After meeting an individual from the Economic Development Team of West Tennessee, Ravi S. Virdi gave serious thought before deciding to open a flight school at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport.
“I was in Canada, and after noting my business and visiting me, he offered me (a member of the Economic Development Team) to come to Tennessee and visit with the team of Mr. Mike Philpot to see if I would like to start a flight school here,” Virdi said. “And so, after thinking for some two years, I decided to visit West Tennessee in 2012.”
Virdi said he met with the Economic Development Team, and a tour of West Tennessee followed.
“They opened the doors for me to choose any airport to start the International Flight School,” Virdi said. “In three days, they took me across many counties, and showed me various airport operations.”
Virdi, 43, said McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport won out after he considered the possibilities, and Aero Academy International LLC set up shop in Jackson.
“I selected Jackson … as the Airport Authority with Mr. Steve Smith and Ms. Cindy Melton provided the most professional outlook and future development plan that will fit with the establishment of an International Flight School — and provide the facility for continued growth and further expansion,” Virdi said. “Further, Jackson, as seen by me, was very diversified and was able to accept the different cultures that would come with the international students, and make them feel at home.
Smith is the executive director at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport, and Melton is the deputy director.
In June 2012, Virdi decided Jackson would become home of Aero Academy International LLC, and in February 2014, the school opened at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport.
“Aero Academy International LLC is a Tennessee registered corporation that was started as a requirement to fulfill the gap in need for aviation school that provides a professional level of training in West Tennessee,” Virdi said. “Aero Academy International LLC’s management team brings with them a combined operational experience of more than 90 years of training students that has given the most importance to provide the highest level of aviation-based training with safety oriented piloting skill level development for students.”
Virdi said with the highly developed training program, the academy is able to meet all the needs of its students to ensure safety and skills are given the highest priority during flying.
“AAI will be able to bring international students to Jackson, Tennessee, who help in the growth of the local economy through the training program that is 12 months in duration,” Virdi said. “Each student will spend more than $20,000 on accommodations, food, entertainment and travel. AAI has its own offices in China and India to recruit student pilots for professional pilot training course.”
While Virdi awaits word on the internationals, the process of arriving in Jackson didn’t happen overnight for him either.
He was born in Bombay, India, and moved to Qatar with his parents when he was in the equivalent of middle school to complete his higher education.
At age 17, Virdi was headed for the Lone Star State.
“After completion of my studies, I was provided with all the support by my parents to achieve the Professional Pilot Training and Management degree in Aviation, and joined the ACME School of Aeronautics in Ft. Worth, Texas, in 1988,” Virdi said. “I completed my training in seven months in Texas, and joined Gulf Airlines as training first officer on a Boeing 737-200.”
Virdi left Gulf Air and returned to India at the age of 24, and became a first officer with East-West Airlines.
“I flew for them for three years and my wife (Ahlen) and I moved to Canada in 1996, where I started Executive Charter Service and Time Sensitive Cargo Corporation,” Virdi said. “I met and married my wife during my years with Gulf Air.”
Virdi said he became interested in aviation as a child, and he had a game plan just in case his parents objected to him flying airplanes for a living.
“I was very much interested in becoming an Air force fighter pilot, but as time passed, I saw more advantage in becoming an airline pilot, and with the support from parents, I was able to fulfill my dream and continued the path of becoming a pilot,” Virdi said. “I remember telling my mother — due to the fear of my parents of flying a plane and the expense of training as a pilot — that if I cannot become a plane driver, I will become a bus driver, so the choice is yours, what you want me to become, and support me financially … so they did.”
The professional training program takes one year, and an additional six months for management in the aviation course.
Virdi completed his requirements in six months.
“With extreme hard work, one can complete the course in six to eight months,” Virdi said. “My goal was to get into the airlines at a very young age, and I wanted it as a challenge and a statement to myself that I could be proud of. I received the best training in the field of advanced customer service, dangerous goods, ID of passports and Visa at the check-in counter, dispatcher and such airlines related courses through the British Airways training system.”
All while working for Gulf Air as a ground staff member for the first year, and then offered the opportunity to join the airline as a Trainee First Officer on a Boeing B737-200 Classic.
“No, not in that part of the world,” Virdi said, when asked if it was unusual for a teenager to pilot a commercial jet. “In the Asian countries, the requirements are not as harsh as the United States and Canada, where a pilot needs 2,500 hours and ATPL (Airline Transport Pilot License) to get into the First Officer seat.”
Besides Jackson, Virdi said students attending the academy are from Milan, Medina, Lexington and Memphis.
Virdi owns four aircraft the academy uses for flight training.
“We also provide aircraft rental, and have many clients who rent our aircraft to fly for meetings or a weekend with their friends and family,” Virdi said. “Our client base is growing every month through the positive referral from our present clients, and we also have been doing a lot of aerial photo shoots and sightseeing tours.
“We expect the fleet to grow to 15 aircraft with the arrival of the international students within the next 12 months. We plan to make the Jackson airport one of the busiest airports in all of Tennessee.”
Virdi maintains a professional pilot training flight school in Canada.
“It has been operating with international students since 1989,” Virdi said. “This flight school is also called Aero Academy International Inc., and is managed by my daughter, Ms. Ritu, who is a flight instructor and delegate of the (Canadian) aviation minister to issue pilot’s license.”
Virdi has two full-time and three part-time employees at McKellar-Sipes, a number he said will change once the academy receives its SEVIS — Student and Exchange Visitors Program — certification.
“We can start bringing in international students, and we will be able to add another seven full-time jobs, or more. AAI has just been granted an airline training contract to train 80 students that will itself bring in revenue of $3 million. In a simplified accounting concept, AAI will add a minimum of $2.5 million of revenue that is brought into Jackson, Tennessee, by the international students, which is funds coming into the USA from international markets.”
About Aero Academy International LLC
•The academy is owned by Ravi S. Virdi, who also serves as president.
•The academy is located at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport, 2500 Grady Montgomery Drive.
•For more information, call (731) 424-8485.
Original article can be found here: http://www.jacksonsun.com
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