Surat pilot training centre by March end

Surat: Bharatsinh Vaghela, younger son of Union textile minister Shankersinh Vaghela, who is also the director of Rainbow Flying Academy Private Limited, is set to launch first pilot training centre in south Gujarat at Surat airport by March end.
The project is worth Rs 10 crore and the centre is already up with the construction of state-of-the-art building and a hanger, which will have three Cessna-172 type aircrafts for training students from Surat and adjoining districts. Talking over the phone from Mumbai, Bharatsinh said, “It was my dream to set up a pilot training academy in Surat. We have been working on this project since last couple of years and finally we are looking forward to its launch by the end of March.”
Vaghela, who was at Nava Seva port to claim his three Cessna-172 aircrafts that arrived from the US a couple of days ago, said, “We have found that Surat airport makes for a perfect training ground. With little traffic on this route, training can be conducted without disturbances unlike Ahmedabad.”
Sources said that this is the first time that Vaghelas have ventured into flying school business and that too from Surat.
28/02/09 Melvyn Thomas/Times of India