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Press release

By The President: Leonard Chin

Sabah Flying Club is actively promoting aviation among young people and across the State this year. In March of this year, the Club carried out joy rides in Tawau for 70 young students and teachers with the aim to instil an appreciation for aviation from an early age. From the 16-18 September 2011, and in conjunction with Malaysia Day and the 100th year of Malaysian Aviation, Sabah Flying Club is again carrying out joy rides for students and teachers in Kudat.

The concept of giving joy rides to young people is simple and that is to plant the seeds in the hope that one day these children will grow up to become pilots, aircraft engineers, flight controllers, cabin crew, aircraft logistics, avionic engineers and such like.

For many years, since 1963, Sabah Flying Club acted as a club for Sabah residents to learn flying at a basic level leading to a Private Pilot License and was the only institution available to do so in Sabah.

As more commercial schools started forming to provide similar training, Sabah Flying Club decided to take an additional role of encouraging Sabahans and Residents in Sabah to take up flying and to market it as a possible career. By organising free joy rides, it makes flying possible for many young people who would otherwise not even try due to the prohibitive costs.

The shift from acting purely as a flying club with a school is now broadened towards a social responsibility towards Malaysians, in particular those in Sabah. Hence, Sabah Flying Club has a policy that actively provides:

1.A place in Kota Kinabalu , at its club base,  an opportunity to learn flying in an informal school environment of a club and still lead towards a Department of Civil Aviation accredited Private Pilot License.

2. An opportunity for residents in Sabah to fly without having to own a plane whose price and maintenance is expensive and prohibitive.

3. Provide flying subsidies to deserving students and scholarships when the club is in a financial state to do so.

4. Provide student grants at the recommendation of schools to students who can benefit without a requirement that they be exceptional scholars. Some students receiving grants are mentally challenged or are spastic.

5. Provide student grants to students who may otherwise be forced to drop out of schools due to family pressure or those with financial constraints when moving from village schools to city schools.

6. Contribute annually to several well known charities and non-governmental organisations.

In short the club has in recent times broadened its responsibility from purely aviation for the community to include community service through our aviation activities.

Sabah Flying Club is proud to be part of aviation in Sabah and contribute to aviation in Malaysia as a whole when it became an aviation milestone in 1964 from its humble beginnings at the Jesselton Airport in Tanjung Aru.

We thank the Department of Civil Aviation , Petronas, The Kudat Airport Rela Members,  and our club members for helping to make joy rides for the Kudat school children a reality.

By steve

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