Unveiled: the best-kept flying secret that's a little gem

Alan Peaford discovers a small oasis where the passion and enjoyment of pure leisure flying is flourishing in the northern tip of the UAE.

A bright yellow aircraft barely 500 feet high turns above from the beachfront properties and begins a steady descent into what looks, from the Ras Al Khaimah to Umm al Quwain highway, like an industrial estate, typical of the facilities springing up in the developing industrial landscape of the UAE’s most northern emirate.

Further investigation and a short drive along a semi-paved road brings the remarkable site of a 500m, or so, runway and the signs promoting the Jazeera Flying Club.

Beside the apron and a large hangar is the flying club’s clubhouse. Inside there is memorabilia, aviation magazines, comfortable seating, light refreshments and Captain Amith Pillai, flight instructor and the general manager of the UAE’s best kept aviation secret.

“We fly microlights or light sport aircraft from here and we have 270 members,” said Pillai. “People who want to fly come here from Dubai or the other emirates. We have about 70 active pilots and it can get quite busy at weekends with people learning to fly, or those with their own aircraft who just want to go and enjoy the perfect conditions.”

The club was originally formed by Sheikh Omar bin Saqr Al Qassimi, the brother of Ras Al Khaimah’s ruler Sheikh Saud and a real general aviation enthusiast – as well as being the chairman of RAK Airways.

The club began at an airfield close to the royal palace but was granted some land away from the main city.

It is still strongly supported by RAK’s leadership. Chairman of the RAK department of civil aviation Sheikh Salem bin Sultan Al Qassimi said he believed it was essential that the joy of flight be experienced by Emiratis if the UAE is to further develop its strategy for aerospace.

“Airspace is very restricted in the UAE, as you would expect with the growth of the airports and the airlines, but we felt it important to find some space for Jazeera to enable people to experience flight. There are people from the UAE and internationally who visit the club and get to fly. The club has designated training areas and also can fly along the beautiful coastline of RAK,” Sheikh Salem said.

The club has a chief flying instructor, Capt Afaq Ahmed Khan, and three other instructors – Capt Pillai, Capt Kirti Rana and Capt Dinesh Prabhu.

Newcomers to the club – or even tourists – get an introduction flight which gives them a bird’s eye view of the emirate and a chance to handle one of the club’s six aircraft, three Aeroprakt 22s, and an Aeroprakt FK9 from Ukraine or two Jetfoxes from Italy.

The airfield is also home to the RAK Helijet service.

“The aircraft are great fun to fly. People come here and go through the whole training process to achieve their microlight pilot licence,” said Pillai. It takes a minimum of 20 hours of ground school and 25 hours of flying to get to the level demanded by the GCAA to carry out a skills test. Membership of the club is $275 a year, with flying costs around $135 an hour for members.

Indian-born flying instructor Kirti Rana qualified with a commercial pilot’s licence in the Philippines and joined the Jazeera club in 2011. She now has more than 1,800 hours under her belt and said how much she loved flying the light aircraft and introducing people to the joy of flight.

“It is always great to see their reaction,” she said.

Although the club is restricted to a 60km stretch of RAK’s coastline Pillai, who has been there eight years after qualifying as a commercial pilot in Moscow, believes that is plenty of space to get a feel for leisure flight.

“We do go further afield sometimes,” he said. “We get special permissions to cross the restricted airspace to take part in air shows in places like Abu Dhabi or Qatar.”