Former civil aviation minister takes flight as an A320 pilot
New Delhi: BJP’s youngest spokesperson, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, has found an alternative profession as a commercial pilot with a license to fly the mammoth A320. On November 16, Rudy qualified to fly the jet airliner Airbus 320.
Though the former civil aviation minister vehemently denies any connection between the BJP’s declining political fortunes and his latest foray into piloting, he concedes that joining a commercial airline may be necessary to keep his latest skill honed.
“I may even have to join an airline to keep flying but I will not take any remuneration for it. Politics is my life, I remain committed to it just as I remain committed to the BJP,” Rudy added.
Rajiv Pratap Rudy became a licenced pilot two years ago. His license number indicates that he was the 5,682nd commercial pilot in the country. He has taken part in many flying competitions but his dream remained to fly an Airbus.
For the purpose, he enrolled in the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved SimCenter in Miami, Florida, last month. SimCenter offers accelerated airline courses for commercial pilots.
Rudy started training at the SimCenter headquartered at the Miami international airport.
He trained vigorously for 30 days without a break. In the end, he was rated by the FAA to fly the Airbus 320.
30/11/09 Poornima Joshi/India Today