In a candid interview, he explains his journey from flying helicopters to opening Pizoni.
Where did your love for aviation come from?
A1. I was brought up in Chandigarh amidst my grandfather’s stories of flying. My grandfather, who was the Vice-President at Patiala Flying Club, developed my interest in aviation.
How did your journey begin?
A2. To follow my passion, right after school, in 2008, I reached California, USA to learn flying helicopters. I was dedicated and focused ; to know American culture, I worked in a Mohali based, US call center for 5 months before leaving for training. After my return and getting an Indian flying license, in 2010, I was hired by Mesco Airlines, New Delhi.
What are the different helicopters you have flown till now?
A3. I initially trained on the 26-seater Mi-172 in Russia (SPARC, St. Petersburg-2010), then did my Instrument Training in California, USA. In 2011, I went to Singapore (Eurocopter) to train on the 6-seater AS350. In 2011, at the age of 21, I became one of India’s youngest pilots to fly in the dangerous Naxal area of Chhattisgarh, ferrying CRPF personnel from the unsafe jungles to their camps and back. With Mesco, apart from Anti-Naxal flying, I flew in different state elections and did charters all over the country. In April 2014, while flying an Uttar Pradesh minister, my helicopter (AS350) developed a major technical snag and I (along with his copilot) Force-landing in the fields of Saharanpur. All five lives on-board were safe.
This story is from the July 2022 edition of Glimpse.
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This story is from the July 2022 edition of Glimpse.
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