Bocah Tujuh Tahun jadi yang Termuda Peraih Lisensi Terbang
Boy Aged Seven becomes Youngest Person to have a Flying Lesson
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
TERBANG ke langit, ini dia Marwan Vorajee berusia tujuh tahun, yang diyakini sebagai pilot termuda di Inggris.
Mengenakan kaos Barcelona dan duduk di atas bantal tebal, bocah setinggi 1,21 meter itu mestinya kesulitan mengendalikan kemudi dan melongok dari kaca depan kokpit pesawat Piper Warrior III.
Namun siswa sekolah dasar ini ternyata mampu mengendalikan joystick dan mengangkasa melintasi kawasan pedesaan, bersama ayahnya Rizwan dan adiknya Safwan sebagai penumpang di belakang.
Keinginannya untuk belajar terbang terwujud saat orangtuanya mengijinkan pelajaran terbang pertamanya untuk memperingati ulang tahunnya yang ketujuh, bulan lalu.
Dan dengan pengalaman terbang setengah jam pertama, bocah ini tidak dapat menunggu perjalanan selanjutnya ke awan.
'Saya menyukainya, saya benar-benar sangat menyukainya,' kata Marwan kepada ibunya begitu dia kembali dengan selamat di daratan. "Saya tidak sabar menunggu pelajaran berikutnya."
Sekarang sang bocah, dari Solihull, West Midlands, berharap bisa menyelesaikan pelatihannya, mendapatkan lisensi pilot dan kelak dapat bergabung dengan pamannya, Yousouf, pilot pesawat jet tempur Uni Emirat Arab.
"Sejak dia masih sangat muda, Marwan terobsesi dengan pesawat terbang," kata ibunya, Nafeesa kepada MailOnline.
"Dia selalu menonton video pesawat terbang, dan mengajukan pertanyaan tentang kedirgantaraan."
"Kami biasa membawanya ke Bandara Birmingham di mana dia akan menghabiskan berjam-jam menyaksikan pesawat mendarat dan lepas landas.
"Dia bisa menceritakan semua jenis pesawat terbang dan dia selalu mengatakan bahwa dia ingin bisa menerbangkan pesawat terbang."
Jadi saat ulang tahun Marwan meminta ibunya, Nafeesa, 31, dan sang ayah, Rizwan, 37, untuk menagih hadiah spesial dari mereka.
"Kami mendapati bahwa klub terbang Coventry memberi pelajaran terbang untuk anak-anak, selama mereka bisa memantau kontrol pesawat kontrol dan mengikuti instruksi."
"Ketika kami memberi tahu Marwan bahwa dia akan segera mewujudkan keinginan untuk ulang tahunnya, dia benar-benar sangat senang."
"Dia menganggapnya sangat serius. Dia sama sekali tidak gugup."
"Dia mendengarkan dengan seksama instruksi pre-flight dan melakukan semua yang dikatakan instruktur kepadanya."
"Tapi begitu mereka melepas Marwan mengendalikan pesawat ternyata dia mampu."
"Dia di udara selama sekitar 30 menit."
'Biayanya tidak murah - sekitar Rp2 jutaan (£102) untuk pelajaran terbang dan masing-masing Rp300 ribu (£15) masing-masing untuk [ayah] Rizwan dan [adiknya] Safwan yang ikut sebagai penumpang."
"Saya agak cemas melihat dari bawah, tapi mereka semua menyukainya."
Marwan tampil sempurna, meski harus menunggu sampai berusia 14 untuk jam terbangnya untuk mendapatkan lisensi pilot, kata instruktur Coventry Airplane Club, Alistair McBain kepada MailOnline.
Mr McBain menambahkan: 'Terbang benar-benar tidak terlalu sulit, itu lebih mudah daripada mengendarai mobil."
"Kami menunjukkan rekrutan baru bagaimana kontrol bekerja - naik, turun dan malayang - yang membutuhkan waktu sekitar lima menit."
"Dan setelah itu mereka mengambil alih kendali."
'Tentu saja pesawat memiliki kontrol ganda dan kami duduk di sana tepat di samping mereka jika terjadi kesalahan."
"Tapi selain lepas landas dan mendarat, mereka juga menerbangkan pesawat."
SOARING into the skies, this is seven-year-old Marwan Vorajee, believed to Britain’s youngest pilot.
Wearing a Barcelona strip and perched on a thick cushion, the four-foot tall youngster can barely see over the controls and out of the cockpit windscreen of his Piper Warrior III aeroplane.
But the schoolboy took full control of the joy-stick and sailed the four-seater light aircraft over the countryside, with his dad Rizwan and little brother Safwan as passengers in the back.
Plane-mad Marwan’s dreams came true when his parents booked him his first flying lesson for his seventh birthday treat, last month.
And with his first half-hour of flying time under his belt the youngster can’t wait for his next journey into the clouds.
‘I loved it, I really absolutely loved it,’ Marwan told his mum once he was safely back on solid ground. ‘I can’t wait for my next lesson.’
Now the youngster, from Solihull, West Midlands, hopes to complete his training, gain a pilot’s licence and join his Emirates pilot uncle Yousuf flying passenger jets around the world.
‘Ever since he was really young Marwan has been obsessed with planes,’ his mum Nafeesa told MailOnline.
‘He was always watching videos of planes, and asking questions about them.
‘We used to take him to Birmingham Airport where he would spend hours watching the planes coming in and taking off.
‘He could tell all the different types of aircraft and he always said he wanted to be able to fly a plane.’
So when Marwan’s birthday came around mum Nafeesa, 31, and dad Rizwan, 37, knew the perfect treat.
‘We found that Coventry flying club did lessons for children, as long as they could see over the controls and could follow instructions.
‘When we told Marwan he was having a flying lesson for his birthday he was absolutely thrilled.
‘He took it really seriously. He wasn’t nervous at all.
‘He listened very carefully to the pre-flight instructions and did everything the instructor told him.
‘But once they took off Marwan was in total control.
‘He was in the air for about 30 minutes.
‘It wasn’t cheap – it cost £102 for the flying lesson and £15 each for [dad] Rizwan and [brother] Safwan to come along as passengers.
‘I was a bit anxious watching from the ground, but they all loved it.’
Marwan performed perfectly, although he will have to wait until he is 14 for his flying hours to count towards a pilot’s licence, Coventry Aeroplane Club instructor Alistair McBain told MailOnline.
Mr McBain added: ‘Flying is really not that hard, it’s easier than driving a car.
‘We show new recruits how the controls work – to go up, down and side and side – which takes about five minutes.
‘And after that they take over the controls.
‘Of course the plane has dual controls and we are sitting there right next to them if anything goes wrong.
‘But apart from taking off and landing, they fly the plane.’
