Site Visit to Department of Civil Aviation Kuching

Organizing Chairperson: David Chung Khoon Hsian

Date & Time: 18 October 2017, 1:30pm – 5:30pm

Venue: Department of Civil Aviation Kuching, Kuching International Airport

Participants:

24 SSIET On Campus Members

12 Swinburne Sarawak Student

On the 18th October 2017, SSIET On Campus organized a Site Visit to Department of Civil Aviation Kuching (DCA) with a total number of 36 participants. The site visit is meant to expose the participants to various operating equipment in the Control Tower.

The activities that occurred in this event are as follow:

1:30 pm

Participants gathered at Block A’s lobby of Swinburne Sarawak. Attendance were taken and the participants were asked to fill the indemnity form.

1:45 pm

Participants departed from Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak Campus by bus.

2:00 pm

Arrival at Department of Civil Aviation Kuching. Participants were then lead by the officers in charge to a meeting room. All the participants were asked to settle down while the Officer of Air Traffic Control, Mr. Luqman set up his presentation slides.

2:10 pm

Mr. Luqman gave a welcoming speech to all the participants. He then gave a brief introduction about the Department of Civil Aviation Kuching and Kuching International Airport.

The Department of Civil Aviation Kuching consists of sectors and division which are Airworthiness, Air Traffic Management, Flight Operations and Airport Standards. He explained that even though the department accepts diploma and degree graduates, it is still required to undergo training on different courses. He then showed the participants the aircraft route and types of available aircrafts currently at the Kuching International Airport.

3:00 pm

Mr. Luqman then opens the floor for questions. Few of the students brought up interesting questions for Mr. Luqman to answer. They asked whether the pilot was manually controlling the aircraft during take-off and landing. As it turns out, everything from the take-off to the landing are under autopilot mode and the pilot in the cockpit are there only for emergency situations.

3:30 pm

The participants were formed into 3 groups due to overwhelming number of participants. Every group was directed to visit different places at one time as the spaces are limited.

Places that were visited are as follow:

Air Traffic Control Center Room (ATCC)

ATCC oversees all air traffic control. Air traffic controllers issue clearances and instructions for airborne aircraft, and pilots are required to comply with these instructions.

Control Tower

The Control Tower provides visual observation on things happening on the airstrip. Air traffic controllers in the Control Tower are responsible for the separation and efficient movement of aircraft and vehicles operating on the taxiways and runways of the airport itself, and aircraft in the air near the airport.

4:50 pm

All the participants gathered at the lobby of DCA after visiting those places. The organizing chairperson, David Chung, presented Mr. Luqman with a small plaque as a gift of appreciation. A group photo was then taken at the main entrance of DCA.

5:00 pm

The participants boarded the bus and departed for Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak Campus.

5:30 pm

The bus arrived at Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak Campus.

Figure 1: Participants listening to the explanation given by the Air Traffic Controllers inside the Control Tower.

Figure 2: Participants listening to the explanation given by the Supervisor inside the Air Traffic Control Center Room.

Figure 3: Organizing chairperson, David Chung presenting Mr. Luqman with a plaque as an appreciation gift.

Figure 4: Group photo of Mr. Luqman with the participants.

Prepared by,

DAVID CHUNG KHOON HSIAN

Logistic and Transportation Officer,

<Swinburne Sarawak IET On Campus>

Date: 20 OCTOBER 2017