The ability to multitask and excel at various skills are qualities that every Royal Malaysian Airforce (RMAF) pilot possesses, as they continue to ensure that the country’s airspace remains free from any threat.
And those same skills come in handy whenever the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition is held, as the RMAF pilots take to the skies above the tourist island in Kedah and put on stunning aerobatics displays that never fails to awe the spectators below.
Bernama managed to speak to some of the pilots of RMAF’s 18th squadron, based in Butterworth Airbase, Penang, who kept on the armed forces’ tradition of putting on an aerobatics performance during the ongoing LIMA’23 this year recently.
18th Squadron pilot, Maj Mohd Faizal Ab Rahim shared that every RMAF fighter pilot performing at the exhibition was trained for combat and to protect the country.
“As military officers, we have our general duties, and are tasked with protecting the security and peace of the country, which is our main priority. We also do other tasks like this (airshow),” he told Bernama at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre (MIEC) tarmac here today.
The squadron’s executive officer, Maj Mohd Azmeel Mohd Nadzri explained that four FA-18Ds were specially used for this international event.
“We prepared more than a month earlier and discussed the formations we use along with those from other countries to get the best results,” Mohd Azmeel said.
The pilot, who goes by the callsign Fido, shared that while the used formations such as the four-point roll and inverted fly, the FA-18D was really known for its ability to dispense flares,
“Most RMAF profiles in LIMA’23 will have elements of flares that makes our planes during the airshow unique, because other aircraft can’t do it, instead they use smoke,” he said, adding that for this air display, a height limit for flying the aircrafts was above 76 metres (m) to an upper limit of 1,524 m (250 feet to 5,000 feet).
“We need to follow all safety margins given by the organisers. Basically, we won’t go up too high as spectators can’t see us,” he added.
Besides Malaysia, five other countries put on airshows, including Indonesia, China, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Russia. LIMA ‘23 will end today, with the next exhibition slated for May 2025.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency