6th June 2016 - In a 737 flight simulator cockpit for first flight experience!
It was surreal. Been dying to fly a plane since secondary school days. Been wanting to enter into the cockpit of a boeing plane to have a sit.
All came true on 6/6/16!
Things that defy gravity often intrigued me.
2 Kings 6 about the story of the floating axhead was one of stories that often made me reflect on what seems impossible to man is impossible to God. That unusual story that was embedded among Elisha and his company of prophets of how Elisha threw his stick into the water and caused the borrowed iron axhead to float often awed me. Wont't you be?
Some Fleeting Thots!
1. Man can "fly"!
For now, yes, with the help of machines, though not literally like a bird with wings. The first men that flew were the famous Wright brothers in 1903. That was the beginning of the aviation breakthroughs in the designs of the planes. What was once impossible for man to travel from the east of the globe to the west is now a reality. Is 40:13 says that those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles!
2. Man walk by faith and not by sight?
While in the cockpit, the captain's job was never easy. There was so many buttons to press, the navigation panels to observe, the throttle to manoevre, the footstools to step on!
We fly by instruments. We relied heavily on that in the cockpit.
We did not fly by sight. However, on approach landing, one needs to really look out for the 4 blinking red and yellow lights as a guide to a good leading in.
My experience made me realised why we need to pay captain well! They are the ones who can safely fly us in and out to the country! Like the A380, a big fat plane with hundreds of passengers' lives at stake.
As a passenger, I cannot fly this machine. I can only trust in my captain to do that job! Like a child, my faith hinges on the captain of my soul - Jesus. I walk by faith , trusting in Him who knows what is best for me, and not by sight or feelings.
Like Elisha who threw the stick into the water and then the axhead floated. Like a replacement . Jesus died on the cross so that we , who choose to believe in Him - the stubborn axheads can rise again. I trusted the captain to fly the plane to take me to the destination. How difficult now to trust a more superior captain of my soul? Fear? Do you know where you are heading?
Used to sing the doughnut song " Life without Jesus is like a donut because there is a hole in my heart" During this inflight I found there was a big hole in my seat! It is there so that the captain can used the throttle to move up and down the plane on flight. He is the one who can steer our lives and fill that gap where we sit. I was a novice trying out for the first time. So in fact my Instruction Lim was the one who was assisting me in the control when I 'lost control' of the plane. He moved his throttle and my throttle moved with his!
Though there was aircon in the cockpit, but it was no easy task learning to 'fly a plane" . I perspired. So in my last few minutes in the cockpit, I was more than happy that Lim flew the plane while I relaxed to look on the outside and enjoy the view and flight back to Changi airport! Because it is simply too pressurizing for me! LOL. So stressful. Thank God for Jesus being the Captain of my Life! Let Him be stressed and I just breeze along!
4. The 4 Spokes of lift and life
Aerodynamics, the study of flight, is founded on four basic forces — lift, weight, thrust and drag. The interaction of these forces explains the movement of objects as they soar through the sky. What seems like magic — a several ton object flying, like an airplane flying through the sky! — is actually based on the laws of physics and these four forces.
The first force, lift, pushes up on things that fly — airplanes, birds, helicopters and rockets. The shape of the wings on an airplane and the whirling blades of a helicopter create lift as they move through the air.
The second force is weight — the force of two masses being attracted to each other. Weight is the force that pulls us towards the center of the earth, and why things fall down.
The third force is thrust. Thrust is created by the jet engines or propellers of an airplane. Birds create thrust (and lift!) with their wings. Thrust pushes things that are flying
The fourth force is drag. Drag pushes against things moving through the air. It is caused by air particles bumping into the object. An object that is going faster bumps into more air particles, and so experiences more drag. Similarly, an object with a large surface area bumps into more particles, and experiences more drag.
When the forces are balanced, flying objects speed up, slow down or change direction. This is called acceleration. For example, when the thrust force is bigger than the drag force, an airplane speeds up. When the lift force is bigger than the weight force, the airplane goes up faster.
When forces are balanced, objects do not accelerate. An airplane that is flying in a straight line at a certain speed has balanced forces. An airplane can even be going up or down and have balanced forces. As long as the airplane is not turning, speeding up or slowing down (in any direction, even up and down!) they are balanced.
I just realised that flight in action is like what I learnt from the Navigators - the 4 Wheel in my early Christian faith.
We really need :
1. The LIFT in PRAYER - 24/7
2. The THRUST to WITNESS - in and out of season
3. The DRAG of each other to FELLOWSHIP - not forgetting the assembly of one another
4. The WEIGHT of His WORD -hidden in our hearts -so that we may not sin against Him
With Him all things are possible!
An ax-head that defied gravity and floated!
Lazarus who died and resurrected!
Philip who was 'teleported' after witnessing to the Ethiopian eunuch!
And when the day comes for us in time, we won't need the machines to aid us to fly!
Till then, dreams are for those who think they can fly!
A tribute to this young gal , Christina Grimmee, 12/3/94-
passed on 10/6/16 Orlando.
She was shot at the Concert "Before you exit"
