Back in 1984, Captain Gurcharan Singh Sidhu was invited as Malaysia’s chief delegate by the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics’s Aeronautical and Aviation seminar in Moscow.
He is likely the first Malaysian to have that honour.
“Surprisingly, I was handpicked to be invited for the seminar. I was even more surprised to be given a state-guest ceremonial welcome for the entire 12-day duration of my visit.
“This included tours of facilities to three Soviet Baltic republics where I was greeted by their respective governors,” said Gurcharan, who retired after 43 years as a senior commercial pilot with various airlines.
Gurcharan, who turned 76 on Oct 11, figured that the Soviets had likely noticed his credentials as Malaysia’s chief delegate at the International Federation of Airline Pilots Association conference in Dublin, Ireland a year earlier.
He was also serving as the Malaysia Airlines Pilots’ Association (MAPA) vice-president at the time (1980-85).
Recounting his Moscow visit, Gurcharan said that the Soviets wanted an experienced commercial pilot like him to evaluate the performance, technicalities, operations and credibility of their lesser-known aircraft.
“They wanted a different perspective from someone like me who extensively flew western-manufactured aircraft like the Fokker F27, Boeing 707, Airbus A300-B4 and McDonnel Douglas DC-10.
“I was asked to first test-fly the Tupolev Tu-154, a three-engine, medium-range narrow-body jet, followed by the Ilyushin Il-86, a short- to medium-range wide-body four-engine jet, the next day.
“Each flight was for 90 minutes and I was accompanied by Aeroflot’s chief pilots who supervised the routines.
“I gave my personal thoughts and opinions of the performance of the Tu-154 and Il-86, which proved valuable to them,” said Gurcharan.
He stressed that he had obtained prior permission from Malaysia’s Home Ministry before accepting the Soviet invitation, in view of “cold-war” diplomatic restrictions at the time.
“I was advised to be wary, so as not to be made a pawn. It did spook me a bit but I managed to overcome the jitters and familiarised myself swiftly with Soviet culture,” said Gurcharan.
After the test flights in Moscow, Gurcharan travelled in a VIP coach of a special train to Leningrad and visited the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with assistance from an interpreter and a body-guard.
“It was a marvellous and unforgettable experience, something totally different from my piloting forays to other parts of the world.
“I served with six airlines and visited nearly every country,” said Gurcharan, who began his flying career with Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA) in 1971.
He moved to Malaysia Airlines a year later when Singapore went their separate way with their own airline – Singapore Airlines (SIA).
Gurcharan notably served as MAPA president (1991-95) and in 1997 was seconded to Jet Airways, India as flight operations director.
He moved to Korean Airlines in 1999, Al Wafeer Airlines in Saudi Arabia in 2009 and finally, AirAsia X in 2011 until his retirement in 2013 at age 64.
The Anglo-Chinese School, Ipoh alumni also excelled in sports, representing Perak in hockey as a teenager, and winning the World Airline Golf Championship in 1991.
He was bestowed a Datukship by the Perak ruler, Sultan Azlan Shah in 1994.
Looking back, Gurcharan said his late police sergeant father Ujagar Singh encouraged him to either become an inspector or pursue medicine, shortly after completing his sixth form examinations while in Buntong, Perak.
But Gurcharan was bent on a flying career, and attended flight training at the MSA facility in Singapore.
“I truly appreciate the support and backing of my father and mother Joginder Kaur for grooming and moulding me, especially on punctuality,” said Gurcharan, who is married to former Korean Air flight attendant Arunee Dee-iam.