Singapore Airshow 2012

Singapore Airshow 2012 was held at Changi Exhibition Centre, Aviation Park Road (behind Changi International Airport) from 14 - 19 February 2012 ( 14 - 17 Feb 2012 being open for trade visitors only).   

I would like to place on record that I am grateful to India High Commission for having extended 2 trade invitations to my wife and I for this year's airshow.   I easily go nuts over planes and ships.   I had a field day clicking away on Friday, 17 February 2012 :

Approaching the Static Display on board a buggy cart provided near the entrance to the exhibition proper.

Bird's Eye-view of Static Display

RSAF "Peace Triton" Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk Naval Helicopter

It is part of the SAF's first naval helicopter squadron (123 Squadron) inaugurated on 18 January 2011 to undertake anti-surface and anti-submarine missions at longer ranges.

Ha !   Yet to get my licence.

See me in the reflection ?

Side-view of the cabin for Tactical Coordination Officer (TACCO) and Sensor Operator (SENSO).   The TACCO monitors the sensors on board the helicopter such as the APS 143 Surveillance Radar to provide input for tactical manoeuvring while the SENSO is in charge of operating the dipping sonar.

The section behind the black seats of above picture.

Another angle of the rear section.   The white seat is to the left of the black seat i.e. close to the edge for better monitoring and control of the operations.

RSAF AH-64 Apache Longbow Attack Helicopter

Each costs about S$26.3 million, and is armed with Hellfire missiles for precision strikes under all weather conditions.   It was once touted as the most technologically advanced attack helicopter in the world.  Hope it still is.

Royal Australian Air Force C-130 Hercules

Left flank of RAAF C-130J Hercules.

Looking at the propeller from another angle.

A shot of the rear ramp.

Look at the sleeping berths in the centre.

Side panel near ramp.

Undeniably spacious for the pilots too !

More than I can manage with my ten figures and two eyes !

Perfect vision on a hot sunny day from the cock-pit.

A console near the cock-pit.   I thought it might interest you.  No?

RSAF   F-15SG   Eagle

The afterburners of the F-15SG Eagle.   The 149 Squadron was inaugurated on 5 April 2010.   The multi-role fighter aircraft is a variant of the F-15 Eagle, and is one of the most capable combat planes in the world.   It is equipped with state-of-art avionics and a sophisticated integrated sensor suite.

RSAF   F16D   Fighting Falcon Aircraft

RSAF G550-AEW Aircraft

The Gulfstream 550 Airborne Early Warning aircraft has a sophisticated mission suite that includes an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar.


It is able to detect, identify and track aerial targets. The G550-AEW aircraft has a longer detection range than the E2C Hawkeye - more than 200 nautical miles. 


Royal Air Force Military Aircraft

U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker (Young Tigers)

Notice the tanker's flying boom at the tail-end of the Boeing aircraft.   The primary air fuel transfer method is controlled by an operator stationed at the rear of the fuselage.


Other Military Aircraft On Static Display

RMAF   MiG-29N

RSAF Heron 1   (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)

Executive Jets and Other Commercial Aircraft

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner on display for trade visitors only.

SIA Boeing 747 fleet to be phased out by April 2012 after 4 decades.

Hong Kong Firm Director/Actor Jackie Chan's Executive Jet Legacy 650.

Interesting Models on Display

Unexpected Encounter at Indoor Exhibition

End

Veneration of Ancestors

The above picture and others taken at the Chinese New Year Mass at Holy Family, Kajang (Selangor, Malaysia) on 23 January 2012 went viral on Facebook soon after the celebration.

One reader of Herald The Catholic Weekly asked:  "Please help me understand if this is an acceptable practice for our Church ?"

Yet, another remarked:  "If the setting up of a red ancestral altar, the lighting of red candles and joss sticks, food offering, and bowing before the ancestral tablet are allowed, I am glad that I can fully participate in the forthcoming Cheng Beng festival in April."

The Herald Feb 12, 2012 carried a sharing by Rev PD Dr Sherman Kuek,  SFO; and I am especially intrigued by the following extracts:

This practice of venerating the ancestral tablet by the Chinese community has had a very long and controversial history. It is known in Catholic history as the Chinese Rites controversy. The specific proponents of the adoption of this practice in the Church were the Jesuit missionaries of the early 17th century in China, who adapted many elements of the local Chinese culture in order to evangelise the people, and they did it mighty successfully too. This adaptation of local culture in order to present the Gospel in a way that is recognisable to the particular cultural senses of a specific people is called “inculturation”.

In this Chinese Rites controversy, the Jesuits argued for more aggressive forms of inculturation, in this case, the legitimacy of the veneration of ancestral tablets in the Church. According to them, the veneration of ancestral tablets among the people of China was more a social rite than it was a religious rite. In the first place, they claimed, Confucianism (from whence this practice originated) was not even a religion, but rather, a philosophy and way of life. The other orders of missionaries in China though — like the Franciscans, the Augustinians and the Dominicans — absolutely disapproved of this practice, perceiving it as embracing a scandalous form of idolatry incompatible with the Catholic faith. 

Pope Clement XI agreed with the latter group of missionaries in his papal bull Ex illa die, declaring such Chinese rites contradictory to the Catholic ethos. However, note that this bull was not a blanket declaration over all elements of Chinese rites and customs. It only condemned specific practices but declared other elements within Chinese customs permissible as long as they were practices unassociated with pagan forms of religious rituals. Subsequently, Pope Benedict XIV in his papal bull Ex quo singulari further affirmed his predecessor’s decree on this issue.

......... it needs to be made clear that the practice of assimilating the customs and traditions of local cultures has never been an end in itself. This tedious exercise was always undertaken as a means of transmitting the message of the Gospel in a way that removes any possible unnecessary hindrances from the perceptive faculties of its recipients. In other words, our way of evangelisation should not make it more difficult than necessary for people to accept the Gospel. In the days of ancient China, to insist on the termination of such veneration rites actually scandalised the populace and prevented them from accepting the Gospel. 

........ whether or not the perpetuation of such a practice is to be allowed rests with the bishops, the successors of the Apostles. Therefore, on a personal level, a practising Catholic may not be entirely comfortable with such practice at the Chinese New Year Mass. On this, the individual reserves the right to decide whether he or she would like to participate in this rite of veneration. Neither doing it nor refraining from it makes the person more or less Catholic than those who choose otherwise ...........

.......... one should also notice that all the papal bulls issued on this practice refer specifically to the situation in China. They say nothing about the practice of venerating the ancestral tablet for Chinese in other parts of the world. It is an established fact that when a cluster of dioceses wish to add or alter any element to the established liturgical norms of the Church, the Conference of Bishops is required to obtain the assent of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (CDWDS). Hence, if we are not a part of China, even an affirmative papal bull permitting this practice in China may not automatically grant us the right to practise the rite without express permission from the CDWDS. 

........ all that has been mentioned in this article are mere suggestions of aspects that need to be pondered over long and hard on the controversial issue of venerating the ancestral tablet. It is unlikely that the Local Church is ever going to come to a clear position on this anytime in the near future. But to the individual who feels extremely uncomfortable participating in this rite, it is probably safe to offer this advice: refraining from participation in this practice does not make you less Catholic. If we desire that those who wish to do it be given freedom to do so, then the same freedom must be given for those who wish to refrain to act in accordance with their conscience.

The full report can be viewed at http://www.heraldmalaysia.com/news/To-bow-or-not-to-bow-10801-2-1.html