Then it was time for the pre-flight briefing, before a flight in one Cathay Pacific’s state-of-the-art simulators. Head of Flight Technical Services, Dave Lohse, had programmed a flight plan from Hong Kong International Airport to Macao – turning over Nok-him’s house – and then back towards Hong Kong, passing low over Victoria Harbour in a Boeing 747-8F simulator – Cathay Pacific’s huge freighter aircraft. Dave says: ‘It was great fun, and Nok-him proved to be a quick learner.’

Fears that he might get tired were unfounded, and with his parents and elder brother taking turns in the observer seat, Nok-him made two take-offs and three landings. News of the star pupil passed around the building, and as Nok-him left the sim, Cathay Pacific’s Director of Flight Operations Chris Kempis was waiting to pin pilot’s ‘wings’ to his uniform and hand over a commemorative certificate.

But as exciting as the flight simulator experience was, for an aviation fan, nothing beats getting up close and personal to a real aircraft. As they boarded a bus back to the airport, Nok-him thought they would be heading to an observation gallery to look at aircraft on the tarmac. But the team had gone one better. Cathay Pacific’s engineering partner HAECO wanted to play their part too – so the bus instead arrived at the hangars located on the far side of the airport where the company maintains the Cathay Pacific fleet. After a welcome – and more gifts, including a mechanic’s uniform – Nok-him was able to sit in a real cockpit and accompany Joe on the pilot’s pre-flight walkaround of an Airbus A350-1000. Nok-him described the experience as ‘Superb! There were a number of aircraft waiting for maintenance, and they are way bigger than I could imagine.’