It all started when I was just about 3 years old. I grew up in a restaurant in a little village in Switzerland. My whole family was strong in the gastronomy sector but I only dreamed of being a pilot. Once, a guest dined at our restaurant and it turned out he was a captain for Swissair. I was highly impressed by him and wanted to know more. So I asked my parents if we could go for a visit at the Airport Zurich. And there it happened; I got infected with the aviation virus. Ever since, there was only one target in my mind - how to become an airline pilot.
During my youth, I spent almost every weekend at the airport where I was busy with plane spotting. It was a distinctive time - hanging out with friends at different airports all over Europe and talking shop about aviation. Even my bedroom was packed with airplane scale models and other aviator collectors stuff.
As a basis, I decided to take an apprenticeship as a mechanic. After that, I worked as an aircraft and helicopter engineer. With this aviation background, I finally started my private pilot license at a small airstrip called Sitterdorf, with a 6.5 degree approach slope and the shortest grass runway (480 meters) of Switzerland. One of my biggest milestones was the first solo flight, which I’ll definitely never forget. It was the 16th August 2012, it was a warm summer afternoon and I was doing some circuits with my flight instructor. On the taxi back to the runway, he told me to stop at the taxiway, jumped out the plane and said “Have fun, bye”. What an incredible feeling!
A few years later, I decided to take the chance and apply for the integrated flight training for the Swiss Airline called Edelweiss Air. It was a multi-level assessment with many skill tests. For a short moment, I was the happiest man alive when I got my positive board decision and was accepted for the flight school.
I started my airline pilot flight school back in 2016 at swiss aviation training in Zurich. It was a tight flight training with lots of interesting phases such as the flight training in Vero Beach, Florida. Finally, I graduated from the ATPL back in 2019 and started the type rating on the Airbus A320, the one I fly these days. It has been an incredible journey until now, and I can’t wait to see what’s coming next.
And here I am today, living my childhood dream!
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