Upload
bccpublicaffairs
View
217
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/4/2019 2011 IACE- Hong Kong, China- Written By C/Col. Todd O'Brien, CAP
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/2011-iace-hong-kong-china-written-by-ccol-todd-obrien-cap 1/2
A few weeks ago I attended the
International Air Cadet Exchange as a delegate
to Hong Kong. This trip consisted of visits to all
parts of Hong Kong, Macau, and Conghua city in
mainland China. The event consisted of cadet
delegates and their escorts from 13 different
countries as well as a fantastic team of Hong Kong
Air Cadets who led the 15 day program. The
program consisted of multiple tours/sightseeing
opportunities around the area, visits to
government organizations, and even the
opportunity to fly through the mountains of China
in a powered parachute.
The journey began with a 14 hour flight
across the Pacific from San Francisco, CA directly
to Hong Kong International. Soon after arriving
we were met by a few local cadets who
graciously took our luggage off of our hands and
drove us right to the hotel. Before the night was
over, all of the cadets and escorts gathered for an
in-briefing where the next 15 days were laid out
for us. The next day, after trying to find some
place with English on the menu for breakfast, the
tours began.
A few of the sightseeing opportunities in
Hong Kong included walking through the streets
of the main city, visiting the giant Buddha statue
on top of a mountain, looking over the city from
the highest mountain beside it, and taking a ferry
across the harbor to see a light show put on by
over twenty skyscrapers. We also visited several
government agencies including the weather
observatory, the Civil Aviation Department
(including a tour of the control tower at HKIA),
and the Government Flying Service (GFS). The
GFS visit included detailed tours of the facilities
and aircraft, and at the end of the visit we were
taken up over the City in one of their rescue
helicopters. Seeing the city from above was
amazing, and certainly an opportunity that atourist would rarely get.
After our tours in Hong Kong, we took an
hour and a half ferry ride to Macau, which is
known as the Las Vegas of China for its casinos
and nightlife. Here we were guests of the Macau
Flying Eagle Association, a program very similar
to the CAP cadet program. We stayed in the
barracks on their training compound, enjoying a
bed of plywood with a thin “pad” on top. While
there we participated in some of their traditional
team building activities and got some exposureto Chinese calligraphy as well as other pastimes.
After a few visits to zoos and museums we ended
our quick stay and headed on a bus for mainland
China.
After two hours of customs and a four
hour bus ride we arrived in Conghua City. Here
we met up in a hotel with about 40 other Chinese
university students who were all studying some
form of aviation science. Each of the IACE cadets
was roomed with a student who may or may not
have spoken English, which made for an
interesting situation. We soon discovered that we
were all taking part in a program called theChina International Conference on Teenager’s
Education, the purpose of which is to provide the
attendees an opportunity to fly in powered
parachutes over the mountains of China.
Following an opening ceremony that had over
2000 spectators the flights began. We were
assigned shifts and in between the rain storms
we took to the sky! When it was my turn I
strapped in to the 4-wheeler looking vehicle and
was soon airborne and flying through the
mountains low above the ground. It was a
fantastic experience, one of the best flights I have
ever had. Before the weekend was out all 80some participants had gotten their turn and a
closing ceremony filled with food and karaoke
finished off the weekend.
The following day we departed Conghua
City and headed back to Hong Kong. During the
12 hour journey we stopped at various
sightseeing places and saw our last bit of
mainland China. After another customs visit we
were back in Hong Kong and the Panda hotel that
we had come to miss. Our final full day on the trip
consisted of last-minute souvenir shopping
followed by the farewell dinner. At the farewell
dinner all the delegates presented gifts to eachother, gave thanks, shared stories, laughed, and
cried in anticipation of the imminent departure.
The next morning after some difficult goodbyes
we got on the bus for the airport and took the 12
hour hop over the Pacific once again, this time
landing back in good old America where English
was heard everywhere and the food fried.
Page 1
2011 IACE AT HONG KONG, CHINA – WRITTEN BY C/COL. TODD O’BRIEN, CAP
8/4/2019 2011 IACE- Hong Kong, China- Written By C/Col. Todd O'Brien, CAP
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/2011-iace-hong-kong-china-written-by-ccol-todd-obrien-cap 2/2
Overall the trip was extremely
memorable for the places and things I saw, but
definitely more so for the people I met. I became
really close friends with others my age from 13different countries, an experience I never
thought I would get. Having the chance to learn
about their cultures, see our similarities and
differences, and share our interest in aviation is
something I will cherish forever. All CAP cadets
should strive to attend IACE, it is without doubt
the best experience the cadet program has to
offer.
Page 2
2011 IACE HONG KONG CONTINUED