Abu Dhabi: A 45-year-old Pakistani expat is on Cloud 9 after graduating from a flying school in the UAE along with his son, 17, a feat that the once-120kg businessman all the more cherishes as he also shed his sizeable kilos before embarking on the mission.
A proud student of the Fujairah Flying Academy, Suleiman Mahmood, born and raised in Abu Dhabi, told Gulf News, that he and his son Hashir Suleiman received their private pilot’s licence earlier this month after they successfully completed a six-month programme at the academy.
“For me personally, it was a lifetime achievement,” he said, flush with ideas on what he plans to do hereafter.
But first, how did he get this far?
Suleiman said he always had a passion for flying but couldn’t get down to doing much about it for a long time because he was overweight.
“I love my food but at 120kg, I could not expect to fly. It bothered me so much that in 2020, I decided enough is enough. I began to religiously work out on the treadmill, ate in moderation without giving up on my favourite foods. To my pleasant surprise, I managed to shed 50kg with this discipline in six months. It was a great feeling,” he recalled, adding that he actually rewarded himself with a sports bike on reaching the milestone.
New confidence to fly
Meeting the weighty challenge bolstered Suleiman’s confidence to pursue his flying dreams. “I wanted to go to a flying school in Australia but my work commitments prevented me from leaving the UAE. I also realised we had a flying school right here in our country. So I enrolled myself into the Fujairah Aviation Academy after convincing my son also to join. He agreed as he could use a gap year that he had and give me company,” he said.
This meant the father and son, now batch-mates at the academy, had to move to Fujairah from Abu Dhabi for their course. “It was tough, but I was determined to do it. I would finish my last weekly class on Friday mornings after which I would drive down to Abu Dhabi for the weekend when I would catch up with my work and family commitments,” he recollected.
The flying programme was not easy. But Suleiman said he enjoyed going back into the classroom and the discipline of taking lessons from 7.30am to 3pm.
Father beats son
“Everyone had a different pace and our flying hours would vary depending on a number of factors, including the weather. I was the oldest student in the class and my son the youngest. No doubt, it would take me way longer than my son to absorb the theory lessons, but I beat him to it when it came to the flying hours. In fact, I am proud to say that I was the first to graduate in my entire batch,” he said.
Captain Mohamed El Sheikh, Head of Training at the Fujairah Aviation Academy, confirmed that Suleiman finished off five days before his son. “Both Suleiman and Hashir were good and completed their course well. The private pilot licence will allow them to fly a single-engine aircraft and carry their own passengers. But they cannot be hired as pilots as that would require a commercial pilot’s licence,” said El Sheikh.
With a long-cherished dream finally fulfilled, a celebration was again in order for Suleiman. Now, how did he reward himself and his son this time? His answer leads you to yet another intriguing chapter waiting to unfold in his life.
Plans aplenty
“I want to own an aircraft now,” he revealed.
Not one to sit on his laurels, Suleiman, who already runs Smart Access Transport, a thriving business in heavy equipment and access platforms in Abu Dhabi, is also looking at exploring a business opportunity in aviation.
As he explained, a private pilot’s licence only qualifies its holder to fly a particular kind of plane, depending on the type rating. “For instance, if I have a licence to fly a Diamond DA 40 aircraft and I want to fly a Sesna, I need to get the type rating for that. Also, as a private pilot, I cannot get paid for flying. So most private pilots like me obtain a licence merely for the love of flying. And herein lies a potential business opportunity,” he said.
According to Suleiman, there is a huge market of private pilots he wants to tap into. “I want to start a ‘rent-a-plane’ venture here in the UAE. Private pilots from all over the world would come here to fly these planes and help keep their licences active. It will be a win-win for everyone,” he said.
No doubt, the sky is the limit when it comes to ambition. But will Suleiman’s latest idea fly? Going by his track record, few have any doubts on that count.
