SPREAD YOUR WINGS

Avi Malik and Anita Deshpande founded Temple Pilots, a paragliding school and flying club in Kamshet, at a time when adventure sports was a new concept in India. At present, it boasts India's biggest community of skilled instructors and a global community of more than 500 Club Pilots. In a conversation with SIMRRAN GILL, Malik and Deshpande reminisce about their journey and reveal the plans in the pipeline for the school.

- SIMRRAN GILL

Avi Malik and Anita Deshpande

FOUNDERS, TEMPLE PILOTS

What were the challenges you faced while setting up Temple Pilots?

Anita Deshpande: Our dream was to make paragliding affordable and accessible to every Indian who dreamt of flying. We wanted to get people outdoors and help them enjoy discovering themselves. Our business continued to fail for five years, and we made no money. We overcame challenges [in a] very old-school way; we just kept going! The journey was so thrilling, adventurous, and romantic that it taught us along the way to be positive, tenacious, insanely creative, trust the flow of life, have fun all along, and enjoy the process.

How does one become a licensed instructor/pilot at Temple Pilots? 

Avi Malik: There is a step-by-step methodology and structure in the APPI Education & Rating System that allows both leisure and professional pilots and instructors to become internationally qualified. For leisure pilots, there are five levels—from APPI 01 Discover to APPI 05 Advance Pilot. There’s a theory syllabus for each level that includes subjects like Mechanics of Flight, Weather, Piloting, Equipment, and Air Law. The practical tasks advance with each level. There is an online exam, verbal exam, and practical field test for each level for a pilot to earn their rating and flying license.

What steps do you follow to make a first-time flyer feel comfortable?