Visiting the Avex International Airshow has been an exciting experience for Nader Habib The exhibition held at Sharm El-Sheikh international airport was a real pleasure to me. All types of planes people used to travel on were on display. Visitors could enter the pilot cabinet to have a close look and even touch cockpit tools. The helicopter with its small, but flexible body was amazing to watch, imagining the fascinating performance it has in the movies and real life as well. All these things reminded me of an old dream I used to have; to be a pilot. That was maintained by Captain Sara Yasser, a supervisor at the Egyptian Aviation Academy, who said that working in this field is the dream of every young man or woman in Egypt. However, only a few manage to fulfil this dream, while the other were satisfied--just like me--to control a kite on the beach in the summertime. Student pilot final stage commercial Sara Ibrahim will graduate next month from the Egyptian Aviation Academy. Ibrahim told her story. "During early childhood, my hobby was to play basketball and water-ballet. However, when I finished secondary education, my ambition was to be a pilot." Likewise any Egyptian family, her parents objected the idea of a girl flying a plane. "This problem took me a long time to solve. Their main condition was to finish my university studies so that I may forget my dream. To fulfill their wish, she graduated in the faculty of medicine and only then she managed to persuade her family to start a career in the aviation. "I was lucky that the system of the aviation academy accepts graduate students as well as secondary school students. A great part of my dream has been realised," Ibrahim concluded, "and I wish to continue until the end." Ibrahim guided us through the exhibition to the pavilion of the Egyptian Aviation Club where we met engineer Tarek Mohsen, manager of public administration of air-culture at the Ministry of Civil Aviation. "We get a great base of young fans of aviation and astronomy, who would be physically ready. "I think the goal for which the public administration and Egyptian aviation club were established is realised." According to Mohsen, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, headed by Minister Ahmed Shafik, supports students financially to obtain membership for only LE600 registration fees, and then only LE100 annually.
