At 3:30 pm on August 11th, the Daily Air (德安航空) Orchid Island to Taitung aircraft is about to take off. Everything is normal, but something about the atmosphere is slightly different. Before takeoff, the familiar announcement is broadcast over the loudspeaker "This is Zhang Xian-Qi (張先琪), your pilot for today’s flight to Orchid Island”. However, in the announcement Zhang Xian-Qi also mentions that this will be his last passenger flight from Taitung to Orchid Island, which receives a round of applause.
Zhang Xian-Qi has 41 years of flying experience under his belt, beginning his flying career as a young 19-year-old. It was not until 1994, when he retired from military service, that he began piloting the Orchid Island service.After 18 years of safeguarding the air safety of Orchid Island people and visitors in the most compromising of strong northwest winds, in the hearts and minds of these island people, as long as Zhang Xian-Qi is flying, they know they’ll be safe! Zhang Xian-Qi said in the time of the northeast monsoon, Orchid Island’s degree of landing difficulty is probably in the top three of the world. This is due to the fact that in the short runway there are three windsocks, each displaying different wind directions; this forces pilots to completely rely on their experience of the job. Zhang Xian-Qi added that if it weren’t for his previous fighter-pilot experience the landing would be extremely difficult to accomplish. His most unforgettable flight happened recently on the Dragon Boat Festival, when just after takeoff the plane encountered a group of white egrets. After one of the birds collided with the windshield, and one collided with the engine (propeller), Zhang Xian-Qi stayed calm and used his years of flying experience to safely land the aircraft in what was potentially a life-threatening situation.
Zhang Xian-Qi said that despite the hard work, when he arrives at the destination and the villagers show their recognition, he always feels it is worthwhile! After completing so many difficult flights his colleagues nicknamed him "Topflight"! On 11th August, after Zhang Xianqi completed his last Taitung - Orchid Island flight, with emotions running high, colleagues fought to get one last picture with their flying buddy Zhang Xian-Qi.
PeoPo 公民新聞
Daily Air Corp. pilot Zhang Xian-Qi on his final flight (by CJ miyouyaw)
URL: http://www.peopo.org/news/99557
(以下是中文對照)
德安航空飛官張先琪 頂尖飛行下一站啟航 ( miyowyaw )
8月11日下午3點30分，德安航空一架蘭嶼往台東的飛機即將起飛。一切程序一如往常，只不過氣氛有些許不同，起飛前，「離島交通 的守護者—飛官張先琪」照慣例報告此次的飛行，同時也宣布這是他職業生涯中台東-蘭嶼最後一次飛行，機上的乘客無不給予掌聲敬賀。
有41年飛行經驗的飛官 張先琪，19歲開始他的飛行生涯，退役後在民國83年開始離島的飛行服務。18年來在空中守護蘭嶼人與旅客的安全，在強勁的東北季風中頑抗前進，在蘭嶼人 的心中，「每次的飛行只要有他，一定有平安！」張先琪說東北季風的時候，蘭嶼的降落難度大概是全世界前三名，因為在短短的跑道上有3個風向袋，沒有一個風 向是一樣的，非得完全靠經驗才行，要不是曾經有開戰鬥機的經驗，是很難完成的。印象最深的最近的一次飛行那天正好是端午節，才剛起飛就遇上一群白鷺鷥整個 撞過來，有一隻白鷺鷥撞到風檔上來，還有一隻撞進了發動機(螺旋槳)。經過冷靜且正確的處理，最後，終於平安落地。 張先琪說，儘管辛苦，但是當安全抵達的時候，鄉親們給予的掌聲以及肯定，讓他覺得一切都值得！完成那麼多高難度任務之後，同事們都稱他為「頂尖飛行」！8 月11日張先琪完成最後一次台東-蘭嶼的飛行，德安航空的同事們爭先恐後的要跟張先琪照相，以表不捨之情。
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