Think of a child’s eyes when he gets on a merry-go-round for the first time. Those were my eyes full of amazement whenever I took a plane. I do not remember exactly when my passion for flying started, but I can tell you for sure that every flight was an emotion I just cannot describe.
Being able to fly: isn’t it every child’s dream?
I have always been fascinated by the world of aviation since I was a kid. Seeing the world from above with a different perspective and feel I could touch the sky always amazed me. Every time an airplane took off and started climbing I wondered “How can these people (the pilots) manage to keep this beast up in the sky?”.
I thought about this for a long time, at least up until I learned to fly. That is when I started thinking about a career in aviation; but there was just one problem: I had no idea how to reach my goal.
So, I did what everyone would do, choosing the only way I knew. I applied for the Italian air force, but I soon realised it was different from expected and not what I wanted to do.
I then gave up this project and went to university. But destiny had other plans in mind for me. As Hester Browne said, it seems that “Destiny has a way of finding you”. Thus, a few years later, I bumped again into my dream of becoming a pilot.
One day I bumped into a friend of mine. We started chatting and he told he was working as a Ryanair pilot. He told me how he managed; what he did and the school he had attended, Urbe Aero ATO.
In other words, he explained to me in detail how I could make my wish come true and become a commercial pilot. Needless to say, a whole other world opened up. I then realised that was the job I wanted to do when I grew up, thus I started looking around and spent the next six months learning about schools and training programmes both in Italy and abroad.
I had to consider my budget as well as the quality of the instructors and the chances to be employed once I had got my licence. After a long search, I realised all these elements got together in one place: Urbe Aero flight school. Indeed, the fact my friend had studied in this school there and had told me to go there did have an influence. Thus, I decided to take an appointment and learn a little more.
The first time I got into the school was really exciting: Urbe Aero was exactly as expected. I found a modern school with new aircraft and state-of-the-art instruments. This is a key factor for success as it allows you to deal immediately with your “tools”, such as the glass cockpit, now present in almost all airline aircraft.
However, the real flagship of the school is the people. The whole staff is competent and always available, efficient and of great help throughout the entire training period. Valid instructors who teach you the culture of flying both under a theoretical and practical point view, who have helped me a lot even under a human point of view.
I felt like a member of the family. I found real mentors for my career in this school. My training in Urbe Aero allowed me to achieve the awareness needed to face my job interview in EasyJet, where I am a current first officer. I went to the interview in London just ten days after getting my ATPL and I was employed immediately.
When I think about it, I cannot believe it: my professional dream became true in less than two years. Now I am an airline pilot!
Life on a plane is very different from what I expected. Before starting, I thought it would have a great impact on my private life. Instead, I discovered it is possible to do the job of your dreams and organise your own life without great issues.
Indeed, even if I fly all over Europe and sometimes also in North Africa, I am always back to my base in Venice – my new home – at night.
The thing I love the most of this job is to have lunch or dinner up in the sky. My office is thousands of metres high and I can see mountains, lakes, rivers, towns and seas while enjoying my meal with the automatic pilot on. This is better than any restaurant with a view I have ever been to.
Now that I have reached my first goal, I am not going to stop. Every day I have new and exciting experiences, but I still think about my next steps.
I would like to do all the roles foreseen by the pilot career, continuing the pilot path by accomplishing the next step, becoming a captain. I would then like to pave the way to other pilots and become an instructor to teach other dreamers how to make their dreams become true.
