At 19, there aren’t many people who can say that they’ve not only sat in the cockpit of a plane, but Nicholas Mok Teck Kian, final-year Aerospace Technology (AT) student, has not only done that – he’s one of the selected few in NP who have a license to fly a plane!
We speak to Nicholas, who is currently in his final semester doing his internship at an aviation company about how this seemingly impossible dream started.
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Born in 1991, Nicholas is the younger of the two sons in the Mok family. He remembers when his interest in flying first came about. Back then; when he was still studying in Monfort Secondary School, the planes from the nearby airfield would constant fly over his school.
Nicholas and his family at the PPL award ceremony
“I remember all the noise coming from the planes as they passed by. Somehow, it piqued my interest in aeroplanes,” says Nicholas, who then pursued a diploma in Aerospace Technology after graduating from Monfort.
One of the most interesting things he's learnt about while in AT is the lavatory system in the planes. "As a kid, I thought that when a person does his/her business in the plane, the waste would go straight out of the plane because of the sound it makes when you flush!" he laughs.
“It was only until I looked up about it that I realised it was stored in a tank. The AT lecturers usually just laugh this off because they’ve probably heard the questions so many times.”
Nicholas and his brother having fun at Teck Ching's 21st birthday
On his interest in planes, Nicholas says his brother, Teck Ching, a former NP graduate, probably had a major influence on him. Having belonged to the NCC Airforce division back in secondary school, he had often talked about aeroplanes and the like to his younger brother, whom belonged to the Land division.
“After he graduated from Mass Communication, he signed on as an Air Traffic Controller in the Airforce, so I suppose he did somehow influence me. Actually, come to think of it, we both influenced one another to join the aviation career,” says Nicholas.
From there on, having
been interested in flying, he searched for a flying course and found out about the Singapore Youth Flying Club. However, he didn’t think he could get in then, so he applied for the course only in Year One after getting into NP.
“Getting in was pretty okay, I guess,” he says, “in comparison to the trainings. The trainings were really tough because they wanted the best to be part of their crew.”
Nicholas in the middle, with Benjamin Soh (left) and Quek Xiu Kun (right), final-year AT students
There are three phases of training in the course, and trainees undergo intensive training in both theory and simulation, before finally being allowed to take to the skies. For Nicholas, he had a jam-packed schedule during his second year, filled with theory exams on Friday mornings and flights on the weekends.
He’s since gotten his Private Pilot License (PPL) and is currently doing his internship at a private aviation company.
Nicholas receiving the award from Dr Goh Yong Kiat, Senior Vice President of ST Aerospace Engineering Pte Ltd
His wish now? To either become a pilot in SIA or the RSAF.
“It’s been like a dream for me so far, so I guess you can say the hard work was all worth it. I was really happy to finally receive my PPL, so if there’re people out there who’re considering joining the SYFC, just go for it! Try your luck, work hard, and you never know,” Nicholas enthuses.
“You might just get your own license too.”
Photos courtesy of Nicholas Mok