( 0370 6594005 | www.thelombokguide.com PUBLISHED BI-WEEKLY IN LOMBOK, FOR LOMBOK

Issue 119 | 9 – 23 July 2012

IN THIS ISSUEGetting to LombokAttractions & ActitvitiesLombok MapSpecial FeatureSenggigiSenggigi MapWhat’s HotLocal NewsLocal SceneSpecial FeatureLocal NewsMr FixerPasar ClassifiedsDiscount VouchersThe CitiesCities MapDistributionThe SouthwestKuta & The SouthUseful ContactsThe GilisGetting to the GilisGilis Fast FactsGilis NewsGili BytesGilis Map

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Page 4/8Page 6Page 10/44Page 12Page 14Page 18Page 20Page 26Page 30Page 32Page 50 Page 54/55 Page 55Page 58-64Page 60Page 66Page 68-71 Page 72-77Page 78Page 79-104 Page 83Page 87Page 93/94Page 101Page 103

P: +62 (0) 370 614 2352 | E: reservation@beachhousegilit.com | W: www.beachhousegilit.com

BeachBungalows

The Beach Club

Page 15

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VIBRANT CULTURAL LOMBOK!

...Life is Good!

Page 10 & 44

ECO NOT EGO

FLIGHT SCHOOL HAS PLENTY OF LIFT

Page 20 Page 93

HELP BABY SITI

Page 94

THE DAMAGE DONE

As we go to print with this issue, Senggigi is just winding up the closing ceremony for the 2012 Senggigi Festival.

For four days, visitors to our island have been treated to an amazing kaleidoscope of traditional and cultural performances and displays – exquisitely intricate dances performed by beautiful Sasak ladies dressed in delicate lace kebayaks and woven sarongs, dramatic theatrical performances by local actors in colourful and fearsome masks, exciting displays of skill and courage in Peresean stick fighting competitions; all overlaid with the sounds of gamelan orchestras and the throb of the big drums, the Gendang Beleq, for which Lombok is famous.

The Senggigi Festival is an important reminder of the rich, vibrant and fascinating cultural heritage of our island… and yet another reason why you should put Lombok on your “must visit” list now!

To find out more, pick up a copy of The Lombok Guide from the locations listed on page 66 or visit www.thelombokguide.com and discover the magic of Lombok for yourself…

like thousands of others, you’ll be enchanted!

The

LOMBOK GUIDE

10 Special Feature

It’s now been almost one year since the first and only flight school in Lombok opened its doors at Selaparang Airport near Mataram.

While flights ceased out of that airport seven months ago, with the opening of the new Lombok International Airport near Praya, Lombok’s former airport still sees regular take-offs and landings as trainee pilots at LIFT learn to fly.

LIFT (Lombok Institute of Flight Technology) is the initiative of a group of dedicated and enthusiastic investors who all share a love of flying and saw a need for a professional pilot training centre, unlike any other in Indonesia

Aviation is now one of the fastest growing industries in Indonesia and the demand for pilots is high, with experts predicting a need for around 11,000 pilots by 2015. Commercial airlines in Indonesia often recruit pilots from overseas as there are not enough skilled pilots to fill the requirements of airlines that are constantly expanding their fleets and routes throughout this vast archipelago.

“Before the 1997 Asian Economy Crisis, Indonesia was the major pilot training centre in South East Asia and pilots were one of this country’s exports. After the crisis, due to lack of funds, planes fell into disrepair and Indonesia’s position for pilot training was lost,” said investor, Pak Edmond. “Flying is my hobby and passion so, together with my other pilot friends, we are doing our part to re-establish the great flying tradition in Indonesia.”

LIFT now has arguably the best flight training facilities in Indonesia, with five groups currently progressing through the rigorous programme to become qualified pilots.

large passenger jets and turboprops, thus making their transition to larger aircraft easier.

Pilots trained in modern aircraft invariably score higher on airline intake courses and students with a solid experience in flying technologically advanced aircraft have an edge on their competitors.

The aircraft are also fitted out with state of the art safety and navigational equipment, GPS locators and tracking systems, flares and other amenities.

Another important difference that sets LIFT apart is that the school uses high quality imported aviation fuel in their planes, rather than the petrol commonly used in other schools.

LIFT also uses two of the most advanced flight training simulators in the world, produced by “RedBird Flight Simulations Inc.” The flight training simulator has a full motion system for realistic flight training in single- and multi-engine high performance aircraft, while the cross wind simulator allows trainee pilots to simulate flying under a variety of challenging conditions.

The cockpit of the flight training simulator features advanced instrumentation and all the equipment found in a real aircraft. The simulator allows trainee pilots to practice a variety of programmable flight conditions such as take-off and landing at different airports around the world, wind turbulence, bad weather and poor visibility, engine failure and other realistic scenarios.

Mounted on hydraulics, the full motion simulator moves and pitches according to the scenario, while wrap-around windows display real-time views from the front and sides of the aircraft.

When my flight instructor was told to put the “aircraft” into an uncontrollable spin and we eventually crashed into the earth, the experience was shockingly realistic… right down to the sounds of the approaching crash, the acute angle of the aircraft’s descent and the sight of the plane’s shadow growing closer as the nose plummeted into the ground!

The simulators are invaluable in training the pilots before they take to the air in real aircraft.

