RSAF pilot is top gun in Nato flight training
Flying high over the Canadian skies with combat veterans as instructors, air force pilot Lieutenant Jerrold Lim proved he was the top gun in dogfights and target shooting.
David Boey, DEFENCE CORRESPONDENT
28 December 2006
Straits Times
(c) 2006 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Flying high over the Canadian skies with combat veterans as instructors, air force pilot Lieutenant Jerrold Lim proved he was the top gun in dogfights and target shooting.
He did so well, he aced his flying course in Canada - which included pilots from North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) countries.
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) pilot not only topped his class as best overall pilot, he also bagged two of the four other prizes.
These were for his flying skills and for his proficiency in striking ground targets accurately.
Lt Lim, 24, a polytechnic graduate, trained for 10 months under the Nato Flying Training in Canada programme.
'The training in Canada was over vast open skies, with magnificent views. I also had the experience of flying in the Canadian winter, where the temperature can drop to minus 35 deg C,' Lt Lim told The Straits Times yesterday.
His course began in the deep and harsh Canadian winter in January and ended last month. His parents, both accountants, joined him at an airbase in Cold Lake, Alberta, for his graduation.
Lt Lim's coursemates were a fellow RSAF pilot, a Canadian and three Italians.
Both Singaporeans had previously flown RSAF S.211 basic jet trainers. In the Canadian course, they trained in Hawk 115 advanced jet trainers - fast, nimble jets used to train pilots in air defence and air-to-ground missions.
Lt Lim returned to Singapore on Nov 10 and is now at the RSAF's Tengah Airbase.
Reflecting on his time in Canada, he said: 'The instructors were very willing to share from their own experience, which was a great benefit to the learning process.'
Many of the instructors there had chalked up combat experience fighting wars for the Nato military alliance.
Singapore became the first country outside the alliance to join the Nato pilot training programme in 2000.
The programme is conducted in Canada to take advantage of the country's vast military training areas.
Lt Lim also values the exposure to training with foreign pilots.
'I was exposed to different flying techniques from various instructors and this helped to improve my flying skills. The course taught me to be more independent and self-directed, because in order to do well, I had to be proactive in studying and preparing for each flight,' he said.
Lt Lim graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a diploma in film, sound and video. Having eyed a pilot's job from a young age, his RSAF career took flight in 2003 after he was selected for pilot training.
He is due to join the United States-based RSAF detachment in Arizona. There, he will learn to fly F-16C/D Fighting Falcons. These F-16 variants are the air force's latest air defence and night-attack warplanes.
His father, Mr Eugene Lim, 57, said: 'We always knew he'd do his best because flying is what he's always wanted to do. I feel his achievement when pitted against foreign pilots speaks well of the RSAF.'
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