Paul Tocknell told how he loved making conversations with his passengers, and that tiny friendship that he builds with them. One of the inevitable questions that people ask him was how his interest in flying came about. Perhaps, like other pilots out there, his dream to become one started when his obsession with airplanes was born. He started drawing and assembling them. The idea of airplanes was introduced to him when his father was taking flight lessons, and he started looking at his father’s manuals.
Just like with a lot of other pilots, he was obsessed with anything about airplanes. He loved drawing and building them. His father took flight lessons during his time, which paved the way for Paul’s huge interest in them. He recalled how he browsed through his father’s manuals and was amazed with a certain model. He tried to follow the footsteps of his father, and convince his parents to let him take flying lessons, too.
However, his parents thought that it would be too expensive. When he was in college, Paul was, like most freshmen, undecided as to what course he wanted to take. Of course, he was interested in aviation only, but it wasn’t offered in his school. He, however, did not want to be too problematic about his future. During his spring break in his freshman year, he embarked on a trip to Ecuador. Together with a bunch of high school students, they traveled to the Amazon rainforest.
He wasted no time when he got back to his place. He was further motivated when he found out the wide range of career options that you can choose from once you become a pilot. His grandparents supported his dream, and that got him to study in Florida. He eventually earned his private, instrumental, and multi- engine commercial certificates. After a while, Paul went back home and tried his hand at becoming a flight instructor. He got his certificate and worked part- time. Finally, he decided to take a Communications course for college.
The Indians got their plane. While the team was on their way, Paul got the chance to sit in the plane, and was enthralled of the feeling of actually flying a plane. Thus, his dream to become a pilot was born. When he got back to the States, he started working on his dreams. He found out that after being a successful pilot and earning your certificates, you have a lot of career options to choose from. Paul was more than motivated when his grandparents supported his aspiration. He studied in Florida, where he got his private, instrument and multi-engine commercial certificates. He went back home, and pursued to become a flight instructor. Once he got his certificate on that, he worked part- time, while finishing his Communications degree. However, as of now, Paul is not on a “mission field.” When he went back to college, he met his future wife, and got married. But, he’s still young, and he is not closing his doors on flying planes. He encourages aspiring pilots, who share the dream he had, to do anything and everything to meet their goal of becoming a full- pledged pilot.
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