Their “ground school” is located in Jakarta, which handles enrolment, theory and examinations. Training is carried out by certified instructors and expatriate airline captains and includes the VTS testing facility, which tests for such things as multi-tasking ability, English language skills, hand-eye coordination, aptitude testing, response times and decision making, medical conditions and more.

Once students have passed the two-to-three month ground school phase, they move to Lombok where they can practice in state-of-the-art flight simulators before moving on to flying in the planes.

“We chose Lombok for a number of reasons,” said Chief Flight Instructor, Russell Sherwood. “There are already flight schools located in Java and in Bali but the skies there are already too congested, which can be dangerous and is not ideal for flight training. Lombok is conveniently close to Bali and we fly to Bali almost every day, but Lombok has clean air and hardly any pollution, which makes conditions ideal for learning to fly.”

While there are 15 other flight schools in Indonesia, none can compete with the facilities available at LIFT in Lombok. All use very old aircraft, often C-172 planes, which do not have the advanced instrumentation and technology found in modern aircraft.

LIFT is the only flight school in Indonesia that features new and advanced training airplanes, with a fleet of new Liberty XL2 aircraft manufactured in the US by the “Liberty Aerospace Corporation”.

The Liberty XL2 planes use advanced airline avionics so that pilots can become familiar with the modern technology they will encounter in the cockpits of

Continued on Page 44

FLIGHT SCHOOL HAS PLENTY OF LIFT

Inside the flight simulator

Russell in a Liberty training plane

26 Local Scene

The students at Sekolah Nusa Alam agree that LIFT is a great facility to have based in Lombok.

They were first introduced to the opportunities offered by the flight school when Nusa Alam held a “Careers Expo” recently, which allowed pupils to consider career options available at the end of their schooling.

Jack and Jessica, both students at LIFT, attended the Careers Expo to talk to the pupils about flight training and career options, and to show them that the airline profession is open not only to men but also to women.

The students were very excited to see young people so close to their own ages training to become pilots and, as a result, LIFT invited them to the flight school to view the facilities.

NUSA ALAM STUDENTS GET A TASTE FOR LIFT

Accompanied by Nusa Alam science teacher, Max, the group of Year 7 students visited LIFT where Jessica and Jack give the pupils a lesson in basic aerodynamics, how the engines work and aircraft materials.

The pupils were thrilled to be able to look in detail at a plane engine and also sit in one of the training planes and view inside the cockpit.

“Following this, the pupils were taken to a lecture theatre and discussed the problems of landing planes in different crosswinds. They were then given the opportunity to try out the flight simulation machines - one which simulated landing in different speed winds and the other was an overall flight simulator in which pupils could fly around in a computer generated version of Lombok,” said Max.

“The pupils had a ball and learnt so much from the trainee pilots. The girls were also very inspired to see an Indonesian girl training to be a pilot there. Please say a big thank you to everyone at LIFT from us!”

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FLIGHT SCHOOL HAS PLENTY OF LIFT

Sophisticated avionics

Continued from Page 10

Training is completed with dual flights accompanied by flight instructors while the trainee becomes competent and progresses to solo flights, and includes repeated series of landings and take-offs, as well as around 20 hours of solo flights.95% of LIFT students are Indonesians looking for a career in aviation, in which case they study for a Commercial Pilot Licence. At the completion of their training with LIFT, most of these graduates will be hired as cadets or first officers by commercial airlines, under the supervision of captains.Hobby pilots can also enrol at LIFT to qualify for Private Pilot Licenses (PPL). People who hold a PPL can fly as a hobby and are able to hire aircraft and transport passengers as long as it isn’t for commercial gain.In addition to sophisticated avionics, modern aircraft and simulators, LIFT currently employs six western flight instructors. All have Airline Transport Pilot Licenses – the highest level of qualification required to train to airline industry standards – and are dedicated professionals. The school’s principal is Captain Rachmatun Sulistyo, a distinguished

commercial pilot who previously flew for Indonesia’s “Air Force One” during ex-President Suharto’s rule.“I spent 4-5 years as a flight instructor in Spain and Portugal before moving to Indonesia,” said Victor, a flight instructor from Spain. “It is a really good challenge here and we aim to make LIFT a world class training centre, which I think will be soon as the facilities, planes and instructors are all world standard.”Jack, Australian living in Indonesia, is only 19 years old and learning to fly at LIFT. “The location is fantastic; we really couldn’t pick a better spot for training. Weather-wise conditions are pretty good all year round,” he said. “Also it’s great being able to meet other expat instructors and learn from them, rather than attend

one of the schools in Jakarta, which tend to be really local.”“The other major advantage of flight training in Indonesia is the lower cost of the training and the opportunities that are available at the end of the training. For example, the cost for a PPL is around Rp 230 000 000, which is very low in comparison to the west,” Chief Flight Instructor, Russell added. “A Commercial Pilot Licence costs around $80,000 in the US and around 100,000 Euros in Europe, the others said, “… and then there is no guarantee of a job at the end. There is huge competition for jobs in Europe and the US, as well as Australia, whereas here in Indonesia you are more or less guaranteed to be offered a contract once you qualify.”Jack agreed, saying: “The cost to qualify for a Commercial Pilot Licence is around Rp 600 million at LIFT, which includes all accommodation, transport, meals and other expenses. As a comparison, a university in Melbourne offers a similar course for almost twice that cost – and that doesn’t include any of the other expenses, such as accommodation, which is much higher in Australia.”