Where we are?
In a flight simulator. At the Sabadell Aeroclub pilot school, the third in Spain.
Who studies here?
Aspiring pilots from fifty countries come to this Sorbonne of aviation.
How long does it take to have the title?
Between six months and three years. Every year one hundred pilots graduate from here.
What planes will they be able to fly?
Commercial airline aircraft.
Is there work in that field?
And well paid! Everyone finds work quickly: the demand for pilots grows.
Do you have a pilot's license?
Here I got it in six months. Although I wasn't looking for a job at an airline.
Didn't you want to be a commercial pilot?
I wanted the title to fly alone.
Since when?
From childhood. But I postponed it, I postponed it...
What did you dream about as a child?
I was fascinated by watching planes take off and land at El Prat airport. And I wanted to fly one day, but I postponed my dream...
Even when?
I turned 40 and I said to myself: “Now that's it!”
Twenty years have passed.
The best of my life, flying...
Do you have a plane?
Not mine, from the Sabadell Aeroclub, here: more than forty propeller planes that all members use.
How many partners do you have?
We are 1,100 members, dues through. With almost a century of life, we are the best flying club in Europe. Look at the airfield, how that plane takes off now...
Will you take me for a ride?
Yes, but I must warn you of a problem.
Which?
You will want to repeat. A friend of mine was scared, I gave him a ride... and today he is a great pilot.
What do the members of this flying club have in common?
The desire for freedom. And here we fill them. We are dreamers: you fly and you are free. This flying club is a dream factory.
What does it feel like up there?
Freedom. Weightlessness. A beautiful feeling that I recreate every night when I fall asleep in my bed.
What does the world look like from above?
As soon as you fly, you understand your territory: plateaus, mountain ranges, coast... On the ground you don't understand it at all.
What area steals your heart?
It is unforgettable to fly over the craters of the Garrotxa volcanoes, the Sau y Susqueda swamp, Tavertet...
At what height?
At 3,600 meters altitude.
Does it pose any danger to health?
No, although if you notice a headache, go down! You can pass out or fall asleep.
Oh.
Don't worry! It is much more dangerous to drive by car from home to the airfield than to fly in one of these small planes. The statistics sing.
And if the engines go out, what?
I'm looking for a field. I approach. And he landed gliding without an engine. No problem. It is one of the basic practices for the title.
And isn't it scary?
No. It is difficult to crash a plane, even if you want to: the plane always tends to fly, the plane wants to fly!
Is there anything that should never be done?
Go through a cumulonimbus, those storm clouds: there is ice inside strafing the fuselage, electric fields... You have to avoid them... or land.
What flight range does the plane have?
Four to seven hours. And we must never forget a first commandment...
You will say.
Check the fuel level before taking off! Always!
What three virtues distinguish the good pilot?
Serenity. Ability. Rigor.
¿Rigor?
Be orderly, meticulous. Flying is focusing all your attention on just one thing: flying. You can't think about anything else.
How many hours of flight do you have?
Eight hundred hours of flight. After 300 hours it is said that it is easy for you to become overconfident...
Admire any historical pilots?
All pilots enjoy reading Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Night Flight.
And if you look to the future as an aviator, what do you see?
I see the electric plane. At the flying club we will have the first electric plane: two propellers activated by eight rechargeable electric batteries. One hour of autonomy. Fewer breakdowns than a combustion engine. And what a pleasure to fly in total silence, without any engine noise!
