From washing aircrafts to very own aircraft training school
He spread his wings to fly, and he's now helping others do the same through his training school
HE started off as an ambitious 14-year-old boy who washed aircrafts in return for just one hour of training per month.
Today, Ivan van der Schaar is a successful pilot working for Comair and also runs his very own training centre on the border of Benoni.
The 36-year-old Pomona resident’s passion for flying began when he was a teenager.
He would spend every second he had available riding his bicycle to the local airfield in Nelspruit where he grew up, and had a job cleaning aircrafts in 1994. Instead of getting paid, however, the ambitious teenager would ask the airfield instructors to give him one hour of flying lessons per month.
“Eventually about two years later, a man named Leon van Kraayeburg spotted my potential and gave me the opportunity to become a pilot. I sold my business and used the money to fund my studies. I first achieved my Commercial Pilot Licence and eventually attained his ATP (Airline Transport Pilot Licence),” van der Schaar explained.
Today van der Schaar flies for Comair with pride.
But he also had a dream since he was young to buy his very own Pitts Special aircraft, an aerobatic bi-plane designed by Curtiss Pitts in the USA during the late 1960’s.
“Ever since I met Ivan he’s always wanted to have a Pitts Special Aircraft. At times that dream was the only thing I heard him speak about,” his wife Sonica said.
Van Schaar searched everywhere on the internet for aircrafts to buy.
“The most difficult part was actually finding an aircraft to buy. But we did not give up! Ivan finally found his perfect Pitts plane in December 2013,” Sonica said.
Their son Jeandre (8) is also following in dad’s footsteps.
“We live aviation as a family and our son Jeandre has already started flying with Ivan and is showing a keen interest in learning how to fly. He is also an avid radio-controlled pilot,” Sonica explains.
The family runs their very own training centre which was started in January 2014, where they introduce people to the world of aerobatic flight and give other young people the opportunity to realise their dreams.
The centre also offers aerobatic training to aircraft enthusiasts. The centre is situated at the Petit Airfield, between Kempton Park and Benoni.
For more information, contact Sonica or Ivan on 082-682-2825 or 082-375-9180, or send an email to pittsflight@webmail.co.za.
