace in the 1st place! Its amazing to note that while my friends are working their butts off for the SAF, I'm happily taking full advantage of my status as one of its personnel.

The F15 Eagle is truly amazing. Its able to slow to nearly a halt, without stalling. It approaches the target so quietly, it is almost a pin drop silence and before you know it, it unloads its ordnance on ya. Truly kick ass stuff huh? The Rafale dazzled the crowds too with its acrobatic turns and manoeuvres, and the Apache defied the laws of physics by doing 360 degree vertical flips.

Its nice to come to the Aerospace on trade days, compared to the weekends when it is open to the public. The exhibitors are a lot more enthusiastic and there are more freebies to be given out. Queues are much shorter, and people are well dressed and well behaved, with the exception of the crowds that throng the isles to get the free Dassault cap.

One of the best parts this time round has got to be going up those private jets and having an eye opener into the lives of the rich, famous and powerful. It costs US$20 million to purchase one of those Embraers / Bombardiers / Gulf Streams and approximately US$2000 per hour to hire it. But for that money, you get a nice leather seat, a dining table and sofa and ur personal toilet all in the jet. It gets you from anywhere to anywhere.

On the way back home, I was just thinking to myself...I really want to be somebody one day...somebody of importance, somebody who would stride into the future aerospace in suit and tie, complete with an entourage, with exhibitors all eager to show me around. Somebody who would arrive in one of those brand new Bimmers and not having to join the queue.

Bah....maybe its just the medication that's gotten the better of me.