Pilot Pav:
Hey everyone! My name is Paavan, more commonly known as ‘Pav’. I am 21 years old and from Birmingham in the United Kingdom. I am the first in my family to get into the piloting field! I’ve had a strong and unparalleled passion for aviation since I was very young. I connected with aviation like nothing else and it is safe to say the aviation bug isn’t going anywhere! I’ve always had my eyes to the skies and knew that is where I belong. I had a few years in the Air Cadets during my time in secondary school which gave me many opportunities including my first ever experience flying a plane at age 13! Fast forward a number of years, I am currently in the process of getting my licenses via the modular training route and alongside this I work as a Flight Dispatcher at Birmingham International Airport. I have been using Instagram (@pilotpav / @mega.aviation) for many years not only to document my journey in aviation but also to network with many others, be it airline pilots, aspiring pilots, training pilots, you name it!
Pilot training is quite an expensive venture, being fresh out of school I didn’t have the funds available to train full time as a pilot. Due to this, after finishing school I knew I wanted to dive straight into the field of aviation and see what I could do to better myself and get closer to my end goal of becoming an airline pilot. Upon finishing school, I looked for jobs at the airport just to get my foot in the door. I had been researching and knew that a flight dispatcher position would be the most ideal for me alongside pilot training, before becoming a qualified pilot.
Being a flight dispatcher has been truly invaluable; it has given me a great insight as to how airports and airlines operate behind the scenes and given me crucial operational experience which will no doubt be advantageous when it comes to being an airline pilot! I am using my salary from my job as a Flight Dispatcher to fund my flight training, step by step. Flight training can be broken down into a few stages: Private Pilot’s License, Night Rating, ATPL Theory, Hour Building, Commercial Pilot’s License, Multi Engine – Instrument Rating and finally the Multi Crew Cooperation/Jet Orientation Course.
Onto my flight training progress: I got my Private Pilot’s License in March 2019 and have been doing my hour building since. I am currently at 126 hours total time with about 40 more hours needed before I can progress to the CPL ME/IR course (Commercial Pilot’s License, Multi Engine – Instrument Rating), which I plan to complete in the time frame I have set to complete the 14 ATPL exams. I have been studying part time for the ATPL Theory for 2 months now, distance learning with the aim to complete the exams by early 2021.
Long term, my goal has always been to fly for Emirates, based in Dubai. I’ve always admired the professionalism of their crew and the way they operate. I aim to be settled well into the career and explore the idea of having a few businesses outside of aviation too. This is a fast changing industry so it will be interesting to see what opportunities will arise in 5/10 years time!
My friends often ask me, don’t you get bored being in aviation almost all days of the week? Simply, no. The days I’m at work, I am surrounded by this fast paced industry, in and around aircraft, their cockpits, working closely with pilots and crew, I couldn’t ask for a better job before being a pilot! Then on my days off from work I am at the flight school whenever time allows. I love it and wouldn’t change it for anything! If you have a passion for something and you are determined to do whatever it takes to achieve it, there is nothing that can stop you from getting there!
“Let your passion be the reason for your existence and your successes the product of your persistence!”
Enjoy the journey whilst trying to better yourself every day.
Feel free to reach out to me @pilotpav if you have any questions!