Azam Ally has earned himself the distinction of being Guyana’s first locally trained and accredited helicopter pilot.
After three years of hard work and training with Air Services Limited, his current employer, Ally’s efforts were rewarded when he was congratulated yesterday for his achievement by Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill during a brief ceremony held in the ministry’s boardroom in Wight’s Lane, Kingston, Georgetown. He was awarded a plaque and received his licence along with a personal letter of commendation from the Minister who congratulated him on behalf of President Irfaan Ali.
“We want to see the neurosurgeons at 25, we want to see the specialist at 20. Young people once given opportunities what they can do with it,” Edghill declared as he praised the young man for making history through his persistence. The Minister added, “Our government promis-ed and made a commitment that we will work with (the) private sector, religious and civil society to ensure that our young people get the best opportunity so that we will get the best for Guyana.”
The 19-year-old who hails from a family of pilots, told this newspaper that the decision to pursue a career in piloting was a no-brainer. He explained that he was influenced by his family who are in the air transport sector. He also mentioned that his brother, Mirza Ahmad Ally, and uncles are all pilots, so the decision was not a surprising one.
“I wanted to fly, but before all of that, I was also put on helicopters… I just had this infatuation with the machine. It’s something more maneuverable, so much nicer, and airplane pilots and airplanes are so common. I wanted to do something different,” the newly-minted pilot was quoted as saying.
Ally grew up in Aurora Village and Spring Garden on the Essequibo Coast before moving to George-town to work as an office clerk with his grandfather, Yacoob Ally, who is the CEO of Air Services Limited (ASL). Following his graduation from Abram Zuil Secondary School in 2018, he spent three months as an office clerk at A Mazaharally and Sons Limited, which he explained is a sister company to ASL, before being transferred to the aircraft maintenance department of ASL. There he was a trainee aircraft mechanic. He was also assigned to the rotorcraft maintenance programme where he acquired foundational knowledge of rotorcraft maintenance. After one year in maintenance, he was granted an opportunity to begin training as a helicopter pilot. His training with Captain Mazahar Ally began in August, under the tutelage of Captain Buddy Chance, a veteran helicopter pilot and one of two approved helicopter flight instructors at ASL.
After undergoing flight training on the Robinson R-66 helicopter, Ally completed his first solo flight on September 3. On December 8 he had a successful private pilot check ride with Captain Chris Kirkcaldy of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
Ally thanked his family for the support offered him from the time he started working and said he felt honoured to be allowed the opportunity to pursue his chosen career. He encouraged young people to follow their dreams, especially when presented with the opportunity to do so. (Lazeena Yearwood)
