SAFA's first Saudi student achieves solo milestone

Fares Al Kuoatly, a resident of Riyadh made he first solo flight last week He is training for a commercial licence with the Saudi academy and began the course in August.  He is currently preparing for his private pilot licence (PPL) which is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

When asked about his first experience in flying solo, Fares ( pictured below, centre)  said: “It has been a fantastic experience and it was a real excitement to fly solo”.  And praised his instructor Captain Luca Casucci,(pictured right, far left) who has been training Fares during the last two months. 

Fares stated “I never thought I will be flying solo so soon and I was a bit nervous in the beginning.  But Captain Luca had enough confidence in my skills and gave me all the encouragement to boost my confidence level.  At SAFA I am not only learning to fly, but also acquiring the skills required to make good judgment and decisions independently.  While in the sky I was thinking about all those small mistakes I did while flying dual with Captain Luca and the way Captain Luca used to correct me.  And I am happy that I completed my solo flight without any mistakes, and the take offs and landings were perfect”.

Captain Vincent Peccarino (pictured above,far right) , Head of Training at SAFA congratulated Fares for his achievement.   He said: “this day will remain as a milestone achievement in the history of SAFA.  We are looking forward to train and develop more and more Saudi pilots who can take flying as a career and add to general aviation and specifically to creating professional Saudi pilots in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”. 

Captain William Roe, the Managing Director at SAFA congratulated the entire team at SAFA for this memorable accomplishment saying “it is with great pride that SAFA has soloed our first student.  Mr. Kouatly will certainly not be the last, but he marks the beginning of a tradition of excellence as we all work together to establish a pilot training centre of excellence for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that everyone can be proud of.”

SAFA is the only flight training academy in the Kingdom to offer a hybrid-mix of technically advanced training aircraft and simulation to ensure students obtain the most effective pilot training available today. It will offer all the training required to take students from zero experience to possessing the skills and credentials necessary for both professional and recreational flying.

The instructor core is comprised of instructors primarily from the United States, Europe, South Africa, and Australia. Their goal is to ensure that all students possess the skills, confidence, and certification required to be a safe, competent, and disciplined pilot.

More information on SAFA can be found at: www.saflightacademy.com