Pilot Mauricio:

Hi, my name is Mauricio Benavides. I'm from San José/Costa Rica, a very small country with huge limitations regarding aviation, but with beautiful green landscapes and wonderful blue skies. Here you will fall in love with nature, and you will feel like one as you fly over it.

I started in an excellent aviation school here in Costa Rica, where I faced a lot of obstacles from learning English and missing money to pay my hours of flight, and also for the courses we had to take, but I fell in love with aviation every day and the more I learned about airplanes the more I loved them. It's impressive how they have to fight against gravity in order to manage the skies. I have to admit that I didn't know why an airplane could fly, and I literally thought that they were just like a car. It took me a lot of time to become familiar with Aeronautics terms for example, flaps, slats, spoiler, and many others.

Now I am currently studying for my Private Pilot exam which will take place February 2nd (please send me good luck), I am also working double shifts in order to pay my hours of flight and everyday I can imagine myself flying high around 32,000 feet and seeing the world and nature.

My advice from young Mauricio and for all of you is that we build our own limitations, therefore we can prevent them from happening. Money is not a limitation, not knowing English is not a limitation, having trouble studying is not a limitation. If you want it you can, and if you can, you will achieve it. Keep going even though you have to work many extra hours, keep going even though you have to study all night, keep going and keep dreaming about yourself flying every single day. Fight for your dreams because remember “that difficult roads often lead to wonderful landscapes”.

Thank you for reading my story.

Mau.