LUNCH is interrupted by a short, shrill alarm. Captain Cody Wong Yiu-hong rushes out of the hall. Ten minutes later he is in his Blackhawk helicopter, low over Lantau en route to Cheung Chau where a 74-year-old man is waiting to be airlifted to hospital.
At the same time, ground crew are preparing a Jetstream 41 aircraft for a search mission 110 nautical miles southwest of Hong Kong in response to a distress signal. This is all part of a day's work for the Government Flying Service (GFS).
'We have two main functions,' explained Captain Wong, 29. 'We serve primarily as a search and rescue unit for Hong Kong. We also play a supporting role for other government departments.' Their duties range from providing transportation to inaccessible areas, to police and fire-fighting missions. During the Ching Ming Festival in April, the GFS responded to 26 calls to fight hill fires.
Applying to join the GFS involves a rigorous process, explained cadet pilot Dickens Lam Tak-kan, 24. 'After an initial application, there are several stages of tests that go on for nine to 10 months.' The tests include mental, physical and emotional evaluations.
After being accepted by the GFS, a cadet will spend two weeks at police training school. Then they are sent overseas, usually to the United Kingdom or the United States, for pilot training which takes about a year.
Having gained a commercial pilot's licence overseas, cadets return to Hong Kong where they also have to qualify for a local licence. They also receive leadership training with organisations such as Outward Bound.
Then it's overseas again for an 'instrument rating', which qualifies pilots to fly in poor visibility - very important in Hong Kong. After that, cadets do a year-long work placement with private companies to gain experience.